Jed Lewis arrives at Amundsen-Scott base in the Antarctic, he is a fish out of water, a geologist in a place with no rocks. Well, perhaps one very special rock. Before he is able to test the rock though, accidents and violence occur, with the accusing finger pointing straight at the newcomer, Jed.

Set in the confined spaces of a base on the Antarctic, Dark Winter has a similar setting to Whiteout, also has a similar plot but where Dark Winter is different, and ultimately better, is that William Dietrich has managed to get inside your head and puts you on the ice alongside the men and women working there.

This is a thriller as much physiological as it is physical. The characters becoming suspicious of each other as events develop. In a way, Dark Winter is like Alien but with the added twist that the monster is one of them, and as such, the characters, with their individual traits and quirks, are perfect for the story.  The book feels real, and so the characters react in realistic fashion to what is happening to them.

This is a very tense thriller, but one of the best ‘ice’ books I have read.

On the ice cap in Greenland is Camp Hundred, a US base cut into the snow and ice of the Arctic. Covered trenches protect the men who live and work inside. Into this close knit environment comes Harry Bowes, hovercraft technician, trying to prove that the US army needs hovercraft in the hostile environment of the Arctic. Even before he arrives at the camp, accidents begin to happen and soon, it becomes apparent to Harry that these ‘accidents’ appear to have a purpose.

Following on, and with a quick reference to Duncan Kyle’s previous book of  A Cage Of Ice, Whiteout successfully conveys the harsh life that the Arctic enforces upon visitors. Camp Hundred is well described and easily imagined, with good examples of life, both in and out of the camp.

The characters are colourful without being over the top. Because Whiteout is essentially a whodunit under extraordinary circumstances, a lot of the characters tend to not so much stand out rather just be on the radar, not being written about too much but not so little that you forget about them. Its a delicate balance but one that Duncan Kyle does successfully.

Whiteout is a very enjoyable read, one that does tend to keep the reader guessing until the end, and one that is best enjoyed when there isn’t three foot of snow outside.

Welcome to the third and perhaps final installment of the Pirates trilogy. We join this episode with Captain Jack Sparrow having been eaten by the Kraken and Will Turner and Elizabeth Swan being help by Captain Barbossa to deal with the threat of the East India Trading Company.

I really enjoyed the first movie, found the second one to be even better and was looking forward to seeing this, the third in the trilogy. Its a long movie, so long infact that my knee actually locked up from lack of movement. It also feels a little longer than needbe. There is a large cast of characters, some of which are not explored much and some who seem to have more time onscreen than needed.  The movie also seems to stop being a pirate romp as it were and becomes something a lot different.

I won’t spoil the plot but there are some very strange scenes when we first lay our eyes on Captain Jack Sparrow, and there are parts of the plot that just seemed to take the edge off the movie. The action was, as always, loud, powerful and fun to watch. Throughout these movies there has always been a touch of humour, even when battle is waged, and At Worlds End is no exception. There is that much talked about cameo of a rock star which, well to be honest, is OK but not exactly breath-taking. The effects are first class with lots of weather and sea flying around.

The ending is something else that I am not completely happy with. It isn’t a normal Hollywood ending, and while I have gotten tired of the predictable, you kind of needed that type of closure, which you don’t get. In fact the ending is ambiguous and so open ended you start wondering the trilogy might not have four or five episodes.

In recent memory, very few third movie of a trilogy has stood up and been a complete ending for the series. Return of the King is probably the best, closely followed by Return of the Jedi. At the other end of the scale you would have the Matrix which was one amazing film spoiled by two dumb ones added on for the extra income. At Worlds End isn’t as bad as the Matrix, but nor is it as good as Return of the King. It just felt like it was missing something, something that left you completely satisfied rather than thinking, they are going to go for another money grab.

I really did enjoy the movie, physical, witty, breath-taking at times, At Worlds End will make a lot of money, but I just wonder if it will leave everyone as unsatisfied as I was?

A scientist working in the arctic is witness to a commercial airliner that crash lands close to his base, but once he rescues the survivors it turns out that not everything is as it seems.

Another MacLean novel set in the arctic, this one more of a journey through extreme conditions rather than anything else. The main characters, and the smaller characters are all well put together and distinctive, not confusing the reader with similarities.

The action is mundane compared to today’s action books but still manages to leave the reader wincing at some of the descriptions. I defy anyone to read this book and not feel a shiver.

Night Without End is a lesser known MacLean novel but still an enjoyable one, none the less.

At the top of the world an Ice Station has been rediscovered after many years missing. Two countries will fight for the secrets inside it, but they will not be the only ones involved. A small group of civilians get caught up in the struggle, along with some creatures the world hasn’t seen for a very long time.

Ice Hunt is a book with several different themes running through it. You have the big picture of a Russian Admiral who is planning to change the world, the American and Russian secret armies battling each other for the station, the experimental US submarine and its crew and scientists, then you have the man and ex-wife caught up in all of this. It provides so many different ways to address the story and James Rollins uses a lot of them, all to good effect.

Ice Hunt does remind me of Ice Station by Matthew Reilly, but there again, its an ICE STATION so its kinda obvious. It also reminds me of Deep Current by Benjamin E  Miller, but infinitely better. The plot keeps the reader on their toes as the action changes, and the cast of characters get separated, mixed around, re-joined and so forth. You never lose track of who is where and what is happening to them, and this keeps the story bubbling along at a good rate.

Ice Hunt is a real fun book to read. It has action galore and yet it still makes you care about the characters and what happens to them.

Two friends decide to steal some money from their employer, who runs strip joints, but once they have the money pretty much everything goes wrong.

Jon Cusack, Billy Bob Thornton and Connie Nelson star in this black comedy that reminds the viewer of Fargo and A Simple Plan. The plot keeps twisting this way and that as film progresses. The humour is very dark and cutting with a good balance between the laughs and the action.

A good ending that leaves you grinning, although the alternate endings are also pretty good. A movie that is dark yet fun.

An urgent rescue mission by submarine to the Arctic to rescue the survivors of the weather station that caught fire turns into something more disturbing as they get to Ice Station Zebra.

One of Alistair MacLean’s most famous books, Ice Station Zebra, changes from tense submarine thriller, to Arctic survival story, back to submarine thriller before finishing with a whodunit. A clever plot with several changes of pace and direction keep the reader on their toes as they try to find the villian.

The main character of Dr Carpenter is a true MacLean hero. Resourceful beyond belief, able to handle physical pain and mental anguish, and not what he seems. The reader discovers along with other members of the book, when Dr. Carpenter chooses to reveal secrets and reasons.

A classic book, tense, well put together and a memerable ending.

A wanted murderer makes a break from a courtroom with a young girl as his hostage, killing a policeman who tried to stop him. The wanted man has a plan, but its not a plan for escape.

Fear Is The Key is one of those books that sets up the ending right at the begining of the story and then makes you forget about it until you get to the end. It follows MacLean’s usually fast paced style of writing with minimum location changes and characters who are not who they seem to be. The main character, Talbot, is a driven man, vengful and desperate, and yet, you still feel for him as he struggles against all that is thrown up against him. The supporting cast is colourful with each character standing
out from each other.

The ending is one that, once I had kids, takes on a different perspective and one that is very effective. A strong Alistair MacLean book, one that reads fast, flows fast, and oesn’t let up until the last line.

A scientist looking for a link between identical twins and crime discovers twins born to different mothers, and finds herself in more danger than she could ever have expected.

The Third Twin follows the usual pattern of Ken Follett’s books, a strong, intelligent woman is the main character and as the book develops, the tension gets higher and higher. The subject matter is one that if Michael Crichton has written a book on, would have been a lot more in depth and filled with lots of details that slowed down the pace. Folllett on the other hand, just gives you enough to know what the characters are talking about and thats it, doesn’t slow the pace or bore the reader.

Another good Ken Follett book, perhaps not his best but not a bad book by any stretch of the imagination.