Different, original, well written, exciting, great characters, totally different to things I've read before - recommend, oh yeah ! Thank you very much.

Closed circle mystery is one of my favourite tropes when it comes to thrillers. And this book did it so well! There was an added element of difficult nature and it added to the tension. Loved it. Must read if you like the trope too.
THanks a lot for this copy.

I instantly thought this was going to be an adventure, a James Bond sort of romp through the cold and I wasn’t disappointed.

I enjoyed The Ice, it held my attention, it was well written and the descriptions brought to life the cold and isolation of the artic – I just didn’t love it. I liked it. BUT that’s ok as I don’t think I was the intended audience. When I read it I wanted it to be less of a blockbuster and more of a science heavy, detail fuelled science adventure. I love, love, love details in my fiction.

The Ice was a movie in book form – NOT a criticism. It was an action-packed romp around the north pole with shoot outs, some gruesome deaths and a plot worthy of 007.

I liked it, it just wasn’t quite for me. I wanted more about the setting, more about the scientific explorations of the Dragon base – I wanted MORE details, more substance and less action. The Ice read like a padded out movie – again not a criticism. I enjoyed it and I would recommend it. Not every book needs to be a 5star read and that’s ok, I was entertained from the very first page.

The Ice was well written with super short and snappy chapters that flew by and there was never a dull moment. If you are looking for an artic blockbuster of a story then look no further!

I received a copy of The Ice by John Kåre Raake from the publisher, via NetGalley for review – Thank you!

A mystery thriller that grips you from the start til the end with its unique story and characters that has lots of twists and turns is definitely beautiful written.

It should come as no surprise that John Kåre Raake is a successful screenwriter. And once you've finished reading The Ice you will understand why it's already being developed into a television series. Raake's first novel reads as if it was written for exactly that purpose - action-packed with a strong sense of place it makes for riveting, nail-biting reading from the get-go.

Full review: https://westwordsreviews.wordpress.com/2021/02/06/the-ice-john-kare-raake/

This book was essentially an isolated closed circle mystery but with the added thrill of the very harsh setting. Told from one woman’s point of view , with two timelines (a past and a present) as her and her colleague go to help the Chinese North Pole Base after seeing a flare.
But what they encounter upon arrival is much more than they bargained for.

I adored the setting of this book.
Although I do have a love for books set in extreme climates anyway- Jungles , the AUS Outback and now
the North Pole.
I really liked the main characters back story and enjoyed the break that those chapters gave from the high octane thrills of the main plot.
However, the reasons this is a 4 star and not a five star are, I did think this was
a tad longer than it needed to be. There wasalot of moving back and forth in between buildings which did take up quite a few unessesary pages. The buildings and the base its self I found very difficult to picture. Cleary the author really knows his stuff but I obviously do not. That being said it was a good thriller with a decent mystery in an even better setting.

It should be no surprise that one of Norway's best screenwriters would pen such a "visual" thriller. John Kare Raake gives us the story of Anna Aune, the assistant to a professor studying the impact of climate change on the North Pole. Anna's backstory is a former military who suffers from untreated PTSD. Readers see many examples of her PTSD throughout the story as the stress and tension cause her to flashback to war scenes she has tried to move on from. This gives our ultra competent protagonist a weak point.
Of course when you are working in the North Pole, the weather is a character in the story. Socked in, keeping help grounded, Anna will use the weather as part of her defense while moving slowly to an offensive strike. This story will immediately grab your attention and the next time you look up, everyone else has gone to bed. Exciting, engrossing, everything you want a thriller to be. WOW!

If you are a regular visitor to this blog you will have noticed that I have a thing about icy settings, they have played a major part in several books of late. This book hits the daddy of frozen settings, the North Pole!

Originally published in Norwegian, this translation is a treat! Now there are no aliens involved but something about this book reminded me of The Thing, maybe it was the endless stretches of ice, snow and frozen wastes that did it. The Arctic just gave me goosebumps.

Ex special ops Anna Aune find herself helping one of her fathers oldest friends on a scientific expedition. Her base for the next few months is a cramped hovercraft with a seventy year old professor for company, a peaceful yet cold few months are expected but one night the sky is lit up by a distress flare and they set off to find out who is in trouble.

What they find is a deserted Chinese scientific base. On closer inspection the base isn’t as deserted as they thought. Frozen in situ are the remains of the scientists, they appear to have been flash frozen, their bodies in grim frozen positions. As they wait for help to come they quickly realise this wasn’t a tragic accident, the discovery of bodies in the snow full of bullet holes leads to the grim realisation that a killer is on the loose but in the vast Arctic landscape they could be hiding anywhere. Will they survive till rescue comes?

I really enjoyed this, it was creepy, it was atmospheric and it pictured the Russians for once as being helpful instead of up to no good! The only reason it’s not getting five stars is I wasn’t overly keen on the flashbacks which show Anna during a military mission and fills in the blanks as to why she isn’t serving anymore.

If you like your thrillers icy then this is for you!

Perfect winter chilling read! This thriller will keep you awake at night, cold even with the heat on. The setting felt so real and the story is a true page turner. Read it!

Thank you to Pushkin Vertigo and Netgalley for a review e-copy of the translated version of this novel, in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis:
Anna Aune is on a scientific expedition to the North Pole, when the pitch black of the polar night is lit up by a distress flare.
At a nearby research station Anna discovers a massacre - mutilated bodies strewn about the base. Then, a fierce Arctic storm blows in, cutting of any possibility of escape.
Anna races to find the killer before he gets to her. But a secret lurks under the ice - one that nations will kill for...

Review:
I think my main issue with the pitching of this book is it makes it sound like an isolation horror. Yes, it is based at the North Pole, so clearly there is a break from society and there is a kind of isolation there. However, Anna is not alone in her camp, and in her finding of the bodies as the synopsis makes out.
In the first 30-40% of the book, I was awaiting something to happen in order to make Anna be truly alone, but that didn't come.

I think overall, I liked the idea of the book.

I liked how jarring the flashback scenes were and how they were almost placed in the middle of a thought or movement within the present day, which really played into Anna's untreated PTSD from serving.

Honestly, I kind of last my way with the book in the last 10-15% and I got confused as it how fell into place. Also, there was some repetition in terms of 'I'll go this way, you go that way.' and then they were moving about again.

3.5 stars (rounded up)

The remote and isolated setting of this novel was skilfully used by the author, he created a feeling of constant threat and menace. The main character was quite unique, a woman suffering from PTSD due to her elite military background. The author did an excellent job of characterising someone suffering from the condition, often showing her at times of strength and times of weakness. The plot concerning the Chinese, the Russians, the Americans and their race for the Arctic was incredibly interesting, it even inspired me to do some research of my own after I finished reading. This book is perfect for fans of the novel Kolymsky Heights, and the work of Martin Cruz Smith.

I would give this novel six stars if I could. It is one of the most intense, claustrophobic, fast-paced pieces of work I've had the joy to read in a long time. Former special services solider Anna Aune is in the Artic close to the North Pole on a six month expedition assisting a 70 something scientist who is also a long time family friend. They see an emergency flare go up at a nearby Chinese research base and, in their hovercraft, change course to go and help them. They find everyone at the camp has been murdered. But by who? Who sent up the flare? What happens when they find two survivors...who is telling the truth about what really happened? I could not get enough of the descriptive prowess of the author. The ice, the cold, the protective clothing, the temperature each time they go outside. I was 'almost' there with Anna. The Ice is a very clever thriller which kept me at the edge of my sofa until the final page. This will be given out as presents to my loved ones - highly recommend.

The Ice is a searing, scintillating and claustrophobic thriller from Norway’s most successful screenwriter, John Kåre Raake, where it is not just the ice that is threatened at the North Pole. Former special forces soldier and PTSD sufferer Anna Aune has fled from everything and everyone, feeling she has nothing left to lose, and isolated herself together with 73-year-old researcher and professor Daniel Zachariassen on their hovercraft, the Sabvabaa, near the North Pole. They will document the devastation of climate change as they drift with the ice through the polar winter. On the day of the dead, All Saints' Day, an emergency rocket suddenly lights up the night-black sky, just above the Chinese research base, known as The Ice Dragon, a few kilometres away. Anna and Daniel are the only ones close enough to help. But is the distress signal a cry for help or a warning to stay away? When they reach the Chinese camp, they are met by a nightmarish sight. In the base's laboratory, they find the researchers frozen in motion and covered in ice. A sharp drop in temperature has killed them in a fraction of a second. It initially looks like a tragic accident, but it soon becomes clear that they have been killed...and that a ruthless and merciless killer is nearby. Anna and Daniel soon realise they are at the scene of a horrific massacre when they come across bodies that have been shot and stabbed.

At the same time, it is blowing up into a raging polar storm. Kulda's deadly ravages and the killer's icy game make the rescue operation a struggle to survive. This is a compulsive, chilling and refreshingly original thriller that moves at rapid-fire pace and begins innocently enough before all hell breaks loose. The writing is engaging from the very beginning and Raake is adept at providing enough twists, surprises and misdirection that you'll find it almost impossible to put it down. Unlike many thrillers, the killer and their motive is well concealed and certainly not easy to guess or work out further adding to the enjoyment and creating a strong, intriguing mystery element to the plot. One of the aspects that stands out the most is the setting; Raake creates a stunning sense of place that you can transport yourself to instantly in your mind, and I understood the oppressive atmosphere the characters felt weighing on them being out in such a simultaneously beautiful but deadly place, especially with a serial killer on the loose. It's richly described from opening page to denouement and sings with authenticity. The tension is palpable all through the story, is ratcheted up as the narrative progresses and each character is well rounded and believable. This is a gritty, perturbing and enthralling read with a profoundly unsettling undertone that is present throughout. Highly recommended.

I really like the concept of this book because it is clever, and it is different. The author was hugely successful in transporting the reader to the North Pole - I certainly felt the chilly intimidation of the ice every time I picked it up.

On the other hand, for me the narrative arc wasn’t structured in the best way and I was ready for the climax at only a third of the way through. This made reading the remainder of the story more of a struggle. Some of the leaps between parts of the plot also felt a little tenuous.

It certainly didn’t lack action or description, however, which allowed me to create a clear image of the Chinese research station and what was taking place…

Thank you to Pushkin Press for the ARC.

Because the location for ‘The Ice’ is The North Pole, I recommend that you curl up in a nice cosy armchair, with a steaming cup of hot chocolate to avert the chills, though there are still chills aplenty in the storyline.

Current international law mandates that no single country owns the North Pole, or the region of the Arctic Ocean that surrounds it, and it is the race by various nations to access its resources that forms the basis for ‘The Ice’.

Anna Aune is accompanying 73 year old Professor Daniel Zakariassen on a scientific expedition to the North Pole, measuring the effects of climate change, when a distress flare suddenly lights up the dark polar night. It appears to originate from the Chinese Research Station, Ice Dragon. Anna and Daniel are unsure whether it’s a cry for help or a warning, but they do know they’ll have to find out.

What they discover is mass murder - all the researchers are dead - all of them badly mutilated, but who killed them and why? That’s Anna and Daniel’s task, and a very dangerous task at that. With numerous buildings, it’s obvious that the killer must be hiding in one of them, but can they find him before he finds them!

It’s clear that Anna is suffering from PTSD, and very slowly, her military past is revealed, one scene at a time, which makes this current tragedy very difficult for her to handle. With the added problem of a particularly fierce Arctic storm raging, there’s no getting away from this, nowhere to run to. There are thousands of miles of open terrain, albeit ice, but with the polar nights, there’s an overwhelming feeling of claustrophobia. In this vastness there’s nowhere to hide.

Author John Kåre Raake is Norway’s most successful screen writer , but ‘The Ice’ is his debut novel. He’s created a terrific sense of the vastness of the Arctic, and the claustrophobic feel of the polar nights, where the night time lasts for more than 24 hours. In addition he’s written a compelling thriller with a sense of terror and foreboding throughout, as Anna and Daniel discover secrets lurking beneath the icy Arctic waters, whilst fighting for their lives. Definitely recommended.

A chilly read that I wanted to like far more than I did. The book was longer than it needed to be with the middle being hard to get through though the ending does begin get more fast paced. There was two points the book could have finished at and it just kept going which made the whole thing drag on but the moments of action were good and figuring who the killer was did keep me guessing so it was enjoyable in that regard.

A chilly and involving read, with a fantastic setting described pitch perfectly and a fast paced edge of the seat feel throughout.

Mass murder in an icy location allows our feisty and engaging heroine to shine and I was immersed in the evolving situation from first page to last.

One to watch in 2021. Very pleased to see this will be a series.

Recommended.

This is a gripping, claustrophobic and complex thriller from John Kare Raake, a Norwegian screenwriter, set in the Arctic featuring PTSD suffering soldier, the traumatised Anna Aune, trained to survive in extreme conditions and a woman who has been involved in a number of conflict ridden parts of the world, is accompanying 73 year old Professor Daniel Zakariassen on a scientific expedition. She had not wanted to do this but urged on by her father, with whom she had been recuperating after serious injuries and a coma, acquired in a nightmare scenario that saw her losing the love of her life, the French medic Yann Renault, working for MSF, who died after being abducted in Syria. From their hovercraft, the Sabvabaa, Anna sees a distress flare, with the dark, the adverse weather conditions, a terrible storm and limited visibility, it is not possible for any of the rescue services to respond, so Anna and Daniel make the decision to go themselves.

They head towards the The Ice Dragon, the Chinese research station, the position the flare appeared to come from. There they stumble on a nightmare scenario from hell, coming across frozen, stabbed and shot dead bodies, there is a ruthless and extremely dangerous killer around. A shocked Anna sets out to protect Daniel, whilst trying to figure out who is dead and what happened, attempting to avoid the same fate as the victims of the massacre. Coming across a badly injured man who refers to himself as Jackie and engineer Marco, Anna wants information and details of those working at the research station whilst trying to figure out if one or both of them is a killer. What exactly is the purpose of the Arctic research station, what were the Chinese looking into and was it this that got almost all of them killed? Anna and Daniel face the gravest of dangers as they strive to survive until rescue teams arrive.

The author does an incredible job of evoking the Arctic, a location where so many nations are racing to identify and access its potentially enormous resources. The storytelling just drips with atmosphere, there are rich descriptions, such as the numerous varieties of ice, all of them deadly, not to mention predators, such as the polar bears and the killer. The central character of Anna, a woman whose traumatised mind continually takes her back to her past and conversing with the dead Yann, is a woman with nothing left to lose, and there is nothing she will not do to find a mass killer. This is a dark, compulsive and unsettling thriller with an underlying sense of menace that builds and builds, with a unforgettable heroine at its centre who stumbles on secrets that lurk under the ice. A great read. Many thanks to Pushkin Press for an ARC.

Gripping, cinematic and fast-pace thriller set at an Artic research station near the North Pole. A two-person Norwegian team responds to a distress flare at a Chinese base, and finds carnage. The inhospitable setting is beautifully evoked, and there is a constant sense of menace as the main characters have to work out what has happened while avoiding the same fate themselves. The characters are lightly sketched but believable, and there is a good interplay between the main character’s backstory and the action. The pace is absolutely relentless – this is the kind of book you pick up when you want the outside world to fade. Extra points for a strong female lead and good use of a dog!

Nothing is as claustrophobic as heavy snow. Take a protagonist, in this case, scientist Anna Aune, put her in the Arctic for a research mission, and let hell break loose. Anna finds a scene of unbelievable horror at a nearby research station where bodies are stacked like cordwood. Then she’s cut off at the station when a huge storm comes in. It’s a fight for survival, against the elements and against a hidden killer who’s trying to hide a secret that could change the world. Incredible tense, a real nail biter