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rosieclaverton's review against another edition
3.0
I loved about 80% of this book. Multiple, conflicting POVS, a healthy list of three-dimensional suspects, the "locked room" of the Arctic...
And then it all went down the rabbit hole.
I like crime novels where you can guess how and who and why. This is not one of those books. The ending is always a deal-breaker for me, and this one totally broke. Disappointing.
But a brilliantly crafted book, no doubt. I would definitely read more by the author.
And then it all went down the rabbit hole.
I like crime novels where you can guess how and who and why. This is not one of those books. The ending is always a deal-breaker for me, and this one totally broke. Disappointing.
But a brilliantly crafted book, no doubt. I would definitely read more by the author.
vikingwolf's review against another edition
3.0
Tom arrives at the arctic research station to be assistant to a man he hasn't had contact with in years. Martin has specifically requested Tom for the job but before he can find out why or what exactly he is to do, what appears to be a tragic accident causes Martin's death as he is found dead at the bottom of a crevasse. Or was it an accident? Evidence from the scene suggests that foul play could have occured and with Martin not being very popular amongst his peers, did someone decide to kill him? Tom wonders if the motive could be something that Martin was working on or someone outside the camp that he was in contact with, but the more he looks into it, the more questions and suspects seem to come up.
The story begins with the arrival of Tom at the camp and Martin's death. Greta is concerned when Martin is late back from a camp excursion and takes Tom out to look for him. They find his body but see no sign of bear tracks to explain why he fell which is what base commander Quam thinks is the reason for the tragedy. It seems that Quam and his friends are more concerned about avoiding blame than finding the truth of what really happened. Tom's services are no longer required but before he can get to the plane he is attacked. Is there a connection to what happened to Martin? Tom is concerned that he might be killed before he gets the chance to find out.
The first part of the book focuses on what Tom is doing and we see and hear all the events through his eyes. We see the interactions between characters and try to work out who is working to their own agenda and what it might be. It was like a puzzle that I was trying to decode but just not quite getting there! This was when the story changed, to my surprise and we got events from the view of a different person at the camp. I liked this development as we got to see more things happening, different interactions, new events and more about each of the characters. It certainly gave me more to think about than just Tom's story. We then get events from a third person's viewpoint which was also really interesting. I was really loving the book and trying to answer the questions I had in my own mind. It is at this point that the book changes again and not every reader liked this final change of direction.
This is a book that has divided a lot of reviewers and I wasn't sure if I was going to like it. A good number of reviewers really didn't like the final section of the book. Having read it now I can understand exactly what everyone was talking about and why the end section had readers screaming at times. Personally, I wasn't that happy with the way the story turned out as I felt it was something that the reader could not have guessed at. It totally changed the whole plot surrounding Martin's death and I sort of felt cheated in a way. It wasn't what I expected at all and it really threw me. My other bugbear is that things for me were not fully resolved and I do find that a bit annoying.
I did love the setting for the book. These remote outposts are a great location for books with a thriller or horror plot as there as so many options. I love reading about how remote the area is and the struggles that the people have in dealing with the boredom and isolation. I liked the threat of the weather that hovers over everything they do and the fear of being trapped if their transport is damaged. It is just a great setting to read about. I did enjoy most of the book, just not convinced by the ending.
Here is the spoiler as to who the killer was and why it made me mad!
The story begins with the arrival of Tom at the camp and Martin's death. Greta is concerned when Martin is late back from a camp excursion and takes Tom out to look for him. They find his body but see no sign of bear tracks to explain why he fell which is what base commander Quam thinks is the reason for the tragedy. It seems that Quam and his friends are more concerned about avoiding blame than finding the truth of what really happened. Tom's services are no longer required but before he can get to the plane he is attacked. Is there a connection to what happened to Martin? Tom is concerned that he might be killed before he gets the chance to find out.
The first part of the book focuses on what Tom is doing and we see and hear all the events through his eyes. We see the interactions between characters and try to work out who is working to their own agenda and what it might be. It was like a puzzle that I was trying to decode but just not quite getting there! This was when the story changed, to my surprise and we got events from the view of a different person at the camp. I liked this development as we got to see more things happening, different interactions, new events and more about each of the characters. It certainly gave me more to think about than just Tom's story. We then get events from a third person's viewpoint which was also really interesting. I was really loving the book and trying to answer the questions I had in my own mind. It is at this point that the book changes again and not every reader liked this final change of direction.
This is a book that has divided a lot of reviewers and I wasn't sure if I was going to like it. A good number of reviewers really didn't like the final section of the book. Having read it now I can understand exactly what everyone was talking about and why the end section had readers screaming at times. Personally, I wasn't that happy with the way the story turned out as I felt it was something that the reader could not have guessed at. It totally changed the whole plot surrounding Martin's death and I sort of felt cheated in a way. It wasn't what I expected at all and it really threw me. My other bugbear is that things for me were not fully resolved and I do find that a bit annoying.
I did love the setting for the book. These remote outposts are a great location for books with a thriller or horror plot as there as so many options. I love reading about how remote the area is and the struggles that the people have in dealing with the boredom and isolation. I liked the threat of the weather that hovers over everything they do and the fear of being trapped if their transport is damaged. It is just a great setting to read about. I did enjoy most of the book, just not convinced by the ending.
Here is the spoiler as to who the killer was and why it made me mad!
Spoiler
The killer was a Frankenstein's monster living in a secret lab under the icejkenna1990's review against another edition
5.0
This was a great fast read. I didn't figure out the mystery until the very end! I'm excited to read some more of his work.
hippie13's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
This is supposed to be like Frankenstein right?
nyxshadow's review against another edition
3.0
3.5
http://www.nyx-shadow.com/2015/11/zodiac-station-t1-zodiac-station-tom.html
http://www.nyx-shadow.com/2015/11/zodiac-station-t1-zodiac-station-tom.html
ronanmcd's review against another edition
3.0
I wanted something simple for holidays, and I got it. Spies, danger, deaths, mysteries in Arctic Ice, its a Boy's Own / Alastair MacLean tribute. Each chapter puts in a twist to a story which is plausible (at a stretch) up till the end. Still, in spite of my reservations, I enjoyed returning to my teenage reading self for a few hours.
caroparr's review against another edition
3.0
The classic English country house mystery, except instead of the gentry in the heart of England, it's scientists at a research station in the dangerously cold Arctic, plus polar bears and Russians. Unfortunately, by the end we are in an isolated underground bunker with the bad guy who spends pages explaining lots of things we didn't know. Three stars for the setting and the setup, one star for the way it all plays out.
jkenna90's review against another edition
5.0
This was a great fast read. I didn't figure out the mystery until the very end! I'm excited to read some more of his work.
klpage's review against another edition
3.0
Underwhelmed by this one. I don’t think science fiction is my kind of genre and I didn’t realise it would be that kind of book until it was too late. I liked the thriller aspects and I didn’t like the ending. Was okay overall.
bibliobabe94's review against another edition
3.0
OK Arctic adventure - not necessarily formulaic, but pretty much what you would expect. Still, an enjoyable read.