Ice Station Zebra

Written by Alistair MacLean

Narrated by Michael Jayston

A classic thriller from the bestselling master of action and suspense.

The atomic submarine Dolphin has impossible orders: to sail beneath the ice floes of the Arctic Ocean, and somehow locate and rescue the men of weather-station Zebra, gutted by fire and drifting with the ice-pack somewhere north of the Arctic Circle.
 
But the orders do not say what the Dolphin will find if she succeeds – that the fire at Ice Station Zebra was sabotage, and that one of the survivors is a killer.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Jun 3, 2010
• ISBN: 9780007362035

Alistair MacLean

Alistair MacLean, the son of a minister, was brought up in the Scottish Highlands. In 1941 he joined the Royal Navy. After the war he read English at Glasgow University and became a teacher. Two and a half years spent aboard a wartime cruiser gave him the background for HMS Ulysses, his remarkably successful first novel, published in 1955. He is now recognized as one of the outstanding popular writers of the 20th century, the author of 29 worldwide bestsellers, many of which have been filmed.

Reviews for Ice Station Zebra

[bettesbooks · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A US nuclear sub races to the Artic to help evacuate survivors of an English meteorological weather station Drift Ice Station Zebra. So begins this action tale of espionage during the Cold War. Murders galore, fantastic scenes of bravery, and treachery abound for the chair bound reader who will find it hard to put the book down until the end.Read for the 2016 Darth-Heather Challenge

[shimmin_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

An excellent book and probably his finest. It's extremely tense, with the danger of the situation always obvious, and the sense of treachery everywhere. I feel MacLean does a really good job of portraying both the characters and the situation, and the plot is tight, without the handwavery and fantastical elements that characterise some later works. Possibly the best thriller I have read.

[Avrril Tania · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The background music was a nice touch. The story was gripping with hardly a dull second

[breic-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I read this after learning about early American spy satellites. Quite a fun thriller, somewhat less interesting as a mystery.

[martinhughharvey_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Saw the movie about 45 years or so ago and for some reason was compelled to read the book. Glad I did. The only other McLean bok I read was "HMS Ulysses" about 50+ years ago!Anyway, most enjoyable. Plot dense enough but followable, set mainly on a submarine (great for me), clever rather than lots of violence. a few twists and turns, and an interrogation in the closest stages of the book reminicent of the table turing talk by Richard Burto and Client Eastwood in "The Guns of Navarone" (another McLean book).

[fuzzi_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A slow-starting but very satisfying tale of rescue and espionage in the Arctic. While slightly dated, the Cold War references shouldn't keep the reader from enjoying this adventure.

[cyndavaz · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Ice Station Zebra was pretty good - once you got halfway or more into it. Before that time, it felt quite plodding ... far from engaging. This is the reason I knocked off one star from the review. It also didn't help that the narrator was a bit on the dull side. Otherwise, I'd have given it four stars because when everything came together it was fairly solid.However, I also have to add that when the bad guy was 'revealed' at the end, it wasn't surprising, as I'd already pegged who the villain was - not necessarily because of anything particular I picked up on, but merely because I think I've seen enough movies, and read enough whodunit books, to be able to figure out with a fair amount of consistency who the bad guy is. This was one of those times. IMO, this story would be more entertaining as a movie - and because there is a movie based on the book I plan to see it, even though I've heard that the book is far better. At any rate, after having read this (which was my first Alistair MacLean book), I'm definitely interested in picking some of his other writings

[.monkey.-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Just like all of MacLean's books, this is a wild ride with plenty of humorous witty lines from the characters and lots of suspenseful moments. And like many of them, it's also a bit of a whodunnit. If you enjoy MacLean/this style, there's nothing not to love.

[jeffome · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Pretty exciting ride here. A little slow to get going....could not figure out what the main character was about.....but i realized eventually that that was the point....neither did the other characters! Much of this takes place on a U.S. military nuclear submarine.....and in the Arctic. I recently had the privilege of touring a U.S. nuclear submarine at a base in Georgia by a 'chief of boat' and it is an experience i am likely never to forget! So this added a whole dimension of familiarity that I would usually be lacking, and i could so very clearly visualize all of this book. Fascinating concept and much of it was rather gripping. Startling displays of courage and much cleverness as the mystery of the weather station fire and its cause slowly get solved....at a great expense. Have loved most of MacLean and this is no exception. Just bundle up before reading!!!

[empressreece · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Wow that was a really great read! It had just the right amount of action and suspense, the pacing was great, there wasnt any redundancy and the ending was perfect. I thought it was excellent!! Must read if you like artic action!!

[reading_fox · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Fairly straightforward thriller set in the Arctic.A british special forces Dr. manages to get onboard a US submarine going to the rescue of a Arctic research station that has run into difficulties. Supposedly a metrological research station special forces are interested because the real purpose is spying against russian intercontinental missile launches. Several acts of carelessness or maybe sabotage seem to indicate that maybe the russians are aware of it's true nature and that of the rescue attempt. It's all down to the Dr. to save the day.Average but fun. The characters are all a bit thin, especially the stereotypical americans and the russian agents, but there is enough accidents, and drama to keep the plot rolling along. The clues are there for you to work out in advance who is the russian agent - but until the grand denoucement at the end you are unlikely to do so.