I am a child of the eighties and grew up on the action movies of the time, especially Predator and Aliens. So the idea of going to a jungle or space station and being chased by terrifying monsters with big teeth was perfectly reasonable. Kids of my time also had a healthy dose of paranoia against Russia and wild government conspiracies (can Big Brother be trusted?).
These reasons are why I adore the author, James Rollins. He takes those childhood tropes and weaves them into new tales that combine our retro eighties mentality (How depressing that the eighties are retro! Better than vintage or old!) with the cutting-edge technology and science of today. He creates new tales of adventure and mixes them with science that sounds fantastical but is actually proven or plausible. It makes me feel smart to read a Rollins novel! He even includes notes explaining the research he uses. So you get a fun read plus some knowledge!
Author of the New York Times best-selling series Sigma Force, Rollins also wrote several stand-alone stories. The one I am writing about today is called Ice Hunt. While mapping the Arctic Circle, a scientist discovers a hidden base carved deep into the ice. Her scanner shows bodies – lots of them – littering the base. Suddenly a heat signature moves. Something is alive. What has survived the dark, dismal tunnels of Ice Station Grendel?
In true Predator/Aliens mode, the survivor has lots of teeth. And a huge appetite. But what is this creature? How did it get to this isolated location? Can anyone survive its reign of terror? In true horror story mode, our group of scientists and adventurers go into the base, towards the mysterious heat signature. Have they learned nothing from decades of movies and books?
Ice Hunt is a combination of action, adventure, horror, creature feature, and espionage with a dash of romance thrown in for good measure. I highly recommend this story, along with the Sigma Force novels. They are a good summer read. Or better yet, they are perfect for a cold snowy day curled up with a cup of hot cocoa and a fuzzy blanket!
From Amazon: Carved into a moving island of ice twice the size of the United States, Ice Station Grendel has been abandoned for more than seventy years. The twisted brainchild of the finest minds of the former Soviet Union, it was designed to be inaccessible and virtually invisible. But an American undersea research vessel has inadvertently pulled too close–and something has been sighted moving inside the allegedly deserted facility, something whose survival defies every natural law. And now, as scientists, soldiers, intelligence operatives, and unsuspecting civilians are drawn into Grendel’s lethal vortex, the most extreme measures possible will be undertaken to protect its dark mysteries–because the terrible truths locked behind submerged walls of ice and steel could end human life on Earth.
