Operation Ice Breaker: A Mac McDowell Mission

by Robert G. Williscroft

This is a novel about the real thing and real events, not traditional Hollywood drama."Operation Ice Breaker is more than a cat-and-mouse thriller with nail-biting action both above the ice sheets and in the icy depths beneath. The realism is unmatched as Williscroft draws upon his extensive experience in submarines and covert warfare."— Dr. Dave Edlund, USA Today Bestselling Author, The Peter Savage Thrillers USS Teuthis Saturation Dive Team Officer-in-Charge Mac McDowell is leading his submarine team on a mission to lay SOSUS listening network arrays under the ice in the Arctic when they clash with a new Alfa-class highly automated Soviet submarine. Overwhelmed by mechanical problems, the Soviet crew abandons their sub under the ice near Pt. Barrow, Alaska, where Mac and his team surreptitiously arrange for their rescue. The Teuthis skipper launches the Deep Submersible Rescue Vessel Mystic, so Mac and his crew can board the empty sub and gather intelligence. The arrival of an even more advanced Soviet sub leads to breathtaking underwater clashes with the specter of war looming. Will the Soviets sink Mac and his crew to their watery graves, or will Teuthis safely return to Alaska where Mac's new love, Kate, anxiously awaits his return?

290 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 23, 2020

About the author

Dr. Robert G. Williscroft is a retired submarine officer, deep-sea and saturation diver, scientist, author, and a lifelong adventurer. He spent twenty-two months underwater, a year in the equatorial Pacific, three years in the Arctic ice pack, and a year at the Geographic South Pole. He holds degrees in Marine Physics and Meteorology and a doctorate for developing a system to protect scuba divers in contaminated water. A prolific author of both non-fiction, submarine technothrillers, and hard science fiction, he lives in Centennial, Colorado.

Dr. Williscroft is a member of Colorado Author’s League, Independent Association of Science Fiction & Fantasy Authors, Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers Association, Libertarian Futurist Society, Los Angeles Adventurers’ Club, Mensa, Military Officer’s Association, U.S. Sub Vets, American Legion, and the NRA, and now spends most of his time writing his next book, speaking to various regional groups, and hanging out with the girl of his dreams, Jill, and her two cats.

Reviews

[Beem Weeks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mac McDowell returns in Operation Ice Breaker, the sequel to Operation Ivy Bells, and things are about to go sideways!

Mac and his crew take the U.S.S. Teuthis, a specially modified submarine, on a harrowing journey beneath the Arctic ice pack. Their mission is to lay secret SOSUS arrays along the ocean floor without being detected by the Soviets.

The Teuthis crew play a high-stakes game of hide-and-seek with a Soviet submarine, with the Russians eventually forced to abandon their sub at the bottom of the sea. After American forces rescue the Soviets, Mac and his team travel to Kodiak, Alaska, where they utilize a Navy Deep Submergence Rescue Vehicle to gather intel from the lost Soviet sub.

Mac falls for a young woman named Kate, the widow of a Coast Guard officer. Though their time together is brief, it highlights the human side of Mac. This makes for a well-rounded character.

The author, a retired submariner himself, has used his extensive knowledge to craft a tight, intense story that pulls readers into the action from the opening page. Williscroft writes some of the best cold-war military thrillers in the genre. This is a book I enjoyed from start to finish. And there’s even an audiobook available, complete with sound effects.

If you’re into strong military thrillers that rival the best writers in the genre, this is one you’ll want to get. And since it’s part of a four-book series, you’ll be enjoying Mac and his adventures beyond this title.

[Gene Masters · Rating 5 out of 5]

Author Robert Williscroft scores another direct hit with Operation Ice Breaker. The follow-up novel to his first page-turner, the historical novel Operation Ivy Bells, Operation Ice Breaker is a second tour-de-force in the saga of submariner and saturation diver Mac MacDowell. Newly promoted to Lieutenant Commander, Mac leads his saturation dive team on Top Secret deep-dive missions: installing passive sound surveillance (SOSUS) arrays to track Soviet submarines in the Arctic, and then investigating an advanced Soviet submarine abandoned in those same frigid waters. Williscroft’s knowledge of nuclear submarine operations, saturation diving, and his direct experience with Mystic, a deep-submergence rescue vehicle, give the reader the sense of authenticity that can only add to their enjoyment in reading this fine novel.

[Big Fat Hairy Man · Rating 3 out of 5]

In book two of this series, Mac is back. This time, he's on another submarine heading to the Arctic where they're laying a surveillance array on the bottom of the ocean. They're interrupted by a Soviet Alfa submarine and end up playing cat and mouse until the Alfa breaks down. They rescue the crew then head home and get a submersible to examine the submarine in more detail. However, they're interrupted again by another Soviet sub and have to deal with this new threat first. All in all, this was an okay book. It still suffers from the two issues I mentioned in the first book but was still entertaining enough for me to finish.

I'm a member of the ARC team and have left an honest review voluntarily.

[gj indieBRAG · Rating 5 out of 5]

We are proud to announce that OPERATION ICE BREAKER by Robert G. Willscroft is a B.R.A.G.Medallion Honoree. This tells readers that this book is well worth their time and money!