Customer Reviews

Ice Reich (Oeb)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Fans of WW2 adventure novels will enjoy Ice Reich very much. The story follows an American bush pilot hired by the Nazis in 1939 to explore Antarctica. However, the motive behind the Nazi's expedition seems suspect to the American. As the story progresses, the real reason for the expedition becomes clearer, and the American must make a number of serious decisions that will effect his life, his lover, and the future of mankind.

William Dietrich's Ice Reich held my attention from the opening sentence, right up until the very end. His writing is crisp, the setting wonderfully original, and the story fast-paced. Dietrich has tied in a remote and desolate setting with a tense plot and fascinating characters. I'm looking forward to reading Dietrich's next novel, and hope that his second work of fiction is as enjoyable as Ice Reich.

Because of his experience in flying in icy weather conditions, ordinary good-guy American Owen Hart is asked to serve as pilot for a German team on an expedition to Antarctica. Thinking he can keep himself uninvolved emotionally and politically, little does Hart know what he's getting himself into!

To begin with, he falls for the girlfriend of the fiendish Nazi Drexler, immediately setting himself up for problems. When they land on the Antacticic island, which landscape the author incredibly describes, they come across the wreck of a ship with dead bodies. When it is discovered that these sailors died of some bacteria on the island, a race begins to find an antidote to save themselves from death by the same bacteria.

Searching the island, Hart and his love interest, biologist Greta, end up in an underground spring, where they experience romance, and then danger. Now that Drexler is suspicious about his girlfriend and Hart, he has diabolical schemes for getting rid of him. Hart and Greta battle the Nazis at an increasing pace as danger and horrific death threatens from all angles: treks and falls through ice, deadly bacteria, Nazi weapons and deception. Increasingly, Hart must become the hero to protect himself and Greta, and ultimately the world, which could be terribly threatened by the Nazis if they get their hands on that bacteria and turn it into a biological weapon!

The vivid and unusual setting descriptions, incorporation of elements based on real historical events, diabolical bad guys you love to hate, variety of dangers faced, and several close escapes all added up to great fun!

If you like Clive Clussler you will love this book! William Dietrich weaves a great tale of adventure and yes, even love. From a plane crash in Alaska, to Germany at the end of World War 2. The Author provides you a wild ride of adventure, love and suspense, that keeps you turning the pages way after midnight. A gamble on a new Author, but well worth the price.

THE BOOK WAS GREAT! Fiction mixed with non-fiction! The beginning of the book was slow, but when it progressed, I was unable to put it down! The book was SO good, that I lent it to my school-mates for them to read! I like how the book goes into detail...that is always a + in my mind!

Ice Reich is the best Antarctic thriller since Payne Harrison's Thunder of Erebus. A former science reporter for the Seattle Times, author William Dietrich is particularly adept at bringing to life all subjects. His characters are as bright and vivid as the Antarctic scenery he skillfully describes. The plot is brilliant and the action does not get bogged down in history or nature lectures which happens so often in other Antartic-themed novels. If you like Jack Higgins' WW II thrillers, or if you like books about Antarctica, you'll find Ice Reich very entertaining.

This a brilliant debut novel and readers will be left very satisfied--except for the occasional pang of anticipation for Mr. Dietrich's next novel.

I finished reading "Ice Reich" - I really don't know why. I guess I kept thinking it was going to get better and it didn't.

I understand that this fiction story is based on a kernel of truth - a Nazi expedition really did go to Antartica in 1938-39. But this story is disjointed, implausible, the dialogue is so stilted I want to slap the words out of their mouths. And an American, even if he was of German ancestry, working for the Nazis? Sorry - didn't like that either, even if it was before the official beginning of WWII.

I read another of Dietrich's book about Antartica - Dark Winter - and thoroughly enjoyed it. A great book.

A US pilot gets recruited by German diplomat for an Antarctic expedition in a prewar 1938. The pilot falls in love in a German scientist and faces off against a SS officer. The expedition finds a deadly plague bacteria and an organism with antibiotic effects. The expedition ends with a conflict arrising between the invloved parties. Years later, near the end of the war, Nazis return to the island with the SS officer, the pilot and the scientist to retrieve the bacteria and use it to win the war. Here, the final battle for survival begins. Good first book by William Dietrich, interesting, full of action and human conflict.

Ice Reich is a definite hit from page 1. The storyline has a believable piece of WWII history for it's concept along with an interesting likable main character. A fast solid read, slightly reminiscent of the early Cussler novels. It has everything, exotic locales, suspense, intrique, danger, and the requisite love interest; which did have some corny dialgue in spots but certainly did not detract from the book as a whole. Hope the author writes another just as good and I wouldn't mind a series featuring the roving bush pilot.

The Ice Reich began with enough subtle intrigue to convince the reader that maybe, just maybe, Dietrich had created a good pot boiler of a WWII novel. Unfortunately by page 100, all has been lost. The authors biggest road block seems to be his tin ear for dialogue - mostly between the male and female lead. His heavy use of melodrama is overbearing. The time period is ripe with fasinating characters, but Dietrich chooses to go with the stock Nazi's who's only purpose is to "defend the reich" at all costs. Final act borders on preposterous. There is a scene in the sub where the male and female lead make love while being depth charged. It is about the corniest thing ever laid to parer. Skip this one for a good Jack Higgins - "Eagle Has Landed" or "Night Of The Fox".

saw the ad for the book in "Time" and since i am a WW II history student, i bought it. Should have saved my dime. i was not interested in the work at all and found the premise of the story uninteresting. something like ;the story could have happened but there are so many other stories from the war that would have been more interesting and riveting. I don't thnk the scientific minds of the times would have been as intereste in the theory of the discovery as the author wouldhave us believe. i was disapponted with the book.