Nick Thacker is a thriller author from Texas who lives in Hawaii. In his free time, he enjoys reading in a hammock on the beach, skiing, drinking whiskey, and hanging out with his beautiful wife, two dogs, and two daughters. For more information, visit Nick online at www.nickthacker.com
In addition to his fiction work, Nick is the founder and lead of Sonata & Scribe, the only music studio focused on producing “soundtracks” for books and series. Find out more at www.SonataAndScribe.com.
This book will make a good movie, would I see it? No I won't. Under the ice, in Antarctica, secret laboratory, programmes working to create Biologically structured supercomputer. Ten layers deep compound, thousands of people on life support, their brains are hooked up to computers to create this computer. Government wants this data, as well as the Chinese. Fights, more killings with long descriptions. Blizzard, but drones flying in this weather!
2.5 There's a chef whose speciality is "Prosciutto flown in daily from Parma, Italy" in here. If that doesn't inform you of the level of absolute nonsense we're dealing with, sure, feel free to read the series. This time the evil organization has set up operations in Antartica, because privacy duh, and really near McMurdo Station, because wait, what? N.B.: we haven't even touched upon the scientific premise. Or the *other* arch introduced. And you know, for a small band of infiltrators trying to avoid personnel, drones, a security force, and a bonus entire battalion of ruthless Chinese, this sure is a talkative bunch.
I always find that an action adventure that all takes place in one very complex location can be very difficult to follow, and this is no exception. Set in Antarctica, only a short distance from McMurdo Sound Station (how did they manage to develop such a complex without anyone being aware of it?) the plot centres on one man’s determination to create a super computer linking hundreds of brains, their owners being in stasis, with his being the final part of that computer. Others have become aware of something incredible going on, resulting in warring groups attempting to take control of the site.it is quite a brutal and, at times, unnerving story. Understanding where we are in the subterranean complex is not straightforward, but the story is entertaining and quite worthwhile.
This was the third book in a series of three books. It was very good, and it would be good to read book 1 (the Enigma Strain) and book 2 (the Amazon code ) because it all leads into this book.
I have read the other two Harvey Bennet thrillers that Nick Thacker has written and they were great. Ice Chasm however is way above those two. Watch out James Patterson, Daniel Silvia and other thriller authors. There is a new guy in town! This book was so good I literally could not put it down. You have no idea what is going to happen next and are totally surprised at the twists and turns this book takes. How Harvey and the rest of the crew get out of the predicaments they end up in. You're sure they are dead, but Nick gets them out in the most unique ways. I am very much hoping that there is another book in this series. It was left either way. You can literally see Nick grow as an author from The Enigma Strain to The Amazon Code, then Ice Chasm. Keep up the good work, Nick. Don't miss one of the best thriller series out there.
I'm a sucker for books set in the arctic (whichever pole) ever since I read Ice Station Zebra as a kid and later saw The Thing (Carpenter's, of course). Aside from a couple scenes, this book could have been set anywhere, as the action is all indoors. And what "chasm" is the title referring to?
Anyhow, not sure why this has so many 5-star reviews. It's fun, a bit engaging, and clever, but only suspenseful in a goofy b-movie way. As a recovering programmer I found the technology descriptions worthy of several chuckles, but the underlying "hive mind" neural network was at least creative.
Not a bad shooter, some funny moments, but don't be fooled into thinking you're getting an arctic chiller here!
Satisfying read and a good follow-up to the previous books. I like where the author is heading with Ben, Julia and crew. The story was pretty action packed and tough to put down at times. The Antartica setting was a good setting as well.
Kindle Unlimited, although had The Enigma Strain and The Amazon Code didn't have Ice Chasm so thru kindle unlimited to get the 3 pack Harvey Bennett Thrillers: Books 1-3 (Harvey Bennett Thrillers Box Set) .Even if hadn't gotten 'free' with ku, well worth the time to read, and not my usual genre {more mystery less thriller} but enjoyed them. Also used ku to read Killer Thrillers: 3 Bestselling Novels which has the this one but also has The Golden Crystal and The Depths in that 3 set. Glimpse a New World short collection has one of his stories also.
Content with his new life among the frigid beauty of Arctic Alaska, Park Ranger Harvey Bennett has found not only a team... but friends. After surviving the inhospitable heart of the Amazon rainforest, Ben and former CDC official Juliette Richardson know only one thing. Their time to untangle the remaining mysteries behind Draconis Industries is running out.
But when the team is asked to board a cargo plane bound for Antarctica, Ben discovers that this new assignment may be just the break they have been looking for. On the run from Chinese military determined to keep intruders away and vulnerable to the unforgiving Antarctic terrain, Ben and his team find themselves in a race through the corridors of the undisclosed base. But can they uncover the secrets behind the frozen base? Or will their hope of surviving the hostile conditions of the Antarctic wilderness die along with them? Can Ben and his team finally discover who is behind the Draconis Industries and take them down once and for all?
Kindle Unlimited, Enigma Strain, Amazon Code, Ice Chasm, Jefferson Legacy
As airplane books go Ice Chasm fits the bill. It'll keep you turning the pages--as it did for me on a 9-hour flight from Chicago to Honolulu. But as good reads go, it just misses the mark. I'm reminded of the time I binge watched the first season of 24... When there's a week gap between episodes it seems believable but back to back viewing leaves you in disbelief... Hey, didn't Bauer just fall out a 3rd story window after being shot in the leg two hours ago? And now he's running down the road chasing a bad guy at full sprint? Same here. Wait... Didn't Ben just get his face and arms pummeled, ready to just roll over and die and now he's doing what? And while I don't claim to be the smartest person in the room, as soon as level 10 was described it was obvious what was happening even if the characters themselves didn't figure it out until a few hundred pages later. And what happened to the "army" (being generic to avoid spoilers)? Figure out the computer and, what? They just stopped fighting? And the ending was, well--how many people sacrificed to accomplish that goal? Seems a bit overkill -- literally. And oddly enough none of the characters seem overly PO'd over it which, based on books one and two, seems out of character. But, like I said, it did the job and occupied me while on a long flight. The writing style is improving over books 1&2. Character depth getting there. Here's hoping #4 is a page turner without the Bauer-esq plot line. I'll be reading that one one the flight home!
You definitely need to suspend disbelief to read this series. IF you can do that, it's a fun ride, but there are major issues.
This time Ben, Julie, Reggie, and Joshua, are on their way to Antarctica, in the company of a mysterious woman, Mrs. E, and her security team, and funded by a Mr. E (eyeroll). I wasn't as happy with this one as I was book 2, because of this.
Yes, I understand that they were drawn there by the promise of bringing down Drache Global, BUT... they went with little, to no, information, were told that certain members of their group would have certain roles, and then that was all taken away, and while upset they STILL chose to forge ahead with the mission. Excuse me? Why the hell would you take this on, with no info and people who lie to you? They never were told what the "real" mission was, and then, at the end, they're all offered positions in the CSO - a newly formed Civilian Special Operations group. And, of course, they all agree (another eyeroll). Especially as Joshua has just gotten out from under the Drache Global villains. I guess he's too stupid to learn not to trust those who've proven untrustworthy, along with everyone else? Ugh. So, my beef is the naivety they all respond with, as a result they're all TSTL.
I can read a fun, fast paced, mystery, thriller, and suspend my disbelief, but I cannot stand idiot characters.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Rarely a dull moment in this thriller! The team is back together, but working for a mysterious employer and his wife. Fortunately, their interests mesh; they are both after the same villain, but for different reasons. Told he’ll be in charge, Joshua is immediately displaced by another, just as the plane taking them to Antarctica is leaving the runway. The team is outraged at his demotion, and uneasy at what being lied to about it means for the rest of the mission. The new leader seems capable, so they decide to take a wait and see attitude. The action starts quickly, and rarely lets up for more than a few minutes at a time. I was riveted, and read it in one sitting. The four stars instead of five, was again for some places that were just not very believable. I got past it, and thoroughly enjoyed the story, and character interactions! I highly recommend this series!
“The Ice Chasm” by Nick Thacker is long winded, highly repetitive with multiple leads of faith. Harvey Bennett & team get talked into going to Antarctica to find a secret laboratory the evil Company from the previous 2 adventures has built 10 stories below the ice on the Ross Ice shelf close to one of the American stations, huh? They are attacked by AI controlled drones shooting bb’s with deadly accuracy in excessive wind killing soldiers & blowing up a military vehicle, yah sure. Ben etc. sneak into the base thru buried ventilation shafts. After much carnage they discover a server farm using human brains as computing power & the old dying evil mastermind of the Company trying to attach his mind to the human super computer to create the ultimate AI. There are some twists that keep you interested, but at times this is tiresome especially all the self doubting stream of consciousness. Thacker’s writing isn’t close to Faulkner’s. 2 -2.5 Stars.
This is the second Harvey Bennet book I have read (actually listened to - Audible) and it was the better of the two. Ben and his team seem to always manage to find themselves in impossible situations only to be saved at the last minute by someone on the "other side" who changes alliances. In this case, it was a guy who was to be locked into a container to become part of a plot to create an artificial intelligence powered by hundreds of living human brains. Sounds far out and probably is, but hey, this is fiction so we deal with it. It seems like the author takes a really long time getting to the source of the trouble. There is a lot of time spent going from place to place and while this is probably how many quests actually are, it makes for less than exciting reading. I liked this book but didn't love it.
I just love this author's book. When a writer can make the story come so alive that I'm right thete in it, then I feel that author had gone above and beyond just writing a book. I was sad to see it end although not about the ending itself. Even though this book is 3rd in a series, it easily stands alone. The thing is, it's so good, has made me love the characters so much and keeps me so enthralled I miss meals, that I am thrilled there's more to read! I think thete are 10 books in the series now and I'm going to read everyone. I really need to close this now so I can go start book 4! Boy oh boy, do I highly recommend this book....YOU BET! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!! :D
The scenario changes climate from one extreme to the other in Nick Thacker's thrilling The Ice Chasm, Book 3 in his excellent Harvey Bennett Thrillers series, in a Where Eagles Dare-like adventure in the Antarctic. Julie, Joshua, Reggie, Jonathan Coulson, the mysterious Mrs E and of course Harvey (aka Ben) take part in a do-or-die world-changing mission, that leads to an altered reality experience and an epic battle between the Team, Asian mercenaries and a megalomaniac's life's-work that must be stopped at all costs.
Read Nick Thacker's riveting all-action thriller, The Ice Chasm if you dare to reveal a heart-stopping, mind-blowing dystopian possibility of a plot, that seems all too horribly predictable!
The book is called “Harvey Bennett Trillers”, but Harvey is a less than a minor character in the book. Harvey has less experience in these books that anyone else. He doesn’t have the experience to pull off anything in any of the books I’ve read. The author could write these books without Harvey, with minor changes and have a better book. There really isn’t a lead character in the book, just a group with minor parts to make a whole. The stories are interesting some, but this one is totally unbelievable, just like Yellowstone and the Amazon stories. At the end, to think some group would organize these characters into an investigative team to do things the Special Forces or the FBI can’t do is really stretching the mind of readers.
The thought of being in Antarctica probably scares me more than having a gun pointed at me. ( And may I never know if this is true or not!) I like that the characters are fully developed into people I would like to meet. It helps to quickly see them in my mind so I don't get them confused. I have difficulty with that in some otherwise good stories. I have to keep flipping back to remind myself who the person is. The plot of this thriller is genius in that a computer is being developed to use the minds of many people linked together. I couldn't put the book down for the last third or so. I had to know how it would end.
Mr. Thacker writes some of the most intense fiction I have ever encountered. I really liked The Ice Chasm, and I'd like read more of his novels, but I need some time to regroup. Honestly! I confess, there were times when I had trouble following the depth and intricacies that were needed to totally glean what was being described. And some of the techno-jargon got too indepth, forcing me to re-read sections. But I have rarely been gripped with the physical tenderness that took hold of me during many of the action scenes. I had to literally put the book down and rest! But like I said, I want to read more.
Non-stop thrills! The opening chapter sets the stage for this to be a very mysterious story. But it doesn't begin to tell the depth of the characters and what they have to offer to the mission. I loved watching each of them blossom and provide a necessary piece to the puzzle that was the team. I was disappointed, however, in the amount of the story that was devoted to violence and fighting. I think there was more than enough intrigue to carry the story forward without so many gun battles. I was also surprised at the degree of science fiction that permeated the story, but it still provided great entertainment. Nick Thacker is a great writer.
Ben, Julie, Joshua, & Reggie are still looking for and trying to end Draconis Industries. With the latest scrap of information regarding their nemesis leads Ben, Julie, and the rest of our Quixotic crew to the bowels of Antarctica. As this book ends, we are left with two questions, Is this really the end of Draconis Industries, and What will be the ramifications of the proposal put forth by the ultra mysterious Mr. E? I guess the next book will give us some clues.
Another surprisingly good read by Nick Thacker. I had previously read "The Enigma Strain" and was impressed by the plot and the characters.
This book was non-stop action and adventure. Although I had a little difficulty visualizing his word-pictures, it was intriguing and super-well written.
This one takes place in Antarctica (you might guess from the title). Bennett, our deeply flawed protagonist, is way over his head, and constantly in danger. A good thriller, for sure.
A mystery. How was a complex built under the ice in Antarctica, and no one noticed? What are they doing there?
Ben, Julie, Reggie, and Joshua reunite to solve these questions for the strange and mysterious Mr. and Mrs. E.
Bullets, drones, sub-freezing temperatures, well-armed security forces, and the Chinese military seek to stop our intrepid adventurers. Some of the action is, to be expected, gory. You can choose to skip past it, as I do, or accept it as a part of our culture. Whichever one you choose, it is entertaining reading.
The Ice Chasm is the 3rd in the Harvey Bennett Thriller series and, unlike the previous books taking place mostly in tropical locations, takes place mostly 1000' below the surface of Antarctica. Harvey, Julie et al end up trapped between the Chinese army and Draconis private security. The writing is good, the plot, while revolving around AI, is a very unique take on the genre. 4/5 stars. Highly recommended for fans of well written, unpredictable thrillers!
I totally enjoyed this book. The characters had enough depth that I found myself knowing them and pulling for them. The story takes place mainly in Antarctica. Descriptions of the environment made me understand the problems the characters encountered at a deeper level. There is a lot of breath holding adventure that will keep you reading far into the night. Enjoy!
This book, as well as the two others in the series, we're freebies with my bookbub account. I would have purchased them if that were the case. These three stories were exciting and fast paced. The storyline was clear and consistently interesting. The locations of the stories were well described and very detailed. I recommend this trilogy to those who like action, adventure, humor and intelligence. Nick Thacker really did a great job and I look forward to reading more of his books.
Honestly, I am pretty much through with reading Nick Thacker's books for free. I just buy the next one when it comes out.
This author is stupendous. His characters are a wonderful blend of flaws and strengths, filled with wit and humanity and individuality. His writing is absolutely cinematic (my goodness I wish a studio would make at least one of his books into a movie), and I personally consider him an inspiration for my own writing.
The premise of this book caught my interest. There was plenty of action but there was also plenty of unnecessary back story on all of the characters that was not needed and only drew out the book. At times it seemed to me that Nick Thacker was using it to fill the pages so the book would be long enough. This book could easily be half as long without all the extraneous information.
Man, what a great read. I was on the edge of my seat reading this. One thing after another is woven together to intrigue and scare the reader. I like that the story has a beginning, a middle, and an end. We are not left hanging and then new opportunities for our fearless band! Excellent story that ties up the Dragon Industries ARC and starts us off with a new direction that sounds extremely interesting. Looking forward to more from Nick Thacker.