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Alex Hunter #1
Beneath the Dark Ice
When a plane crashes into the Antarctic ice, exposing a massive cave beneath, a rescue and research team is dispatched.
Twenty-four hours later, all contact is lost.
Captain Alex Hunter and his highly trained squad of commandos are fast tracked to the hot zone to find out what went wrong – and to follow up the detection of a vast underground reservoir. Accompanying the team is an assortment of researchers, including petrobiologist Aimee Weir. If the unidentified substance proves to be an energy source, every country in the world will want to know about it – some would even kill for it.
Once inserted into the cave system, they don't find any survivors – not even a trace of their bodies. Primeval hieroglyphs hint at an ancient civilisation, and an ancient danger. Spectres of the dead haunt the tunnels. Within hours, one of the party will die.
To bring his team out alive, Alex will need every one of his mysterious abilities beneath the dark ice.
Listening Length: 9 hours and 53 minutes
Twenty-four hours later, all contact is lost.
Captain Alex Hunter and his highly trained squad of commandos are fast tracked to the hot zone to find out what went wrong – and to follow up the detection of a vast underground reservoir. Accompanying the team is an assortment of researchers, including petrobiologist Aimee Weir. If the unidentified substance proves to be an energy source, every country in the world will want to know about it – some would even kill for it.
Once inserted into the cave system, they don't find any survivors – not even a trace of their bodies. Primeval hieroglyphs hint at an ancient civilisation, and an ancient danger. Spectres of the dead haunt the tunnels. Within hours, one of the party will die.
To bring his team out alive, Alex will need every one of his mysterious abilities beneath the dark ice.
Listening Length: 9 hours and 53 minutes
294 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2009
About the author
Greig Beck
52 books1,063 followersHi GoodReaders, I’m an Australian author residing in Sydney with my wife, son and a mad Golden Retriever named Jessie. My novels are now available globally, also in Large Print and now in full AUDIO format.
I grew up spending my days surfing at Bondi Beach before entering a career in Information technology which took me around the world. After completing an MBA, i was appointed both an Australasian director of a multinational software company, and tasked with setting up the USA arm of the organisation.
Today, I spend most of my time writing... with plenty left over for surfing.
More information about me and my works can be found at either www.greigbeck.com, or join me on FaceBook (Greig Beck Author).
I grew up spending my days surfing at Bondi Beach before entering a career in Information technology which took me around the world. After completing an MBA, i was appointed both an Australasian director of a multinational software company, and tasked with setting up the USA arm of the organisation.
Today, I spend most of my time writing... with plenty left over for surfing.
More information about me and my works can be found at either www.greigbeck.com, or join me on FaceBook (Greig Beck Author).
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 472 reviews
June 30, 2018
Español - English
El jet privado de un millonario cae en el Antártico y abre la entrada a una cueva subglacial de millones de años. Un grupo va a rescatarlo, pero también a investigar las posibilidades de que exista petróleo dentro. Todos desaparecen sin dejar rastro.
Al designar al personal del nuevo grupo eligen a los mejores en sus áreas y para dirigir la expedición se ha elegido no menos que a Alex Hunter, nombre en clave Arcadia.
Al adentrarse en la cueva Alex Hunter se da cuenta que no están solos. La fauna que habita en estas cuevas ha tenido millones de años para evolucionar y el resultado es escalofriante.
Este libro está lleno de clichés y me encantan! Esta lleno de acción. No te aburrirá un solo segundo.
Mi única queja es el epílogo con el cliff hanger para el segundo libro. No era necesario. Ya me tenían atrapada.
✨✨✨
A millionaire's private jet crashes into the Antarctic and opens an entrance to a million-years-old subglacial cave. A group is going to rescue them, but also to investigate the possibilities that there is oil inside. All of them disappear without a trace.
In designating the staff of the new group they choose the best ones in their areas and to lead the expedition no less than Alex Hunter, codenamed Arcadia, has been chosen.
As they enter the cave Alex Hunter realizes that they are not alone. The fauna that inhabits these caves has had millions of years to evolve and the result is creepy.
This book is full of clichés and I love it! It is full of action. It will not bore you for a second.
My only complaint is the epilogue with the cliff hanger for the second book. It was not necessary. You already had me trapped.
El jet privado de un millonario cae en el Antártico y abre la entrada a una cueva subglacial de millones de años. Un grupo va a rescatarlo, pero también a investigar las posibilidades de que exista petróleo dentro. Todos desaparecen sin dejar rastro.
Al designar al personal del nuevo grupo eligen a los mejores en sus áreas y para dirigir la expedición se ha elegido no menos que a Alex Hunter, nombre en clave Arcadia.
Al adentrarse en la cueva Alex Hunter se da cuenta que no están solos. La fauna que habita en estas cuevas ha tenido millones de años para evolucionar y el resultado es escalofriante.
Este libro está lleno de clichés y me encantan! Esta lleno de acción. No te aburrirá un solo segundo.
Mi única queja es el epílogo con el cliff hanger para el segundo libro. No era necesario. Ya me tenían atrapada.
✨✨✨
A millionaire's private jet crashes into the Antarctic and opens an entrance to a million-years-old subglacial cave. A group is going to rescue them, but also to investigate the possibilities that there is oil inside. All of them disappear without a trace.
In designating the staff of the new group they choose the best ones in their areas and to lead the expedition no less than Alex Hunter, codenamed Arcadia, has been chosen.
As they enter the cave Alex Hunter realizes that they are not alone. The fauna that inhabits these caves has had millions of years to evolve and the result is creepy.
This book is full of clichés and I love it! It is full of action. It will not bore you for a second.
My only complaint is the epilogue with the cliff hanger for the second book. It was not necessary. You already had me trapped.
March 13, 2024
Another Four Star Thriller!
Alex Hunter, The Arcadian, is a super-soldier with special genetic engineering that helps his strength and his effectiveness as a survivor.
As the leader of the HAWCS, he is very much a combative tour de force and a great hero.
His gathering the super-strength to fight a behemoth, and survive and save the day, is the reason that l am definitely addicted to this series!
Coming up…episode #2…
Four stars. 💫💫💫💫
Alex Hunter, The Arcadian, is a super-soldier with special genetic engineering that helps his strength and his effectiveness as a survivor.
As the leader of the HAWCS, he is very much a combative tour de force and a great hero.
His gathering the super-strength to fight a behemoth, and survive and save the day, is the reason that l am definitely addicted to this series!
Coming up…episode #2…
Four stars. 💫💫💫💫
July 25, 2015
1 Star!!! This book is ridiculous! The premise is just BS!
I mean, sure, I can imagine how having a bullet lodged in your head might unlock neural pathways so instead of using 10% of your brain (if you believe that myth) you're using a whole lot more and maybe that would be very useful as a soldier. Might even amp up the aggression so high you have to go around sniffing green apples to calm down. Yeah - green apples work...apparently. And maybe you could possibly call up enough adrenaline at will to exert a bit more strength and speed. But come on! You're still flesh and blood Alex Hunter! If you had the strength to exert enough force to shift that immovable boulder your bones would still shatter before the rock moves! And seeing in the dark? Like Riddick?
Ok Greig Beck - I'll give you 1.5 stars for making me associate super soldier Alex Hunter with Riddick.
So a plane crashes in Antarctica, making a big hole which reveals a large underground cave system. The US, are keen on the possibility of oil - because there won't be any more oil in ten years right? So not keen on being just over a decade away from driving Flinstones style, the US send in a search and rescue along with a team of scientists to scout about for oil. And then Nada - Nobody hears from them again.
So then they send in the best of the best - Alex (Riddick) Hunter and his Team of elite badasses to try and work out what made people disappear - oh, and don't forget the second team of scientists to go look for oil - strictly as a secondary objective of course.
And then the Russians send in there super soldiers because they want to make sure the Americans run out of oil before they do so they don't want any new oil being discovered. And then in a dozen years they can laugh at the yanks and say "Ha Ha! We have better cars than you do even if the manuals in Russian cars all begin with "Before starting make sure you tighten all nuts and bolts." All good so far.
And then they encounter THIS!
YEAH BABY!!! That bumps you to 2 Stars!
I can't believe I finished this book. As stupid as the premise of Alex Hunter super soldier was I was glued to the pages. I tried to pull my face away but it was stuck to the pages. The story hooked me in with it's tentacles and sucked me into it's maw! The pacing was frenetic. Hardly any dull spots - maybe the Journey to the Centre of the Earth section where they wander about smelling the blood worms was slow for two seconds. But I finished the book. How did that happen?
This is ridiculous. I'm even thinking about reading the next book - that's how ridiculous things have gotten.
That's gotta be worth a grudging
3 stars
I mean, sure, I can imagine how having a bullet lodged in your head might unlock neural pathways so instead of using 10% of your brain (if you believe that myth) you're using a whole lot more and maybe that would be very useful as a soldier. Might even amp up the aggression so high you have to go around sniffing green apples to calm down. Yeah - green apples work...apparently. And maybe you could possibly call up enough adrenaline at will to exert a bit more strength and speed. But come on! You're still flesh and blood Alex Hunter! If you had the strength to exert enough force to shift that immovable boulder your bones would still shatter before the rock moves! And seeing in the dark? Like Riddick?
Ok Greig Beck - I'll give you 1.5 stars for making me associate super soldier Alex Hunter with Riddick.
So a plane crashes in Antarctica, making a big hole which reveals a large underground cave system. The US, are keen on the possibility of oil - because there won't be any more oil in ten years right? So not keen on being just over a decade away from driving Flinstones style, the US send in a search and rescue along with a team of scientists to scout about for oil. And then Nada - Nobody hears from them again.
So then they send in the best of the best - Alex (Riddick) Hunter and his Team of elite badasses to try and work out what made people disappear - oh, and don't forget the second team of scientists to go look for oil - strictly as a secondary objective of course.
And then the Russians send in there super soldiers because they want to make sure the Americans run out of oil before they do so they don't want any new oil being discovered. And then in a dozen years they can laugh at the yanks and say "Ha Ha! We have better cars than you do even if the manuals in Russian cars all begin with "Before starting make sure you tighten all nuts and bolts." All good so far.
And then they encounter THIS!
YEAH BABY!!! That bumps you to 2 Stars!
I can't believe I finished this book. As stupid as the premise of Alex Hunter super soldier was I was glued to the pages. I tried to pull my face away but it was stuck to the pages. The story hooked me in with it's tentacles and sucked me into it's maw! The pacing was frenetic. Hardly any dull spots - maybe the Journey to the Centre of the Earth section where they wander about smelling the blood worms was slow for two seconds. But I finished the book. How did that happen?
This is ridiculous. I'm even thinking about reading the next book - that's how ridiculous things have gotten.
That's gotta be worth a grudging
3 stars
January 15, 2013
Let me preface this review by saying that one of my favorite books of all time is an action/adventure novel set in Antarctica. So I was trying so hard not to compare them. Trying hard (sighs dramatically)!
When you read a new author, there is always that 'getting to know each other' period that can at times be rough. With this book, it was a bit rough. Wasn't sure about the way he told his story. I couldn't get a feel for the characters. Some felt a little thin to me. I told myself to give it a chance. Glad I did. But as I kept reading, I got drawn deeper into this story. This is one of those 'wait for it' type reads. And yes, Beck does deliver.
Warning to the Wise: Stay out of deep caves!
Oh man. It just kept getting worse. I really have an issue with creepy crawly stuff and Beck kept it coming. I had no idea that the storyline would go in this direction. This is one of those books where I was highly vocal as I read. A whole chorus of "Ugh! Yuck! OMG! Ick! That's nasty." You get the idea. I'm a bit claustrophobic and since I don't like creepy-crawly stuff, you definitely won't catch me going into some prehistoric cave after reading this book. I mean, I love animals and nature, but this place was freaky! I like that uncrossable barrier between hidden ecosystems in which humans are scrumptious prey. Very much, thank you! My innate fear of contagion was going crazy in that place!
Alex Hunter. He's the man!
While my true Special Forces literary husband will always be Shane "Scarecrow" Schofield, I have to say that Alex is pretty cool. I love his super-abilities. And he's a very humble kind of guy. He's all about the mission, and he is a protector. Honorable. He's not on some ego trip. I even liked how he had to stop himself from hulking out. That was kind of different--in a good way. I will be reading more of his adventures.
Man, the body count!
This is one of those books where people are dying right and left. And in nasty ways. Oh, that poor guy with the you know whats eating him up. Ugh! It sucked! I liked a lot of characters who didn't make it. And that tool, you know which one I meant, he caused a particularly painful death for one of the guys. He bit the dust in a nasty way, so he didn't get off scot-free. But still, the loser! This is one of those books that you shouldn't get attached to any characters, 'cause you never know....
Cold Settings Are Awesome!
I love cold weather and I have this strange love for Antarctica. I was excited to read another book set there. This book is kind of a cheat in that regard. Because they end up underground and it's warm and like a tropical type (in a really strange way) ecosystem, we don't get a lot of cold weather action. In a way that was cool, because I was not allowed to draw comparisons to my beloved book of all books. If you know me, you know which book I am talking about.
The Adversaries
Don't get me wrong. I love me some Russian characters. But that Uli is such a jerk. I couldn't stand him. A sadistic, evil, horrible, thug. He lacked some depth for me, and I couldn't even think he was a cool villain. He was just a jerk. Like a particularly psychotic schoolyard bully. The whole Russian part didn't really do much for me anyway. I think that it did add some tension to the story, but fundamentally, this is more of a man versus nature conflict story. That part got my attention much more. Ugh, huge slug-monsters and worms. Ick!
Overall Thoughts
This was a good action/adventure novel. While not perfect, it has some things to commend it, namely, creeptastic moments where the characters are pitted against icky prehistoric gross monsters. I liked the high-tech weaponry, especially that gas-projectile gun (very cool). And a pretty cool lead with some awesome abilities. Aimee was very likable too. She knew her stuff and her personality was good. I will read more of this author, and stay my butt out of deep, subterranean caves!
Recommend it with reservations!
When you read a new author, there is always that 'getting to know each other' period that can at times be rough. With this book, it was a bit rough. Wasn't sure about the way he told his story. I couldn't get a feel for the characters. Some felt a little thin to me. I told myself to give it a chance. Glad I did. But as I kept reading, I got drawn deeper into this story. This is one of those 'wait for it' type reads. And yes, Beck does deliver.
Warning to the Wise: Stay out of deep caves!
Oh man. It just kept getting worse. I really have an issue with creepy crawly stuff and Beck kept it coming. I had no idea that the storyline would go in this direction. This is one of those books where I was highly vocal as I read. A whole chorus of "Ugh! Yuck! OMG! Ick! That's nasty." You get the idea. I'm a bit claustrophobic and since I don't like creepy-crawly stuff, you definitely won't catch me going into some prehistoric cave after reading this book. I mean, I love animals and nature, but this place was freaky! I like that uncrossable barrier between hidden ecosystems in which humans are scrumptious prey. Very much, thank you! My innate fear of contagion was going crazy in that place!
Alex Hunter. He's the man!
While my true Special Forces literary husband will always be Shane "Scarecrow" Schofield, I have to say that Alex is pretty cool. I love his super-abilities. And he's a very humble kind of guy. He's all about the mission, and he is a protector. Honorable. He's not on some ego trip. I even liked how he had to stop himself from hulking out. That was kind of different--in a good way. I will be reading more of his adventures.
Man, the body count!
This is one of those books where people are dying right and left. And in nasty ways. Oh, that poor guy with the you know whats eating him up. Ugh! It sucked! I liked a lot of characters who didn't make it. And that tool, you know which one I meant, he caused a particularly painful death for one of the guys. He bit the dust in a nasty way, so he didn't get off scot-free. But still, the loser! This is one of those books that you shouldn't get attached to any characters, 'cause you never know....
Cold Settings Are Awesome!
I love cold weather and I have this strange love for Antarctica. I was excited to read another book set there. This book is kind of a cheat in that regard. Because they end up underground and it's warm and like a tropical type (in a really strange way) ecosystem, we don't get a lot of cold weather action. In a way that was cool, because I was not allowed to draw comparisons to my beloved book of all books. If you know me, you know which book I am talking about.
The Adversaries
Don't get me wrong. I love me some Russian characters. But that Uli is such a jerk. I couldn't stand him. A sadistic, evil, horrible, thug. He lacked some depth for me, and I couldn't even think he was a cool villain. He was just a jerk. Like a particularly psychotic schoolyard bully. The whole Russian part didn't really do much for me anyway. I think that it did add some tension to the story, but fundamentally, this is more of a man versus nature conflict story. That part got my attention much more. Ugh, huge slug-monsters and worms. Ick!
Overall Thoughts
This was a good action/adventure novel. While not perfect, it has some things to commend it, namely, creeptastic moments where the characters are pitted against icky prehistoric gross monsters. I liked the high-tech weaponry, especially that gas-projectile gun (very cool). And a pretty cool lead with some awesome abilities. Aimee was very likable too. She knew her stuff and her personality was good. I will read more of this author, and stay my butt out of deep, subterranean caves!
Recommend it with reservations!
August 10, 2017
Technothriller gun-porn for people who like ancient monsters.
Does it sound like it's up your alley? Then good, this one's pretty decent at what it does. Plenty of action, some political commentary, but what it really has a lot of is super-competence and/or super-powers for its main character.
Alex is a freak of nature thanks to that bullet in his brain. Woo!
Now let's keep him in charge of his team of crack commandos and watch as the scientists they're protecting die in horrible ways deep in the ice. Woo!
Like I said, if this is your cup of tea, it's pretty decent.
If you like more ideas in your SF or you want more magic in your gun-fantasy or if you want sheer terror in your horror, you might want to look a little further afield. This book covers a lot of rather a lot of familiar territory. Even the main characters fit the mold perfectly. There's not a lot of surprises to behold. At all.
But it's Gun-Porn! Woo! It's all about setting the right expectations. :)
Does it sound like it's up your alley? Then good, this one's pretty decent at what it does. Plenty of action, some political commentary, but what it really has a lot of is super-competence and/or super-powers for its main character.
Alex is a freak of nature thanks to that bullet in his brain. Woo!
Now let's keep him in charge of his team of crack commandos and watch as the scientists they're protecting die in horrible ways deep in the ice. Woo!
Like I said, if this is your cup of tea, it's pretty decent.
If you like more ideas in your SF or you want more magic in your gun-fantasy or if you want sheer terror in your horror, you might want to look a little further afield. This book covers a lot of rather a lot of familiar territory. Even the main characters fit the mold perfectly. There's not a lot of surprises to behold. At all.
But it's Gun-Porn! Woo! It's all about setting the right expectations. :)
July 11, 2022
It’s pulp as it’s completely over the top ridiculous at times. But it’s good pulp. An entertaining romp with action from start to finish. Add in a terrifying Kraken haunting the heroes in a scary and claustrophobic ancient cave and you got my attention.
August 10, 2017
Oh boy. 2.5 stars, very generously rounded up
People who know me and my reading habits a little also know that I started liking military thrillers / military scifi as soon as I gave the genre a chance. This was largely thanks to Matthew Reilly, an Australian author who likes his action a liiiiittle over the top but still manages to create cool treasure hunts or fun fighting sequences.
I was told that Greig Beck is like Matthew Reilly and together with the premise of this book (ancient ruins under Antarctica, a VERY old monster lurking there), I was sold. Sadly, it was a complete let-down.
It wasn't BAD per se (in fact, it was still much better than the other military sci-fi book I read this year), but everything just left me cold. Nothing could move me (in a positive way), I didn't like ANY of the characters, the monster was just MEH and I spotted quite a number of things that were either flat-out wrong (things even I know about so an author should know these things too, especially after some research) or supposed to show a character's ignorance - I'm still not entirely sure which of the two.
Anyway, this is a story about Alex Hunter, a member of the elite American special forces team HAWCs (they recruit from the best special forces units and are therefore the uber-special-forces-team because the SEALS or Delta aren't already special enough). Alex has a problem because after an incident in the past (as touched upon in the novella I read prior to this novel), he is left with an increasing rage (he was always "temperamentful" but now it's getting out of hand) and some superpowers like extremely heightened senses, super strength etc.
After a corporate jet crashes in the Antarctic, revealing a vast underground system of caverns, he and his team accompany a team of scientists that investigates the crash site after the initial search-and-rescue team has vanished without a trace. But what they find in the cave beneath Antarctica is even worse than the Russian assassin on Alex's heals (we met this lovely man in the afore-mentioned novella too).
Several things irked me especially:
1) The author didn't bother to research and correctly name tier 1 military groups in the US (the Rangers, for example, are NOT tier 1 but at least one former Ranger is a member of HAWCs despite them only recruiting from tier 1 units).
2) Either a name from the novella was recycled or we're actually talking about the same person who has gotten a different background here as opposed to the novella (I'm talking about ).
3) The scientists portrayed in this have GOT to be the stupidest smart people on the planet. I mean, I get .
4) EVERYONE is a stereo-type and a really bad / unrealistic one at times even. These types of books always have at least some generic characters but even those can be fun if done right. These weren't done right. The soldiers were downright incompetent. Even if they had been fresh recruits, their behaviour would have been a bad joke. Just plain STUPID.
The Russians too, by the way. .
5) The monster. Another big sigh. I like monsters. I like Jules Verne. I like prehistoric animals that have somehow survived even if the science is murky. But this thing ... just too much at the same time.
6) Alex. I get that we need an indestructible superhero. Heck, I enjoyed all those movies with Bruce Willis, Sylvester Stallone and others so I don't really care about a realistic plot. But there were so many lines about this guy that just threw me right out of the story. Like him having only been "average" before the superpowers thing - then why the hell did he get his own team??? Or how he responds to the constant flirting - is what gave him those superpowers a kind of super-viagra too (it wasn't actually that bad but everytime it was even only brushed upon, I immediately got annoyed as hell, also because it seemed the author wanted to cover all his bases and only therefore included it in the book)???
7)
Maybe it was the wooden dialogues or the horrible character interactions. I don't know. In any case, there was no emotional impact (and we're talking about me, the emotional fluffball).
So while lots of people died - and not in nice ways - even the way they died didn't feel right to me at times. *feels cheated*
I liked the pseudo-political commentary about fossil fuels and the international affairs (the different plots of the countries) as well as the claustrophobic feel of the cave/tunnels when they were being hunted. Moreover, I'm a sucker for Olmec and Mayan legends, and versions of the Atlantis and Kraken myths. Since I like archeology and pseudo-science in such books (the more accurate, the better however, and the author didn't always get evolutionary processes right), I also liked the bit about the cephalopods in general as well as the whole discovery/exploration angle (it reminded me a bit of the set-up for the "Alien vs Predator" movie which I also enjoyed), but that alone just wasn't enough to make me really enjoy this.
Bottom line: the author mentioned in the intro that he got compared to, amongst others, Jules Verne. Well, a monster doesn't make you Jules Verne. Sorry. JV was a master in getting technical stuff right so the readers almost couldn't distinguish between reality and fiction, enabling them to immerse themselves so much in those stories. Greig Beck got lots of technical stuff plain wrong (simple stuff that would have been very quick and easy to research). A real shame.
People who know me and my reading habits a little also know that I started liking military thrillers / military scifi as soon as I gave the genre a chance. This was largely thanks to Matthew Reilly, an Australian author who likes his action a liiiiittle over the top but still manages to create cool treasure hunts or fun fighting sequences.
I was told that Greig Beck is like Matthew Reilly and together with the premise of this book (ancient ruins under Antarctica, a VERY old monster lurking there), I was sold. Sadly, it was a complete let-down.
It wasn't BAD per se (in fact, it was still much better than the other military sci-fi book I read this year), but everything just left me cold. Nothing could move me (in a positive way), I didn't like ANY of the characters, the monster was just MEH and I spotted quite a number of things that were either flat-out wrong (things even I know about so an author should know these things too, especially after some research) or supposed to show a character's ignorance - I'm still not entirely sure which of the two.
Anyway, this is a story about Alex Hunter, a member of the elite American special forces team HAWCs (they recruit from the best special forces units and are therefore the uber-special-forces-team because the SEALS or Delta aren't already special enough). Alex has a problem because after an incident in the past (as touched upon in the novella I read prior to this novel), he is left with an increasing rage (he was always "temperamentful" but now it's getting out of hand) and some superpowers like extremely heightened senses, super strength etc.
After a corporate jet crashes in the Antarctic, revealing a vast underground system of caverns, he and his team accompany a team of scientists that investigates the crash site after the initial search-and-rescue team has vanished without a trace. But what they find in the cave beneath Antarctica is even worse than the Russian assassin on Alex's heals (we met this lovely man in the afore-mentioned novella too).
Several things irked me especially:
1) The author didn't bother to research and correctly name tier 1 military groups in the US (the Rangers, for example, are NOT tier 1 but at least one former Ranger is a member of HAWCs despite them only recruiting from tier 1 units).
2) Either a name from the novella was recycled or we're actually talking about the same person who has gotten a different background here as opposed to the novella (I'm talking about ).
3) The scientists portrayed in this have GOT to be the stupidest smart people on the planet. I mean, I get .
4) EVERYONE is a stereo-type and a really bad / unrealistic one at times even. These types of books always have at least some generic characters but even those can be fun if done right. These weren't done right. The soldiers were downright incompetent. Even if they had been fresh recruits, their behaviour would have been a bad joke. Just plain STUPID.
The Russians too, by the way. .
5) The monster. Another big sigh. I like monsters. I like Jules Verne. I like prehistoric animals that have somehow survived even if the science is murky. But this thing ... just too much at the same time.
6) Alex. I get that we need an indestructible superhero. Heck, I enjoyed all those movies with Bruce Willis, Sylvester Stallone and others so I don't really care about a realistic plot. But there were so many lines about this guy that just threw me right out of the story. Like him having only been "average" before the superpowers thing - then why the hell did he get his own team??? Or how he responds to the constant flirting - is what gave him those superpowers a kind of super-viagra too (it wasn't actually that bad but everytime it was even only brushed upon, I immediately got annoyed as hell, also because it seemed the author wanted to cover all his bases and only therefore included it in the book)???
7)
Maybe it was the wooden dialogues or the horrible character interactions. I don't know. In any case, there was no emotional impact (and we're talking about me, the emotional fluffball).
So while lots of people died - and not in nice ways - even the way they died didn't feel right to me at times. *feels cheated*
I liked the pseudo-political commentary about fossil fuels and the international affairs (the different plots of the countries) as well as the claustrophobic feel of the cave/tunnels when they were being hunted. Moreover, I'm a sucker for Olmec and Mayan legends, and versions of the Atlantis and Kraken myths. Since I like archeology and pseudo-science in such books (the more accurate, the better however, and the author didn't always get evolutionary processes right), I also liked the bit about the cephalopods in general as well as the whole discovery/exploration angle (it reminded me a bit of the set-up for the "Alien vs Predator" movie which I also enjoyed), but that alone just wasn't enough to make me really enjoy this.
Bottom line: the author mentioned in the intro that he got compared to, amongst others, Jules Verne. Well, a monster doesn't make you Jules Verne. Sorry. JV was a master in getting technical stuff right so the readers almost couldn't distinguish between reality and fiction, enabling them to immerse themselves so much in those stories. Greig Beck got lots of technical stuff plain wrong (simple stuff that would have been very quick and easy to research). A real shame.
August 10, 2017
3.5
Are you in need of an adventure story? Well, this first novel relating Alex Hunter's exploits should hit the spot. We have thrilling action scenes, each more convoluted than the previous one, extreme conditions, and danger lurking everywhere.
Beck obviously loved the old classics from Edgar Rice Burroughs, Jules Verne and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, with a pinch of Lovecraft, and used all of this, adding a little sprinkling of scifi/horror and a lot of military story. It creates an explosive mixture, but you'll need to suspend your disbelief in order to enjoy it.
All the characters are stereotyped and yet, you can't help but warm up to this mottled crew (not Silex, of course) and wonder who is going to survive. In a similar fashion to all those monster and disaster films, you know people are going to be picked one by one, but in what order and in what manner is still compelling. The plot is thin too but really I didn't mind - I was having too much fun...
N.B. I do recommend to read the prequel novella - Arcadian Genesis - about Alex as it will make his skills more 'believable', ish :O)
Are you in need of an adventure story? Well, this first novel relating Alex Hunter's exploits should hit the spot. We have thrilling action scenes, each more convoluted than the previous one, extreme conditions, and danger lurking everywhere.
Beck obviously loved the old classics from Edgar Rice Burroughs, Jules Verne and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, with a pinch of Lovecraft, and used all of this, adding a little sprinkling of scifi/horror and a lot of military story. It creates an explosive mixture, but you'll need to suspend your disbelief in order to enjoy it.
All the characters are stereotyped and yet, you can't help but warm up to this mottled crew (not Silex, of course) and wonder who is going to survive. In a similar fashion to all those monster and disaster films, you know people are going to be picked one by one, but in what order and in what manner is still compelling. The plot is thin too but really I didn't mind - I was having too much fun...
N.B. I do recommend to read the prequel novella - Arcadian Genesis - about Alex as it will make his skills more 'believable', ish :O)
June 30, 2022
Greig Beck has a gift for making whole primordial worlds come to life. This one can be found in Antarctica deep in a cave network where there are just a ton of nasty surprises. The excuse for the expedition is the loss of a tycoon when his plane crashes into the ice over Antarctica, but the real reason for the expedition seems to be a quest for oil on the seventh continent. Unfortunately for the scientists and military men sent on the expedition, there’s a whole world down beneath the ice and it’s filled with hostile creatures. And just in case we forget that it’s Beck writing this, there are also hostile humans determined to make things even more deadly than this bizarre aberration of nature has already made things.
As you read, it’s important to keep in mind that this is a whole underground world. So it’s not just the big bad monster that stalks the heroes from beginning to end (and believe me, that would have made this book super creepy and scary enough), but it’s a host of other predators that live and compete in this isolated ecosphere and are only too happy to discover if humans make a tasty treat. Every chapter is filled with suspense and danger—a problem made more acute by the impact of the stress on the various members of the group making people untrustworthy just at the moment that they most need to pull together.
If I have a complaint, and I’m not certain that I do, I think it is in the discovery of a sort of proto civilization—the granddaddy of all our ancient civilizations—beneath the Antarctic ice. This civilization provides a tremendous amount of interesting information on the big bad monster, but it’s that information that bothered me. Much of it comes in the form of carvings that the archaeologist in the group translates with remarkable ease. I’m not saying he instantly knows everything he’s seeing, but it’s my understanding that ancient writing of this sort is not easy to decipher and takes a long time to actually carve into the stone. And I’m not certain that much of the carvings (tracing the journey of two brothers ten thousand years earlier) could have been written this way. Remember, Jules Verne only had Arne Saknussemm leave his initials and the date to mark his journey—not whole accounts of the adventures of two ancient heroes. So, I don’t think that part of the story holds up, but it is a very small complaint in a long and exciting adventure.
If you liked this review, you can find more at www.gilbertstack.com/reviews.
As you read, it’s important to keep in mind that this is a whole underground world. So it’s not just the big bad monster that stalks the heroes from beginning to end (and believe me, that would have made this book super creepy and scary enough), but it’s a host of other predators that live and compete in this isolated ecosphere and are only too happy to discover if humans make a tasty treat. Every chapter is filled with suspense and danger—a problem made more acute by the impact of the stress on the various members of the group making people untrustworthy just at the moment that they most need to pull together.
If I have a complaint, and I’m not certain that I do, I think it is in the discovery of a sort of proto civilization—the granddaddy of all our ancient civilizations—beneath the Antarctic ice. This civilization provides a tremendous amount of interesting information on the big bad monster, but it’s that information that bothered me. Much of it comes in the form of carvings that the archaeologist in the group translates with remarkable ease. I’m not saying he instantly knows everything he’s seeing, but it’s my understanding that ancient writing of this sort is not easy to decipher and takes a long time to actually carve into the stone. And I’m not certain that much of the carvings (tracing the journey of two brothers ten thousand years earlier) could have been written this way. Remember, Jules Verne only had Arne Saknussemm leave his initials and the date to mark his journey—not whole accounts of the adventures of two ancient heroes. So, I don’t think that part of the story holds up, but it is a very small complaint in a long and exciting adventure.
If you liked this review, you can find more at www.gilbertstack.com/reviews.
May 13, 2015
En la Antártida, se ha estrellado una avioneta, descubriendo con su colisión un laberinto de cuevas ancestrales. Tras este suceso, un grupo de científicos, encabezado por Tom Hendsen, especializado en biología y combustibles fósiles, y 28 boinas verdes, se trasladan a la zona del impacto. Pero horas después se ha perdido el contacto con este grupo. Tras estos sucesos, el gobierno estadounidense decide enviar un grupo más especializado para determinar qué ha sucedido exactamente con los desaparecidos, así como para seguir investigando la posible existencia de fuentes de combustible fósil. Este grupo lo conforman Aimee Weir, una bióloga, alumna de Hendsen, un petrobiólogo, una espeleóloga, un arqueólogo, dos doctores, y cinco soldados HAWC, una unidad de élite capitaneada por Alex Hunter, un supersoldado con el nombre en clave Arcadia. Sin embargo, no estarán preparados para lo que encontrarán a su llegada a la Antártida.
‘Proyecto Arcadia’ (Beneath the Dark Ice, 2009), del australiano Greig Beck, es una espectacular aventura, frenética, que no da respiro al lector en ningún momento, de modo que sus 300 páginas se leen de un tirón. Mezcla de ciencia ficción, tecnothriller, terror y aventura, abunda sobre todo en esta última. Tiene toques de ‘En las montañas de la locura’, de Lovecraft, y también de Jules Verne y H.G. Wells, así como ciertas reminiscencias de películas como ‘Depredador’ o ‘Alien’. Añadir también, que esta es la primera novela de una serie protagonizada por Alex Hunter.
En definitiva, acción, aventuras y algo de terror, en una historia muy disfrutable.
‘Proyecto Arcadia’ (Beneath the Dark Ice, 2009), del australiano Greig Beck, es una espectacular aventura, frenética, que no da respiro al lector en ningún momento, de modo que sus 300 páginas se leen de un tirón. Mezcla de ciencia ficción, tecnothriller, terror y aventura, abunda sobre todo en esta última. Tiene toques de ‘En las montañas de la locura’, de Lovecraft, y también de Jules Verne y H.G. Wells, así como ciertas reminiscencias de películas como ‘Depredador’ o ‘Alien’. Añadir también, que esta es la primera novela de una serie protagonizada por Alex Hunter.
En definitiva, acción, aventuras y algo de terror, en una historia muy disfrutable.
January 12, 2021
মোটামুটি, খারাপ না। তবে খুব অসাধারণও কিছু লাগেনি। মাঝখানে অনেকটাই একঘেয়ে হয়ে গিয়েছিল, কেভিং কেভিং কেভিং ট্র্যাকিং ট্র্যাকিং ট্র্যাকিং। কিছুটা গায়ের জোরেই পড়ে শেষ করলাম (বহুদিন পরে এমন জোরপূর্বক বই শেষ করতে হল! আমি সাধারণত যে বইটা ধরি সেটা না শেষ করে ছাড়ি না)। যদিও ক্লাইমেক্সটা বেশ ভালই ছিল মধ্যবর্তী অংশের তুলনায় তাই শেষে এসে পোষায় গেছে কিছুটা, অন্তত একটা পার্শ্বচরিত্রের অপ্রত্যাশিত মৃত্যু আমাকে চমকে দিতে পেরেছিল।
গ্রেগ বেকের রিসার্চবেজড ও অ্যাডভেঞ্চার বেজড সিকোয়েন্সগুলো ভাল লেগেছে, কিন্তু ক্যারেক্টারাইজেশন আর ডায়লগ অতিশয় দূর্বল, ইমোশনাল ইম্প্যাক্টও যেখানে যতটুকু প্রয়োজন ছিল দিতে পারেন��ি, বিশেষত পার্শ্বচরিত্রদের একে একে ভীতিকর সব উপায় মারা যাবার ঘটনাগুলোতে, তাই মনে দাগ কাটতে পারেনি বা ধাক্কা লাগেনি সেভাবে। আন্ডারগ্রাউন্ড কেভ টানেলের অন্ধকার, ভয়ঙ্করত্ব আর ক্লাস্ট্রোফোবিয়া ভাল মত তুলে ধরতে পেরেছিলেন, সেই সাথে কাহিনীর মূল ঋনাত্মক চরিত্র পর্বতপ্রমাণ দানবীয় প্রাগৈতিহাসিক স্কুইডজাতীয় প্রাণীটার বিরতিহীন আক্রমণ ও ধাওয়ার আতঙ্ক... কিন্তু পুরো কাহিনীতে সেরকম হিউম্যান ভিলেন ও অ্যাকশনের অভাব খুব বোধ করেছি। কেন্দ্রীয় চরিত্র হিসেবে ক্যাপ্টেন অ্যালেক্স হান্টার খারাপ না, মার্ভেলের ক্যাপ্টেন আমেরিকার মত সুপারসোলজার টাইপ সুপারপাওয়ার-ওয়ালা চরিত্র, সাথে স্পাইডারম্যানের স্পাইডিসেন্স আর উলভেরিনের রিজেনারেটিভ এবিলিটির মিশ্রণ। তবে চরিত্রটা তেমন ইন্টারেস্টিংও না যতটা হওয়া উচিত ছিল, অনেকটাই কাঠখোট্টা টাইপ।
এই বইটা গ্রেগ বেকের প্রথম বই কিনা শিওর না, যদি হয়ে থাকে তাহলে আশা করছি প্রথম বইতে লেখনির এইসব দূর্বলতাগুলোকে তিনি পরের বইগুলোতে কাটিয়ে উঠতে পেরেছেন। সবমিলিয়ে টাইমপাস অ্যাডভেঞ্চার উপন্যাস হিসেবে চলে আর কি। আমার রেটিং ৫ এ ৩।
গ্রেগ বেকের রিসার্চবেজড ও অ্যাডভেঞ্চার বেজড সিকোয়েন্সগুলো ভাল লেগেছে, কিন্তু ক্যারেক্টারাইজেশন আর ডায়লগ অতিশয় দূর্বল, ইমোশনাল ইম্প্যাক্টও যেখানে যতটুকু প্রয়োজন ছিল দিতে পারেন��ি, বিশেষত পার্শ্বচরিত্রদের একে একে ভীতিকর সব উপায় মারা যাবার ঘটনাগুলোতে, তাই মনে দাগ কাটতে পারেনি বা ধাক্কা লাগেনি সেভাবে। আন্ডারগ্রাউন্ড কেভ টানেলের অন্ধকার, ভয়ঙ্করত্ব আর ক্লাস্ট্রোফোবিয়া ভাল মত তুলে ধরতে পেরেছিলেন, সেই সাথে কাহিনীর মূল ঋনাত্মক চরিত্র পর্বতপ্রমাণ দানবীয় প্রাগৈতিহাসিক স্কুইডজাতীয় প্রাণীটার বিরতিহীন আক্রমণ ও ধাওয়ার আতঙ্ক... কিন্তু পুরো কাহিনীতে সেরকম হিউম্যান ভিলেন ও অ্যাকশনের অভাব খুব বোধ করেছি। কেন্দ্রীয় চরিত্র হিসেবে ক্যাপ্টেন অ্যালেক্স হান্টার খারাপ না, মার্ভেলের ক্যাপ্টেন আমেরিকার মত সুপারসোলজার টাইপ সুপারপাওয়ার-ওয়ালা চরিত্র, সাথে স্পাইডারম্যানের স্পাইডিসেন্স আর উলভেরিনের রিজেনারেটিভ এবিলিটির মিশ্রণ। তবে চরিত্রটা তেমন ইন্টারেস্টিংও না যতটা হওয়া উচিত ছিল, অনেকটাই কাঠখোট্টা টাইপ।
এই বইটা গ্রেগ বেকের প্রথম বই কিনা শিওর না, যদি হয়ে থাকে তাহলে আশা করছি প্রথম বইতে লেখনির এইসব দূর্বলতাগুলোকে তিনি পরের বইগুলোতে কাটিয়ে উঠতে পেরেছেন। সবমিলিয়ে টাইমপাস অ্যাডভেঞ্চার উপন্যাস হিসেবে চলে আর কি। আমার রেটিং ৫ এ ৩।
November 16, 2015
This is a fast action thriller that if you are going to enjoy you must remember that it is fiction not science. When a group of scientists and special ops officers go missing in the artic while on a discovery mission, another and the next best crew are sent after them on a rescue/recovery mission.
What starts out as a rescue quickly becomes an adventure of survival miles under the ice cap. The scientists and soldiers alike are amazed and horrified by the entities they encounter, many who may have, most likely, not seen the light of day for eons. Jurassic Park in the Dark is what it reminded me of, a very primitive place where man is not the top of the food chain.
If you can check science at the door and open your mind to a 007 like character, this expedition may be for you.
What starts out as a rescue quickly becomes an adventure of survival miles under the ice cap. The scientists and soldiers alike are amazed and horrified by the entities they encounter, many who may have, most likely, not seen the light of day for eons. Jurassic Park in the Dark is what it reminded me of, a very primitive place where man is not the top of the food chain.
If you can check science at the door and open your mind to a 007 like character, this expedition may be for you.
January 21, 2023
Milfic, Antarctica, caves, darkness, something scary in those caves, people mysteriously disappearing without a trace. A search-and-rescue party is sent with some scientists and some badass soldiers. You get the picture. Pure brain candy/pulp fiction. Speed, action and a high and regular body count.
I don‘t know if a bullet lodged in the brain could really lead to the skills described here. Sounds a bit too fantastical. Anyway, suspending disbelief.
I could have done without the stereotypic cookie-cutter bad guy and the crazy scientist, but unfortunately these characters are regulars in these pulp-fiction horror/milfic novels. I am also wondering about some other things happening in the book, but mentioning them would be too spoilerish.
If you are a fan of Center-of-the-Earth stories, caving and creature features, this is a fun choice. For what it was, it was an entertaining read. 🦑🦑🦑🦑 for this one!
I don‘t know if a bullet lodged in the brain could really lead to the skills described here. Sounds a bit too fantastical. Anyway, suspending disbelief.
I could have done without the stereotypic cookie-cutter bad guy and the crazy scientist, but unfortunately these characters are regulars in these pulp-fiction horror/milfic novels. I am also wondering about some other things happening in the book, but mentioning them would be too spoilerish.
If you are a fan of Center-of-the-Earth stories, caving and creature features, this is a fun choice. For what it was, it was an entertaining read. 🦑🦑🦑🦑 for this one!
January 20, 2013
This review is written to satisfy suggested guidelines for "Group Discussion" as a "Group Read" in the Action Adventure Aficionados Discussion Group. It may not conform to a review format that your used to.
1. What did you think of the beginning?
I felt the beginning was a bit rushed, and the sense of urgency whisked us off into the story without much information. That’s par for the course with action/adventure stories so that makes it par for the course. I would have liked more information on Aimee and Tom as well as the other “Red-Shirts” in the HAWC team. We got a couple of them hung around well into the story. They kind of seemed like shadows in the beginning.
Still, it was par for the course and went smoothly enough. I’d give it a B- which is well better than passable.
Did it set a tone for an action-packed book?
I think it more set the cadence for the book. This is going to be fast paced, get ready, on your mark GO! I think it left more questions in my mind that answers I might have liked to start the story with.
Did the rest live up to it?
Absolutely not. It just kept getting better and better, so, I’d say the rest exceeded my expectations from the way it started.
2. How about the characters?
That said, the Human, wounded side of Hunter came across as pretty cool to me. I liked the “overcoming adversity theme.”
Aimee could have had a more prominent role, but I loved it when I was never sure what he relationship with Tom was supposed to be, and, it didn’t matter. I approve of the way she was written in general, equally important compared to the other “cubes” and “redshirts” but nobody was on par with Alex Hunter.
Monica - She’s okay…. (blink).
Matt – Cute nerdy kid with a crush on the hottie cave crawler. He worked for me. .
Tank - wish we could have known more about him. He turned out to be a very cool (as in fun to read) character.
Monster – liked the monster. Very scary, cunning, frightening and cool.
Assorted Cubes and Red-shirts – They worked well enough for me.
Mostly the cast worked for me. The HAWCs were interesting and we didn’t get to attached to any of them but Tank. I’m not so sure the dude with the katana was worth the image since he didn’t get a chance to use it.
Despite negative comments here, overall, for an Action/Adventure story, I’d give the characters a B.
Were they vivid and real-life?
Alex was “Larger than life” almost like a comic book character and the HAWCs came across as “Shades of Alex Hunter.” The rest were very talented and capable people that came across as real life. It was interesting that I learned most of what I liked about them along the way, rather than in a pre-programed data dump as they were introduced. To me that’s a good thing. So often the supporting cast are data –dump introduced and cardboard cutout characters by function. These guys were the opposite it seemed like but that’s par for the course.
Did you root for them in their struggles?
Yes. No doubt. I liked the HAWC Team and the Civilian counterparts. The Russians were cool, everybody needs a bad guy and, Russians are into corporate espionage now. Since the Communist Party Government folded, the KGB had to work somewhere. By the middle of the book, I enjoyed knowing everybody (left) whom I was supposed to be cheering for.
3. Overall plotting and storyline--Did this work for you?
Yes. It’s pretty standard Action-Adventure fare and it worked well. Kind of Matt Riely’s Ice Station meets Rollins Subterranean yet it managed to forge new ground with the monster. The pace was pretty fast and there was a lot of action. The sub-plot of Alex Hunter wasn’t as impressive (that alone gets maybe a C+ or a B- from me) but taken with the rest of it I’d give it a solid B-B+ which, for me compairs nicely with other books from the same genre.
There could have been a little more complexity, but, in general I’m not sure where or how. There was a sub-plot we didn’t get fully explained with the Russians (not the Alex-Rostov story but something else) and, it went okay. The scientific Data supports Antarctica’s ice cap melting until the land beneath was exposed, the rest of it, why not? Most A/A writers have written something like that in a story somewhere. I wanted more information because I liked what I read so, that’s one of those good things that sounds bad coming from me.
What did you think of the story?
I think it’s a good fun Action Adventure story told in a more traditional-modern action-adventure style that will likely never get old. At times it read like a comic book, in ways that are good if you like comic books (which I do) in others it reminded me of a host of sci-fi movies of similar plot and make up. The pace was fast and the villains scary-fun both beasties and humans. I could have lived without Super-Alex, but even that was well balanced by such a powerful monster that kept them all on the run. I think it qualifies for the terms “adrenalin pumping and heart racing” adventure story. There is room to grow Alex Hunter’s story in both directions (before and after this one) and, an opportunity to make a pitch for TBI in military veterans getting the care that they need mixed into a story that anyone who likes action stories can enjoy.
The love-story angle was too “light” and unresolved, it was working for me, but for some reason, I just can’t see Alex Hunter on a date. So, if you’re in the “yuk, romance, ew-girl-stuff club with Spanky and Alfalpha (yes, that’s a “Little Rascals” reference not one for “kinky health food”) this will not bother you. If you have a soft chewy caramel center, you might think this left some room for romance without it being intrusive.
Fun story, make a good show.
4. Any take home themes you got from this book?
Sexy hard bodied young people in spandex can work anywhere…even in the arctic!
Aside from that, I don’t know about any themes. I think there is room for a “wounded warrior” theme with Alex Hunter, but I didn't get that here. Hell, this is Action Adventure pseudo-sci-fi who needs a message?
5. What did you like best about this book?
The writing. Specifically, I liked the way the characters grew into people as I read it even though it started with cardboard cut outs. By mid book the main characters separated themselves from the Cubes into the “Red-Shirts” and I liked that I was surprised who was left at the 75% mark.
Least?
That’s hard to say. I can comment negatively on all sorts of stuff, but the truth is nothing stands out as “I can’t stand it bad.” Probably I would say Alex Hunter’s Super-Human-ness. I think it might have also made room for a more complete and salient relationship between Alex Hunter and Aimee.
Why?
It wasn’t necessary. He could have managed everything he managed if he was just a very savvy, alert, intelligent (wounded) special forces soldier. I just felt the hints at romance were kind of revealed as a tease. Preston and Childs proved that you can have sexy characters, no sex and no romantic relationships and still get your story to work great in Reliquary. I don’t like the hints. I don’t mind Romance. I don’t need it in an AA story. I enjoy it if it’s there. Just don’t tease the bears.
6. Overall rating out of 5 stars?
Let’s see.. hmm…. Carry the one… divide by… add in bonus points so… I’ll mark it at 4 stars (for the benefit of the doubt) and rate it at 3.5. (which is a good score from me, if you have followed my reviews.)
It was a lot of fun to read and, not strikingly different than other books in the same genre. A lot of fun goes a long way. I’m up for the next one. (I should also note that I see lots of room for the characters to grow and become very interesting in the next book(s)…the few that are left that is.
3.5 Stars (rate at 4 for lots of potential)
7. Would you read any other books from this author?
Definitely. I’d like to see where this goes for at least another book or so.
8. Books like this you'd recommend?
This is in keeping with Matthew Riely’s Scarecrow series, James Rollins Sigma Force (though not as complicated) and Andy McDermott’s Atlantis series. It has potential to lean towards more military oriented action adventure stories like Ludlum and Lynds Code Red One series or more espionage related stories but I would point out that it’s not as “complicated” in the plot department as those guys.
Bottom line, despite what this might look like, I liked the book. It’s an easy read, professional publisher quality (which means I don’t see much of a distinction between being an I-pub and any other book run through the publishing mill). It has a fast pace and fun characters and it’s really fun to read.
1. What did you think of the beginning?
I felt the beginning was a bit rushed, and the sense of urgency whisked us off into the story without much information. That’s par for the course with action/adventure stories so that makes it par for the course. I would have liked more information on Aimee and Tom as well as the other “Red-Shirts” in the HAWC team. We got a couple of them hung around well into the story. They kind of seemed like shadows in the beginning.
Still, it was par for the course and went smoothly enough. I’d give it a B- which is well better than passable.
Did it set a tone for an action-packed book?
I think it more set the cadence for the book. This is going to be fast paced, get ready, on your mark GO! I think it left more questions in my mind that answers I might have liked to start the story with.
Did the rest live up to it?
Absolutely not. It just kept getting better and better, so, I’d say the rest exceeded my expectations from the way it started.
2. How about the characters?
That said, the Human, wounded side of Hunter came across as pretty cool to me. I liked the “overcoming adversity theme.”
Aimee could have had a more prominent role, but I loved it when I was never sure what he relationship with Tom was supposed to be, and, it didn’t matter. I approve of the way she was written in general, equally important compared to the other “cubes” and “redshirts” but nobody was on par with Alex Hunter.
Monica - She’s okay…. (blink).
Matt – Cute nerdy kid with a crush on the hottie cave crawler. He worked for me. .
Tank - wish we could have known more about him. He turned out to be a very cool (as in fun to read) character.
Monster – liked the monster. Very scary, cunning, frightening and cool.
Assorted Cubes and Red-shirts – They worked well enough for me.
Mostly the cast worked for me. The HAWCs were interesting and we didn’t get to attached to any of them but Tank. I’m not so sure the dude with the katana was worth the image since he didn’t get a chance to use it.
Despite negative comments here, overall, for an Action/Adventure story, I’d give the characters a B.
Were they vivid and real-life?
Alex was “Larger than life” almost like a comic book character and the HAWCs came across as “Shades of Alex Hunter.” The rest were very talented and capable people that came across as real life. It was interesting that I learned most of what I liked about them along the way, rather than in a pre-programed data dump as they were introduced. To me that’s a good thing. So often the supporting cast are data –dump introduced and cardboard cutout characters by function. These guys were the opposite it seemed like but that’s par for the course.
Did you root for them in their struggles?
Yes. No doubt. I liked the HAWC Team and the Civilian counterparts. The Russians were cool, everybody needs a bad guy and, Russians are into corporate espionage now. Since the Communist Party Government folded, the KGB had to work somewhere. By the middle of the book, I enjoyed knowing everybody (left) whom I was supposed to be cheering for.
3. Overall plotting and storyline--Did this work for you?
Yes. It’s pretty standard Action-Adventure fare and it worked well. Kind of Matt Riely’s Ice Station meets Rollins Subterranean yet it managed to forge new ground with the monster. The pace was pretty fast and there was a lot of action. The sub-plot of Alex Hunter wasn’t as impressive (that alone gets maybe a C+ or a B- from me) but taken with the rest of it I’d give it a solid B-B+ which, for me compairs nicely with other books from the same genre.
There could have been a little more complexity, but, in general I’m not sure where or how. There was a sub-plot we didn’t get fully explained with the Russians (not the Alex-Rostov story but something else) and, it went okay. The scientific Data supports Antarctica’s ice cap melting until the land beneath was exposed, the rest of it, why not? Most A/A writers have written something like that in a story somewhere. I wanted more information because I liked what I read so, that’s one of those good things that sounds bad coming from me.
What did you think of the story?
I think it’s a good fun Action Adventure story told in a more traditional-modern action-adventure style that will likely never get old. At times it read like a comic book, in ways that are good if you like comic books (which I do) in others it reminded me of a host of sci-fi movies of similar plot and make up. The pace was fast and the villains scary-fun both beasties and humans. I could have lived without Super-Alex, but even that was well balanced by such a powerful monster that kept them all on the run. I think it qualifies for the terms “adrenalin pumping and heart racing” adventure story. There is room to grow Alex Hunter’s story in both directions (before and after this one) and, an opportunity to make a pitch for TBI in military veterans getting the care that they need mixed into a story that anyone who likes action stories can enjoy.
The love-story angle was too “light” and unresolved, it was working for me, but for some reason, I just can’t see Alex Hunter on a date. So, if you’re in the “yuk, romance, ew-girl-stuff club with Spanky and Alfalpha (yes, that’s a “Little Rascals” reference not one for “kinky health food”) this will not bother you. If you have a soft chewy caramel center, you might think this left some room for romance without it being intrusive.
Fun story, make a good show.
4. Any take home themes you got from this book?
Sexy hard bodied young people in spandex can work anywhere…even in the arctic!
Aside from that, I don’t know about any themes. I think there is room for a “wounded warrior” theme with Alex Hunter, but I didn't get that here. Hell, this is Action Adventure pseudo-sci-fi who needs a message?
5. What did you like best about this book?
The writing. Specifically, I liked the way the characters grew into people as I read it even though it started with cardboard cut outs. By mid book the main characters separated themselves from the Cubes into the “Red-Shirts” and I liked that I was surprised who was left at the 75% mark.
Least?
That’s hard to say. I can comment negatively on all sorts of stuff, but the truth is nothing stands out as “I can’t stand it bad.” Probably I would say Alex Hunter’s Super-Human-ness. I think it might have also made room for a more complete and salient relationship between Alex Hunter and Aimee.
Why?
It wasn’t necessary. He could have managed everything he managed if he was just a very savvy, alert, intelligent (wounded) special forces soldier. I just felt the hints at romance were kind of revealed as a tease. Preston and Childs proved that you can have sexy characters, no sex and no romantic relationships and still get your story to work great in Reliquary. I don’t like the hints. I don’t mind Romance. I don’t need it in an AA story. I enjoy it if it’s there. Just don’t tease the bears.
6. Overall rating out of 5 stars?
Let’s see.. hmm…. Carry the one… divide by… add in bonus points so… I’ll mark it at 4 stars (for the benefit of the doubt) and rate it at 3.5. (which is a good score from me, if you have followed my reviews.)
It was a lot of fun to read and, not strikingly different than other books in the same genre. A lot of fun goes a long way. I’m up for the next one. (I should also note that I see lots of room for the characters to grow and become very interesting in the next book(s)…the few that are left that is.
3.5 Stars (rate at 4 for lots of potential)
7. Would you read any other books from this author?
Definitely. I’d like to see where this goes for at least another book or so.
8. Books like this you'd recommend?
This is in keeping with Matthew Riely’s Scarecrow series, James Rollins Sigma Force (though not as complicated) and Andy McDermott’s Atlantis series. It has potential to lean towards more military oriented action adventure stories like Ludlum and Lynds Code Red One series or more espionage related stories but I would point out that it’s not as “complicated” in the plot department as those guys.
Bottom line, despite what this might look like, I liked the book. It’s an easy read, professional publisher quality (which means I don’t see much of a distinction between being an I-pub and any other book run through the publishing mill). It has a fast pace and fun characters and it’s really fun to read.
January 6, 2012
I have several complaints about this book. Firstly the author displays a severe lack of knowledge in regards to the technical detail he raises in the book. Second a complete lack of knowledge of military structure in regards to the relationship between different units and ranks. Third I found the writing style very start stop, with jarring pauses in the story for clumsy descriptive moments (think Fennimore Coopers last of the Mohicans). Fourth there were several pretty illogical leaps.
In terms of the third complaint, I suppose that is something that will improve as he writes more novels. In regards to my first and second however, I found it pretty insulting really. You could go to a public library and find out what the relationship is between Navy SEALS and Green Berets. Instead he just made up some 'level of training' trash, where SF are at 2nd level and when you progress to some other level you become a SEAL. Just ridiculous.
Technical descriptions of weapons systems showed a parroting of technical information with no actual understanding of what
It meant. Understanding of evolutionary processes were also poor and at times incorrect.
I listened to this as an audio book which included an authors intro. He mentioned in that that he had been compared to Jules Verne. Well, one thing Verne was exceptional at was a technical understanding of that of which he wrote. This kind of accuracy allows the reader to suspend disbelief for the fantastic parts as they fit into an otherwise believable world. Beck fails completely at this. By giving a fantastic (and farcical) description of things that are real and require no imagination, when he gets to the fantastic parts I've already said "this guy doesn't know what he's talking about" and he leaves me wondering why I would like to listen to the imaginings of someone who understands so little of which he writes.
In terms of the third complaint, I suppose that is something that will improve as he writes more novels. In regards to my first and second however, I found it pretty insulting really. You could go to a public library and find out what the relationship is between Navy SEALS and Green Berets. Instead he just made up some 'level of training' trash, where SF are at 2nd level and when you progress to some other level you become a SEAL. Just ridiculous.
Technical descriptions of weapons systems showed a parroting of technical information with no actual understanding of what
It meant. Understanding of evolutionary processes were also poor and at times incorrect.
I listened to this as an audio book which included an authors intro. He mentioned in that that he had been compared to Jules Verne. Well, one thing Verne was exceptional at was a technical understanding of that of which he wrote. This kind of accuracy allows the reader to suspend disbelief for the fantastic parts as they fit into an otherwise believable world. Beck fails completely at this. By giving a fantastic (and farcical) description of things that are real and require no imagination, when he gets to the fantastic parts I've already said "this guy doesn't know what he's talking about" and he leaves me wondering why I would like to listen to the imaginings of someone who understands so little of which he writes.
July 23, 2012
I remember first looking for a new author and I read the back of under the dark ice.
Having been an avid reader of another Australian author I thought at first glance there were some comparisons to another book based in Antarctica and so, I put the book back on the shelf for about another 12 months or more.
Then out of intrigue I finally bought it. (well actually more boredom from no other books that interest me, but anyway.)
Wow. What a great first book. I quickly dismissed any previous assumptions I held in regards to the content.
I have now read your books a number of times and am waiting excitedly for your next instalment.
I disagree with some of the reviews. i dont buy a FICTION book to be dazzled by technical exactness.
I buy fiction for a quick escape from reality and this book did exactly that.
I think the character development has come with the next books and for someone looking for a great read then i recommend this whole heartly.
Having been an avid reader of another Australian author I thought at first glance there were some comparisons to another book based in Antarctica and so, I put the book back on the shelf for about another 12 months or more.
Then out of intrigue I finally bought it. (well actually more boredom from no other books that interest me, but anyway.)
Wow. What a great first book. I quickly dismissed any previous assumptions I held in regards to the content.
I have now read your books a number of times and am waiting excitedly for your next instalment.
I disagree with some of the reviews. i dont buy a FICTION book to be dazzled by technical exactness.
I buy fiction for a quick escape from reality and this book did exactly that.
I think the character development has come with the next books and for someone looking for a great read then i recommend this whole heartly.
June 3, 2021
I have a friend who’s been recommending Greig Beck’s books to me for a while. They knew he has a tendency to bring together a lot of elements I like. So, based on their recommendation, I finally gave one of his earliest books a try. Beneath the Dark Ice is the first in a series of books featuring protagonist Alex Hunter. The plot, story, themes, and initial idea behind this book were pretty great. The execution, on the other hand, was a little wobbly and uneven.
A plane carrying a CEO and some of his executives crashes in Antarctica. On impact, it exposes a massive cave and slides down into the icy maw. A rescue team is dispatched, but shortly after they go down into the cave they also disappear. Enter Captain Alex Hunter, his team of commandos, petrobiologist Aimee Weir, and the usual assortment of other scientific experts who always seem to be dispatched when such things happen in a novel.
This book has a lot of things going on which I typically enjoy in a good beach read. There are strange disappearances, adventure to exotic places, a strange lost civilization, nods to a great historical mystery (in this case Roanoke Island), a terrifying primordial monster (in this case a giant cephalopod), blood and guts gore caused by said monster, tension (will they make it?), body horror (worms!), slimy impersonators, cool technology, an insane Russian or two, and reverential nods to Lovecraft (did I mention the giant cephalopod?). If there are any movie producers reading, this is basically my dream movie right here. It is exceptionally rare to find all these elements together in one place.
Beck’s writing style is solid enough. There are times when the prose is slightly choppy and uneven. But let's be honest, this isn't the sort of a book you pick up because you want to feel classy and refined. This is a testosterone-fueled romp through the great mysteries of the unknown. This is the paperback you bring to the beach, maybe hide the cover of from those around you, and enjoy the hell out of.
The biggest weakness in the novel, in my opinion, is the protagonist. I'm not going to lie, I found myself groaning and eye rolling a lot over our story’s hero, Alex Hunter. In his backstory, he was shot in the head by a Chechen operative and survived. The brain damage inexplicably “unlocked neural pathways” that resulted in fundamental systemic changes which are hard to justify and often a bit silly. He is now able to lift large boulders (neural changes affect bone density?), see in total darkness (think Riddick), observe heat fluctuations on people's skin (infrared vision?), and “just know” when danger is near (basically, spidey sense). And then there’s the name Alex Hunter. Really?! I guess names like Bo Savage, Jack Merck, and Dirk Lethal were already taken.
To some extent, Alex Hunter’s excesses can be excused. A saving grace for this book is that it is not pretending to be something it isn’t. This isn’t Proust. Some days you just want to read a tale where a heroically heroic hero does heroic things in the most heroic way possible while thinking heroic thoughts. But even so, there were still more than a few times I found Hunter just plain annoying.
My favorite part of this book is the way Beck manages to coherently bring in so many elements without having them trip over each other. On their own, they are each done better by others. Dan Brown is better for ancient mysteries. James Rollins does archaeological action better. Steve Alten is better at writing about primordial monsters from the deep. Nick Cutter’s body horror is more unsettling. Years after his death, no one has improved on Michael Crichton for penning a good techno-thriller. Even so, few authors manage to bring all those storytelling styles and elements together. Those who try, usually make a tangled mess or it or take up 800 pages. Like I said before, except for the protagonist maybe, this book is close to everything I’d ever want in a movie or beach read.
In the final analysis, this book is a thumbs up. It definitely isn’t a book for everyone. There is clearly a lot of testosterone flowing through the pages of this book. The women quiver and the rippling muscles of the men have ripples of their own. It drifts into the realm of the silly from time to time, but honestly it’s no worse than half of the big budget summer action films we flood the theaters to see each year. Ultimately, that’s probably the best metric to decide whether this one is for you. If you get a kick out of those big blockbuster flicks that always keep one eye on the 15 year old boy demographic, you’ll probably enjoy this one too. On that level, it’s fun page-candy.
A plane carrying a CEO and some of his executives crashes in Antarctica. On impact, it exposes a massive cave and slides down into the icy maw. A rescue team is dispatched, but shortly after they go down into the cave they also disappear. Enter Captain Alex Hunter, his team of commandos, petrobiologist Aimee Weir, and the usual assortment of other scientific experts who always seem to be dispatched when such things happen in a novel.
This book has a lot of things going on which I typically enjoy in a good beach read. There are strange disappearances, adventure to exotic places, a strange lost civilization, nods to a great historical mystery (in this case Roanoke Island), a terrifying primordial monster (in this case a giant cephalopod), blood and guts gore caused by said monster, tension (will they make it?), body horror (worms!), slimy impersonators, cool technology, an insane Russian or two, and reverential nods to Lovecraft (did I mention the giant cephalopod?). If there are any movie producers reading, this is basically my dream movie right here. It is exceptionally rare to find all these elements together in one place.
Beck’s writing style is solid enough. There are times when the prose is slightly choppy and uneven. But let's be honest, this isn't the sort of a book you pick up because you want to feel classy and refined. This is a testosterone-fueled romp through the great mysteries of the unknown. This is the paperback you bring to the beach, maybe hide the cover of from those around you, and enjoy the hell out of.
The biggest weakness in the novel, in my opinion, is the protagonist. I'm not going to lie, I found myself groaning and eye rolling a lot over our story’s hero, Alex Hunter. In his backstory, he was shot in the head by a Chechen operative and survived. The brain damage inexplicably “unlocked neural pathways” that resulted in fundamental systemic changes which are hard to justify and often a bit silly. He is now able to lift large boulders (neural changes affect bone density?), see in total darkness (think Riddick), observe heat fluctuations on people's skin (infrared vision?), and “just know” when danger is near (basically, spidey sense). And then there’s the name Alex Hunter. Really?! I guess names like Bo Savage, Jack Merck, and Dirk Lethal were already taken.
To some extent, Alex Hunter’s excesses can be excused. A saving grace for this book is that it is not pretending to be something it isn’t. This isn’t Proust. Some days you just want to read a tale where a heroically heroic hero does heroic things in the most heroic way possible while thinking heroic thoughts. But even so, there were still more than a few times I found Hunter just plain annoying.
My favorite part of this book is the way Beck manages to coherently bring in so many elements without having them trip over each other. On their own, they are each done better by others. Dan Brown is better for ancient mysteries. James Rollins does archaeological action better. Steve Alten is better at writing about primordial monsters from the deep. Nick Cutter’s body horror is more unsettling. Years after his death, no one has improved on Michael Crichton for penning a good techno-thriller. Even so, few authors manage to bring all those storytelling styles and elements together. Those who try, usually make a tangled mess or it or take up 800 pages. Like I said before, except for the protagonist maybe, this book is close to everything I’d ever want in a movie or beach read.
In the final analysis, this book is a thumbs up. It definitely isn’t a book for everyone. There is clearly a lot of testosterone flowing through the pages of this book. The women quiver and the rippling muscles of the men have ripples of their own. It drifts into the realm of the silly from time to time, but honestly it’s no worse than half of the big budget summer action films we flood the theaters to see each year. Ultimately, that’s probably the best metric to decide whether this one is for you. If you get a kick out of those big blockbuster flicks that always keep one eye on the 15 year old boy demographic, you’ll probably enjoy this one too. On that level, it’s fun page-candy.
November 16, 2016
Meet Alex Hunter! The new Super-genetically-modified-soldier who leads a super secret rescue-cum-scientific mission across (and beneath) the Antarctic ice.
I must say that this book borrows elements - good ones - from a plethora of great action/adventure books I've read (James Rollins' books come to mind) , and amalgamates into one mostly-entertaining ride. Considering it was the Writer's first book, I'll give him leverage that despite several points where I just wanted to give up, I never did and read my way till the end. Can't call it a literary classic, but it achieved its purpose and had me mostly-captivated till the end. I'm not sure I'll read the next installment in the series - the premise certainly sounds interesting though!
Go for it as a break from all the deep stuff you've been reading. I give it a 3.5 star rating.
I must say that this book borrows elements - good ones - from a plethora of great action/adventure books I've read (James Rollins' books come to mind) , and amalgamates into one mostly-entertaining ride. Considering it was the Writer's first book, I'll give him leverage that despite several points where I just wanted to give up, I never did and read my way till the end. Can't call it a literary classic, but it achieved its purpose and had me mostly-captivated till the end. I'm not sure I'll read the next installment in the series - the premise certainly sounds interesting though!
Go for it as a break from all the deep stuff you've been reading. I give it a 3.5 star rating.
April 3, 2021
ভালই লাগলো। তবে ক্ষেত্রবিশেষে অ্যালেক্স হান্টারকে অতিরঞ্জন করা হইছে। ভরপুর সাসপেন্স ছিল, লাভক্র্যাফটিয়ান একটা আবহ ছিল। সিরিযের পরের বইগুলোর অনুবাদের অপেক্ষায় রইলাম।
January 29, 2015
4.5 Stars
Well it is simple to say that this is a book that you should leave your skepticism checked at the door so that you can grab a hold and enjoy the ride. I loved this book.
After two books I am now a huge fan of Greig Beck. The fact that both novels featured giant squids with one being the great Cthulhu himself only made things better.
Beneath the Dark Ice is a thriller that is amped up by taking place in the inhospitable Antarctic. Crank things up even more by having the story be one giant cave dive...Spelunking at its best. Dial things up further by having our hero Alex Hunter be the star. He is a man with a past, a super soldier, a man with extraordinary gifts resulting from an insane amount of damage. Beck pushes the envelope even higher by filling the caves with horrific near prehistoric creatures that are more like monsters. Get ready to blow because the caves are ruled by an incredible biological entity...Finally, throw in the wack job Russian assassin's and you have one blow you out of your seat adventure...
Whew...
I loved it.
Well it is simple to say that this is a book that you should leave your skepticism checked at the door so that you can grab a hold and enjoy the ride. I loved this book.
After two books I am now a huge fan of Greig Beck. The fact that both novels featured giant squids with one being the great Cthulhu himself only made things better.
Beneath the Dark Ice is a thriller that is amped up by taking place in the inhospitable Antarctic. Crank things up even more by having the story be one giant cave dive...Spelunking at its best. Dial things up further by having our hero Alex Hunter be the star. He is a man with a past, a super soldier, a man with extraordinary gifts resulting from an insane amount of damage. Beck pushes the envelope even higher by filling the caves with horrific near prehistoric creatures that are more like monsters. Get ready to blow because the caves are ruled by an incredible biological entity...Finally, throw in the wack job Russian assassin's and you have one blow you out of your seat adventure...
Whew...
I loved it.
January 16, 2023
Este libro tenía todo lo necesario para gustarme y sin embargo, no fue así.
La premisa es simple, un avión privado con un millonario abordo y varios pasajeros, se estrella en la Antártida, pero en lugar de ser sobre el hielo, el avión lo atraviesa y termina descubriendo una cueva antigua. Los Estados Unidos envían a un grupo militar (para el rescate) y para no desaprovechar la ocasión un grupo de científicos, porque sospechan que la cueva esconde una gran cantidad de Petróleo. Sin embargo, se pierde contacto con todos ellos, y cabezas duras como son los yankees envían a un segundo equipo de militares (Esta vez a lo mejor de lo mejor, un grupo elite) y nuevamente a un grupo de científicos (porque ya tu sabes, el petróleo gobierna el mundo y a todos los países se les hace los colmillos grandes por tener una nueva fuente)
Hasta ahí parece una historia original de aventuras, pero la cosa se complica cuando descubren que "algo" está acechando en ese sistema de cuevas, una criatura primitiva que hasta ese momento había quedado aislada del resto del mundo.
Hasta este momento la historia era una mezcla de Fantasmas de Dean Koontz (porque se habla de una criatura antigua, que se alimenta de cuanto ser vivo se cruza) con una mezcla de La cosa de John W. Campbell Jr, por el hecho de la ambientación en la Antártida y lo que empieza a ocurrir. A esto se le suma que El buen Capitán Alex Hunter, es una mezcla de Soldado universal con el capitán américa. Sí, así como lo leen, el buen muchacho recibió un tiro en la cabeza y ahora en lugar de usar solo el 10% de su cerebro tiene la capacidad de usarlo a pleno y un acceso ilimitado a la liberación de Adrenalina que lo hace más fuerte, más rápido y un posible Hulk en potencia. Como no puede ser de otra manera, no solo de criaturas malignas vive la literatura sino también de los antagonistas humanos, en este caso, un grupo ruso (que no podía ser de otra forma, la enemistad Ruso- Norteamericana siempre vigente) cuyo líder no es más ni menos que el responsable de la actual condición del capitán Alex Hunter. Todo esto deriva al final en una mezcla extraña con 20000 leguas de viaje submarino.
Muertes hay a troche y moche, humanos matándose entre sí y criaturas antiguas con ganas de darse un buen banquete de carne fresca humana, en ese sentido nada que reprochar. Acción constante, porque desde que llegan a la cueva es una sorpresa tras otra. Criaturas prehistóricas haciendo su aparición a cada vuelta de esquina. Pero a pesar de todo ello, el libro se me hizo eterno. Probablemente porque no simpaticé con ningún personaje en especial (él único que me cayó simpático, el autor se lo despacha a medio libro), las criaturas prehistóricas si bien algunas son originales, el monstruo principal no lo era, y quizás lo que más me influyó es que el libro me pareció un rejunte de varias historias anteriores. Aunque sospecho que lo que mayormente me ha producido rechazo es el super soldado universal.
El libro es el primero de la saga, (que son la fríolera de 7 libros), saga que probablemente nunca continúe. En defensa del autor diré que tiene otra saga con criaturas antiguas traídas al presente, basada en la historia de El mundo perdido de Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, que fue la razón por la cuál decidí darle una oportunidad a estos libros.
Mi calificación final: 2,5⭐️/5
La premisa es simple, un avión privado con un millonario abordo y varios pasajeros, se estrella en la Antártida, pero en lugar de ser sobre el hielo, el avión lo atraviesa y termina descubriendo una cueva antigua. Los Estados Unidos envían a un grupo militar (para el rescate) y para no desaprovechar la ocasión un grupo de científicos, porque sospechan que la cueva esconde una gran cantidad de Petróleo. Sin embargo, se pierde contacto con todos ellos, y cabezas duras como son los yankees envían a un segundo equipo de militares (Esta vez a lo mejor de lo mejor, un grupo elite) y nuevamente a un grupo de científicos (porque ya tu sabes, el petróleo gobierna el mundo y a todos los países se les hace los colmillos grandes por tener una nueva fuente)
Hasta ahí parece una historia original de aventuras, pero la cosa se complica cuando descubren que "algo" está acechando en ese sistema de cuevas, una criatura primitiva que hasta ese momento había quedado aislada del resto del mundo.
Hasta este momento la historia era una mezcla de Fantasmas de Dean Koontz (porque se habla de una criatura antigua, que se alimenta de cuanto ser vivo se cruza) con una mezcla de La cosa de John W. Campbell Jr, por el hecho de la ambientación en la Antártida y lo que empieza a ocurrir. A esto se le suma que El buen Capitán Alex Hunter, es una mezcla de Soldado universal con el capitán américa. Sí, así como lo leen, el buen muchacho recibió un tiro en la cabeza y ahora en lugar de usar solo el 10% de su cerebro tiene la capacidad de usarlo a pleno y un acceso ilimitado a la liberación de Adrenalina que lo hace más fuerte, más rápido y un posible Hulk en potencia. Como no puede ser de otra manera, no solo de criaturas malignas vive la literatura sino también de los antagonistas humanos, en este caso, un grupo ruso (que no podía ser de otra forma, la enemistad Ruso- Norteamericana siempre vigente) cuyo líder no es más ni menos que el responsable de la actual condición del capitán Alex Hunter. Todo esto deriva al final en una mezcla extraña con 20000 leguas de viaje submarino.
Muertes hay a troche y moche, humanos matándose entre sí y criaturas antiguas con ganas de darse un buen banquete de carne fresca humana, en ese sentido nada que reprochar. Acción constante, porque desde que llegan a la cueva es una sorpresa tras otra. Criaturas prehistóricas haciendo su aparición a cada vuelta de esquina. Pero a pesar de todo ello, el libro se me hizo eterno. Probablemente porque no simpaticé con ningún personaje en especial (él único que me cayó simpático, el autor se lo despacha a medio libro), las criaturas prehistóricas si bien algunas son originales, el monstruo principal no lo era, y quizás lo que más me influyó es que el libro me pareció un rejunte de varias historias anteriores. Aunque sospecho que lo que mayormente me ha producido rechazo es el super soldado universal.
El libro es el primero de la saga, (que son la fríolera de 7 libros), saga que probablemente nunca continúe. En defensa del autor diré que tiene otra saga con criaturas antiguas traídas al presente, basada en la historia de El mundo perdido de Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, que fue la razón por la cuál decidí darle una oportunidad a estos libros.
Mi calificación final: 2,5⭐️/5
June 4, 2019
Captain Alex Smith gets a bullet lodged in this brain thanks to a Chechen mercenary and awakens as a real life Captain America with all kinds of super solider powers...He and a crack team of commandos,(Think S.H.E.I.L.D on steroids), lead a search and recovery mission to the last great unexplored wilderness on Earth. ...What they find waiting for them is the absolute last thing I pictured, and as far as seas monsters go, I was kinda impressed with this one... However, would I call this a "horror" novel? No, NEIN, NYET. It is straight up science fiction
November 19, 2010
Although the super-soldier has been done by many, Beck's Alex Hunter manages to stand out from the rest.
A corporate jet has crashes in the Antarctic, revealing a vast underground system of caverns. A search and rescue party apparently disappears 24 hours after landing and reporting that a huge pool of petroleum may have been uncovered by the crash. A team of commandos led by Captain Alex Hunter is dispatched along with a group of scientists and cave experts to seek answers as to what happened to the first search team and whether there is a new source of oil in the frigid Antarctic. Hunter (code name, the Arcadian) is a modern day uber soldier resulting from a bullet that lodged in his brain magnifying his body and brain chemistry to such an extent that his strength, reactions, and senses are all enhanced to extraordinary limits. This adds a very interesting twist to the typical Dirk Pitt hero (isn’t this who we measure all supermen against?).
As Hunter and his team descend into the vast caves beneath the icecap, terror begins to build from the claustrophobic conditions, to the discovery that the Russians have sent a death squad in pursuit of the American team, and from some unimaginable horrors that have lurked here for centuries awaiting the next visit of a human food supply. There is humor, a bit of romance, a lot of terror and horror, and plenty of violence before the mystery is resolved and before anyone left is rescued. Along the way, readers get a dose of petrobiology, archaeology, Olmec and Mayan legends, and nods to the Atlantis and the Kraken legends. Believe me, this novel will dim your desire to go spelunking (as did the movie ‘The Descent’). A great first novel and apparently the beginning of a series for the Arcadian.
A corporate jet has crashes in the Antarctic, revealing a vast underground system of caverns. A search and rescue party apparently disappears 24 hours after landing and reporting that a huge pool of petroleum may have been uncovered by the crash. A team of commandos led by Captain Alex Hunter is dispatched along with a group of scientists and cave experts to seek answers as to what happened to the first search team and whether there is a new source of oil in the frigid Antarctic. Hunter (code name, the Arcadian) is a modern day uber soldier resulting from a bullet that lodged in his brain magnifying his body and brain chemistry to such an extent that his strength, reactions, and senses are all enhanced to extraordinary limits. This adds a very interesting twist to the typical Dirk Pitt hero (isn’t this who we measure all supermen against?).
As Hunter and his team descend into the vast caves beneath the icecap, terror begins to build from the claustrophobic conditions, to the discovery that the Russians have sent a death squad in pursuit of the American team, and from some unimaginable horrors that have lurked here for centuries awaiting the next visit of a human food supply. There is humor, a bit of romance, a lot of terror and horror, and plenty of violence before the mystery is resolved and before anyone left is rescued. Along the way, readers get a dose of petrobiology, archaeology, Olmec and Mayan legends, and nods to the Atlantis and the Kraken legends. Believe me, this novel will dim your desire to go spelunking (as did the movie ‘The Descent’). A great first novel and apparently the beginning of a series for the Arcadian.
June 12, 2021
Have you seen the movie DEEP RISING (1998)? Now create a generic super soldier character, a few insignificant military personnel, scientists and take the monster from that film with moderate upgrades and put them together beneath rocks and ice. That's it!
Plot: Such a boring adventure thriller! I've never read a monotonous thriller like this! One-direction cliche plotline, no sub-plot whatsoever. Yes, the writer did some research & he tried his best to shove that research info into the reader's throat. In short, information dumping.
Characters: Cardboard cut-out, flat and bland characters. Following the formula, the writer killed some characters along the journey. But I feel nothing because there was no character development at all.
Translation: The Bengali translation of this book is not that horrible but not good either. From the very first page, I noticed errors and mistakes. Translation errors are all over the place. This translation completely failed to match the label of "Officially approved translation".
Last but not the least, DEEP RISING was not a masterpiece at all but that movie was a kind of no-brainer pure entertainment. But this book has nothing.
There are so many good books to read. So no more Alex Hunter, no more Greig Beck. At least for now. Peace out!
Plot: Such a boring adventure thriller! I've never read a monotonous thriller like this! One-direction cliche plotline, no sub-plot whatsoever. Yes, the writer did some research & he tried his best to shove that research info into the reader's throat. In short, information dumping.
Characters: Cardboard cut-out, flat and bland characters. Following the formula, the writer killed some characters along the journey. But I feel nothing because there was no character development at all.
Translation: The Bengali translation of this book is not that horrible but not good either. From the very first page, I noticed errors and mistakes. Translation errors are all over the place. This translation completely failed to match the label of "Officially approved translation".
Last but not the least, DEEP RISING was not a masterpiece at all but that movie was a kind of no-brainer pure entertainment. But this book has nothing.
There are so many good books to read. So no more Alex Hunter, no more Greig Beck. At least for now. Peace out!
February 15, 2016
3.5 stars. This is my first Greig Beck novel. I've been faithfully reading the James Rollins, Sigma Force series and between the two, Rollins is my favorite. I think this is because Rollins' creations are written with the clarity of possibilities and factual evidence. However, I believe I might have found another author to read should I get bored enough.
Set in the middle of the Antarctic, deep within the ice caves, there are things that live there. Whether they have evolved or simply hibernated there, we may never know, but it is up to superhuman, Alex Hunter to get his team, and several scientist out before the massively intelligent creature devours them all.
Sometimes we need a little (or a lot) of 'far fetched' in our reading and if you're looking for adventure, heart pumping, scary thrills, beyond your imagination, this may be the series for you (or not). I can not deny that it was a gripping page turner, even made me claustrophobic, shivering with fear for my fellow humans to run for their lives, and survive. Matthew Reilly and James Rollins may have to scoot over a little to make room for an occasional Greig Beck.
Set in the middle of the Antarctic, deep within the ice caves, there are things that live there. Whether they have evolved or simply hibernated there, we may never know, but it is up to superhuman, Alex Hunter to get his team, and several scientist out before the massively intelligent creature devours them all.
Sometimes we need a little (or a lot) of 'far fetched' in our reading and if you're looking for adventure, heart pumping, scary thrills, beyond your imagination, this may be the series for you (or not). I can not deny that it was a gripping page turner, even made me claustrophobic, shivering with fear for my fellow humans to run for their lives, and survive. Matthew Reilly and James Rollins may have to scoot over a little to make room for an occasional Greig Beck.
March 27, 2011
After a plane crashes into the Antarctic, Captain Alex Hunter and a squad of his elite soldiers, join a team of scientists on a mission to discover why the first rescue team lost contact, and also to allow the scientists to commence an analysis of an unidentified pool of liquid buried deep beneath the snow and ice. However what they find is a world of unimaginable horrors - ancient ruins of lost civilizations, and a prehistoric terror that has been dormant, possibly for thousands of years.
Greig Beck creates a world that is wonderful and frightening, but with a level of research that makes it all believable. He draws together the legends of the Kraken and Atlantis, and even made me think of some of Brian Lumley's stories with characters being engaging, and touches of real humour as well.
In all, Beck leaves his readers with a good dose of excitement and parasomnia- night terrors.
Greig Beck creates a world that is wonderful and frightening, but with a level of research that makes it all believable. He draws together the legends of the Kraken and Atlantis, and even made me think of some of Brian Lumley's stories with characters being engaging, and touches of real humour as well.
In all, Beck leaves his readers with a good dose of excitement and parasomnia- night terrors.
October 23, 2011
A good story, a ripping yarn. Clive Cussler meets Matthew Reilly. BY sheer coincidence, days after reading this i saw some news reports about lakes under the Antarctic ice and people trying to get to them. So he bases himself at the edge of reality. The story is written well, held my interest (which is a hard task lately) and was extremely enjoyable. so much so I bought his two other books. My obly gripe is the well worn supersoldier idea, not my favourite form of hero, but the overall read is worth the minor discomfort.Good stuff for those who like adventure and action in their reads.
January 12, 2013
The story centres around Alex Hunter a specialist American soldier with almost supernatural powers due to a prior brain injury. He goes on a rescue mission with other soldiers and civilians to the Antarctic following a plane crash.
Upon their arrival the group find an ancient city and a monster or two plus a few fiendish Russians.
All in all a well written if not brilliant and fun romp through the snow and ice.
Not bad for a first book and worth trying out.
The only annoying factor is the cliffhanger ending and the authors propensity for killing everyone off.
Upon their arrival the group find an ancient city and a monster or two plus a few fiendish Russians.
All in all a well written if not brilliant and fun romp through the snow and ice.
Not bad for a first book and worth trying out.
The only annoying factor is the cliffhanger ending and the authors propensity for killing everyone off.
March 2, 2011
A great book of discovery. Monsters, caves and chaos. Read it in two days, didn't want to put it down. Adventure stories like this make me wonder if there really aren't hidden worlds somewhere beneath us that all our 'modern' technology still can't find. If so, what secret wonders and horrors might that world hold? I suddenly find myself wanting to go caving.
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February 24, 2024LE DOY DOS ESTRELLAS PORQUE NO ES UNA HISTORIA PARA NADA ELABORADA. Y PORQUE LOS PERSONAJES SON BASTANTE UNIDIMENSIONALES... YA DICHO ESO, CUMPLE CON SU OBJETIVO DE DEJARTE QUERIENDO SABER MÁS SOBRE EL PROTAGONISTA, Y EL TOQUE LOVECRAFTIANO NO ESTA MAL.
"Super Soldado", un concepto del que creo todos hemos oído hablar de una forma u otra. Existen muchos Super Soldados en la literatura, en el cine, los comics, videojuegos y la TV. Desde el Capitán América, pasando por Wolverine, Jason Bourne, Sephiroth, Khan Noonien Singh, Master Chief, el Hombre (y la mujer) Biónicos, entre muchos muchos otros.
Ahora, las formas o métodos en que un Super Soldado suele nacer tienen que ver con experimentos científicos cuestionables, o con accidentes que involucran sustancias desconocidas y peligrosas... usualmente. Pero no en este caso. Aquí, en el primer libro de la saga de "Alex Hunter", un Super Soldado nace de la manera más arbitraria, aleatoria e inocente posible; una bala en el cráneo de un soldado de fuerzas especiales, que no lo mata, sino que de alguna forma altera su química y mecánica cerebral, y le da fuerza, velocidad y reflejos super humanos. Nada más, así de simple, eso es lo que le pasa a Alex Hunter. O, mejor dicho, lo que él explica que le pasó hace ya algunos años al principio del libro. Sin dar detalles precisos, sin explicaciones avanzadas de tipo medico, sin contexto científico elaborado, sin nada. Eso es todo lo que se dice y nada más.
Alex ya es un Super Soldado cuando empieza la novela (el primero de su clase que sirve a los Estados Unidos), y forma parte de una organización secreta gubernamental de operaciones especiales que lo considera su mejor activo en el campo de batalla. Así que cuando se le ordena ir a la Antártica a buscar a un grupo de científicos perdidos, y verificar cierta información sobre recursos naturales hallados en el continente helado, él no lo duda y se pone en marcha de inmediato.
Alex Hunter es un patriota consumado, y no cuestiona a sus superiores. La verdad es que mayoría de los personajes en este libro se sientes demasiado simples o unidimensionales. Los buenos son buenos y los malos son malos, así de simple. No hay mucha introspección propiamente dicha, solo lo estrictamente necesario, y tampoco es como si alguno se aleje del camino predeterminado para ellos desde el principio. Tenemos así una serie de personajes asequibles pero rudimentarios, que no presentan ningún reto para el lector más allá de su ambivalencia.
La redacción es también bastante "amateur", al punto que se nota que este es uno de los primeros libros del autor. De hecho, yo he leído algunas otras obras de Greig Beck y son mucho mejores en cuanto a composición gramática que esta. Pero como proyecto inicial no esta del todo mal, ya que la historia tiene su buen grado de acción, aventura e intriga. En especial por la parte que tiene un elemento lovecraftiano. Que es, creo yo, la mejor parte de la narración. Aquí, básicamente la expedición se topa con las ruinas de una antigua civilización en la Antártica, y esas ruinas crean una especie de pasaje a un mundo subterráneo que es, por decirlo de alguna forma, increíblemente hostil y complejo. Verdades aterradoras sobre el pasado emergen, surgen traiciones, antiguos enemigos aparecen y un lucha desesperada por la sobrevivencia se desata.
A final de cuentas, puedo decir que este libro bien podría ser un guion de película o de serie de TV. Esta lejos (lejísimos) de ser una obra maestra de la literatura o algo parecido. Pero si es de la clase de lecturas que te desestresan y te ayudan a pasar el rato. Con un argumento simple, nada comprometedor y entretenido. La saga de "Alex Hunter" lleva ya 12 libros, y por lo que se no tiene miras a terminar pronto. Greig Beck es un autor bastante prolífico, capaz de trabajar en varios proyectos al mismo tiempo y sacar hasta 3 o 4 libros por año. Así que si te gusta la temática de aventuras militares y conspiratorias con un toque de sci-fi y fantasía. Este libro (y los posteriores) te van a gustar.
De hecho, admito que ha conseguido picarme la curiosidad sobre que le espera al protagonista después, supongo que algún día lo descubriré.
"Super Soldado", un concepto del que creo todos hemos oído hablar de una forma u otra. Existen muchos Super Soldados en la literatura, en el cine, los comics, videojuegos y la TV. Desde el Capitán América, pasando por Wolverine, Jason Bourne, Sephiroth, Khan Noonien Singh, Master Chief, el Hombre (y la mujer) Biónicos, entre muchos muchos otros.
Ahora, las formas o métodos en que un Super Soldado suele nacer tienen que ver con experimentos científicos cuestionables, o con accidentes que involucran sustancias desconocidas y peligrosas... usualmente. Pero no en este caso. Aquí, en el primer libro de la saga de "Alex Hunter", un Super Soldado nace de la manera más arbitraria, aleatoria e inocente posible; una bala en el cráneo de un soldado de fuerzas especiales, que no lo mata, sino que de alguna forma altera su química y mecánica cerebral, y le da fuerza, velocidad y reflejos super humanos. Nada más, así de simple, eso es lo que le pasa a Alex Hunter. O, mejor dicho, lo que él explica que le pasó hace ya algunos años al principio del libro. Sin dar detalles precisos, sin explicaciones avanzadas de tipo medico, sin contexto científico elaborado, sin nada. Eso es todo lo que se dice y nada más.
Alex ya es un Super Soldado cuando empieza la novela (el primero de su clase que sirve a los Estados Unidos), y forma parte de una organización secreta gubernamental de operaciones especiales que lo considera su mejor activo en el campo de batalla. Así que cuando se le ordena ir a la Antártica a buscar a un grupo de científicos perdidos, y verificar cierta información sobre recursos naturales hallados en el continente helado, él no lo duda y se pone en marcha de inmediato.
Alex Hunter es un patriota consumado, y no cuestiona a sus superiores. La verdad es que mayoría de los personajes en este libro se sientes demasiado simples o unidimensionales. Los buenos son buenos y los malos son malos, así de simple. No hay mucha introspección propiamente dicha, solo lo estrictamente necesario, y tampoco es como si alguno se aleje del camino predeterminado para ellos desde el principio. Tenemos así una serie de personajes asequibles pero rudimentarios, que no presentan ningún reto para el lector más allá de su ambivalencia.
La redacción es también bastante "amateur", al punto que se nota que este es uno de los primeros libros del autor. De hecho, yo he leído algunas otras obras de Greig Beck y son mucho mejores en cuanto a composición gramática que esta. Pero como proyecto inicial no esta del todo mal, ya que la historia tiene su buen grado de acción, aventura e intriga. En especial por la parte que tiene un elemento lovecraftiano. Que es, creo yo, la mejor parte de la narración. Aquí, básicamente la expedición se topa con las ruinas de una antigua civilización en la Antártica, y esas ruinas crean una especie de pasaje a un mundo subterráneo que es, por decirlo de alguna forma, increíblemente hostil y complejo. Verdades aterradoras sobre el pasado emergen, surgen traiciones, antiguos enemigos aparecen y un lucha desesperada por la sobrevivencia se desata.
A final de cuentas, puedo decir que este libro bien podría ser un guion de película o de serie de TV. Esta lejos (lejísimos) de ser una obra maestra de la literatura o algo parecido. Pero si es de la clase de lecturas que te desestresan y te ayudan a pasar el rato. Con un argumento simple, nada comprometedor y entretenido. La saga de "Alex Hunter" lleva ya 12 libros, y por lo que se no tiene miras a terminar pronto. Greig Beck es un autor bastante prolífico, capaz de trabajar en varios proyectos al mismo tiempo y sacar hasta 3 o 4 libros por año. Así que si te gusta la temática de aventuras militares y conspiratorias con un toque de sci-fi y fantasía. Este libro (y los posteriores) te van a gustar.
De hecho, admito que ha conseguido picarme la curiosidad sobre que le espera al protagonista después, supongo que algún día lo descubriré.
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