Vostok – By Steve Alten

Vostok is the sequel to the loch, which in turn was a spin off from the Meg series. This book is a crossover story with the characters from the Loch returning but also involving the main characters from the Meg series as well. This book is also a prequel to the 5th book in the Meg series.

The sad reality is this book was so bad I think i’ll be breaking my mantra of always finishing a series I start. It was so bad I cant even bring myself to keep it on my bookshelf. The book starts off not too bad and based on the real world. Follows on from the discovery of a lake underneath Antarctica (lake Vostok is actually real) The main character from the Loch is called in to go down and explore this lake and see what is down there. Everything continues on much like any adventure novel but then halfway its like the author had a stroke and everything changes.

We go from exploring a underground lake to dealing with aliens and time travel abilities, like what?  I can only image the author went on an acid trip halfway through writing this. Nothing can explain the so sudden and abrupt change in story, the pace, theme and concept is just thrown out the window so the author can go on a conspiracy nut job wet dream exposition of secret governments and aliens in collusion with them.  Even now as I sit here writing this I cant even understand how his publisher agreed to print this. Its was so bad, and not like a “B” grade movie, where they are so bad its good, this was so bad its bad. If there could be a surgery where I can remove the memories of me reading this book I would do it in a heart beat. I just cant explain enough just how crazy and messed up this book was. If anyone out there even considers buying this book all i can suggest is rip it in half, the first half is good,  The second half can be used as toilet paper.
All I wanted was a nice “scary sea monster” read. I most certainly did not in any way want the acid trip of  gobbledegook that this book turned into

Steve Alten you are now barred from my bookshelves, please don’t write any more books until you get checked out by a doctor

Arctic Rising – Tobias S. Buckell

Bit of a techno thriller but luckily not too much techno babel. Set in a future where the polar ice has melted sea levels rose and coastal cities are underwater. A corporation had set out to fix the issue by launching tiny mirrors into the upper atmosphere to reflect away sunlight  and cool the earth  enough for polar ice to form again.

This sounds good but countries try to stop it from happening. there’s navel blockades, secret agents and suddenly a nuke has been smuggled into  the polar region and its revealed  why everyone wants to try and stop it. Its been turned into a weapon using the power of light to melt its target – which now makes it just like the weapon from James bond – die another day.

And thrown  into the middle of all this is a polar customs agent who accidently  discovers the nuke and sets off a chain off events leading to the ultimate confrontation

Quite  a good paced read, dealing with modern themes and i hear the author has written another story  with some of these characters mights have to track that one down aswell

Endurance Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage – Alfred Lansing

Not long ago i was flicking through my photos  of my trip  to Antarctica and i stumbled upon a picture of our kayak guide. yes that’s right we kayaked in the waters around Antarctica. While out paddling he would group us together and tell us stories and one that just stuck with me just cause of its shear movie like nature  was the story of Shackleton and his ill fated voyage.

So naturally when i got back home i searched for a good book about him. Found one but then before i had a chance to read it got distracted (read a new woman in my life) and totally misplaced the book

It wasn’t until i was flicking through the photos that it dawned on me i had the book so i had to find it read it

Its amazing to discover that over the course of their journey not a single life was lost (excluding penguins and seals)

From having their ship stuck in ice for 10 months only to having it crushed and then living on an ice floe for 5 months. They flee to a nearby island where it was decided someone had to go for help. The journey just gets even tougher for those 6 men. Sailing for almost 2 weeks to south Georgia island only then to realize they would have to hike over the island to help

Its hard to believe it was all real, one can’t appreciate the beauty of these lands with out forgetting just how harsh and unforgivable it is and to know these men conquered that really defines a whole new level of bravery