Ice Station Zebra [Hardcover]

Alistair MacLean (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 218 pages
• Publisher: Doubleday & Company, Inc.; Book Club edition (1963)
• Language: English
• ASIN: B0014M1796
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #893,898 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of Maclean's very best, March 4, 2000

By 

R. Kunath (Illinois, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ice Station Zebra (Mass Market Paperback)

I have friends who found this book boring, and I think I see what they mean. "Ice Station Zebra" does not have the non-stop action pace of modern thrillers. What it does have, to an exceptional degree, is vivid characterization, enjoyable writing, and a sustained build-up of tension that enables the reader to miss the occasional hole in the plot. Something I truly love about this book is that there is no fat on its frame: no gratuitous violence, zero sex, no hype. In some ways it strikes me as a model for the successful thriller in its purest form, with everything potentially inessential stripped away, and I re-read it every year or two just for the sheer fun of it.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply the Best!, September 6, 2000

By 

"morganav" (Peekskill, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ice Station Zebra (Mass Market Paperback)

This is the way action novels should be written: taut, interesting,and loaded with realistic plot twists. Anyone writing a thriller today would do well to read this novel and realize that true writing does not require heavy amounts of sick, glossy violence and unneccessary sex. Besides a crackling story, the characters are smart and show a good bit of depth. It requires you to figure who the antagonist might be. One of my favorite passages is during the accident in the Engineroom...talk abut cold! But I won't say anymore because I do not wish to ruin anymore of the plot. Bruce from Camaroon take a clue: No one reads these reviews to be told who the bad guy is, that's what keeps them reading. All and all an excellent read!

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Rereadable..., September 15, 2005

By 

getgopi (Boston, MA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ice Station Zebra (Paperback)

Anyone with a taste for naval warfare, mysteries and the Arctic in general will find this a fascinating read. I first read this book in my teens. I still return to it occasionally and never find it boring. I haven't watched the 1968 movie version of this book.