**I received a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for a fair, honest review**


I am completely obsessed with Antarctica. I think it's because it is one of the last wild, unpredictable, un-tameable places left on earth. Due to the temperature, it's dangerous just to be there, so my vivid imagination just revels in the sparkling, beautiful ice, the howling wind and the frozen, icy quiet that can kill your ass in minutes.

What better place to set a horror novel?

The basic concept is not new by any stretch of the imagination. There have been dozens of books and movies about teams of scientists getting their clocks chimed permanently in the deep frozen Antarctic. I had to smile when in one scene members of the team at the research station are watching John Carpenter's movie The Thing -- it's about Antarctic scientists being attacked and killed by alien monsters. Later on, those same researchers watch Alien. Perfect!

I have no problem enjoying another story about the dangers of being an Antarctic scientist when there are aliens around. Hammott doesn't introduce a new, complex plot, but he does masterfully describe every gory detail of what they are up against in vivid cinematic writing. As the story unfolded, my imagination soared. I pictured every scene in my head as I read. I love it when a sci-fi or horror novel lets me sink into the story on that deeper level. It's like reading a book while watching a movie inside my head.

Don't expect a complex plot. The plot is simple....it's the details that will grab your attention and pull you into the story. That's the key to great horror -- make readers SEE and FEEL the terror. Hammott delivers. I was truly creeped out and on the edge of my seat. I couldn't stop reading!

The basics: A research team is sent to Antarctica to investigate a large ice rift. NASA has noted an anomaly in its scans of the rift, so the scientific team decides to venture into the chasm. When they discover a crashed spaceship frozen in the ice, the scientists see it as an incredible research opportunity. Little do they know the horrors that await them inside the ship.

This book surprised me. I was expecting a sci-fi action novel when I first started reading And I got it....with a large serving of very well done monster-alien-gore horror. Most alien horror stories end up cheesy and ridiculous. I can't say this book was cheese-free. A story about alien monsters can't escape a bit of the ridiculous, but the action was engaging, suspenseful and well, horrific. It takes a lot to give me the willies and this book has some truly spine-tingling suspense, horror and outright gore.

MONSTERS!!!! AHHHHHH!!!

The more I imagined what it would be like to be a part of the team investigating that ship....the more creeped out I became. At one point while I was reading, the alarm on my phone started beeping and I just about jumped out of my skin. I'm glad I set the alarm though! I was so intent on the story that the muffins in the oven would have been forgotten until they burned!

There were a few places that I felt the book could have used a bit more editing. For example, multiple times the team "failed to notice sets of eyes staring at them" from the ceiling. While it didn't dampen my enjoyment of the story at all, the constant repetition of the same phrase did push my inner editor button, pulling me out of my total immersion in the story for a moment.

All in all, a few rough spots but an enjoyable alien horror fest! Don't read this book at home alone this winter. You will be afraid to walk to the bathroom by yourself! And, always scan the ceiling for yellow, glowing eyes.....

Readers who enjoy sci-fi, horror and just a touch of campiness will love this Antarctic adventure! Monster and alien movie fans will also enjoy this book!

Ben Hammott has written several adventure books including the An Unexpected Adventure series and The Tomb, The Temple and the Treasure series. ( )

A ‘Slasher Film’ in Book Form

As I was reading Ice Rift, I kept thinking it had a number of similarities to a ‘slasher film.’ In particular, I was thinking of that scene where the so-to-be-victims are deciding if they should hide in the basement, when that is exactly where the psychotic killer does his thing. And you keep thinking, don’t go to the basement, don’t go to the basement…and of course, they all go to the basement. In this case, I was thinking, don’t go into that alien space ship with the malfunctioning door…but they all go in. Could you really expect anything good to happen after that?

Of course, there are differences between this book and a slasher film, one of the prime being that instead of a single, psychotic killer, you have waves and waves of man-eating, space aliens. And therein lies one of my concerns I had about this book – pacing. It was over-paced with space-monster attacks for most of the story. The constant parade of odd-looking, yet consistently predatory aliens made me numb after a while – almost to the point of chuckling when a new variant appeared. Even the strangest, most bloodthirsty monsters can become repetitive. And like one of the characters in the story, I started wondering, where are the cuddly puppies and kittens? I will give the author credit, however. He did come up with some ingenious ways for these various species to kill their prey.

The theme of near constant human-alien battle made character development problematic. Whenever the scientists trapped inside the ship paused to reflect on life or the wonders of the technology or each other, it seemed grossly out of place. Is this really what they would do in the 30 seconds between narrow escapes? A budding romance between two characters seemed particularly strained to the point of breaking – I don’t think the bulk of the plot left any room for sex.

There were a few issues in the writing – typos, grammar, etc. – but not many that I noticed. Sentence structure in places was unusual and the dialog seemed quite stiff on occasion. But overall, the book was well written. It is written as third person, allowing looks inside the heads of the characters. But interestingly, once or twice, the reader was given a peek inside the mind of the main, space-alien ‘villain.’ Personally, I wished the author had either used that technique more or not at all, because the limited use was jarring and left a inconsistent picture of this being.

Overall, readers who enjoy slasher-type stories, recast in a space-alien setting will like Ice Rift, unless the constant parade of monsters wears too thin. ( )

There is just something about being isolated and hunted in the Arctic or Antarctic that draws me every time and this novel does not disappoint.
After an anomaly is discovered by NASA, a team of scientists are sent to the Antarctic to find out what exactly is going on. There is so much going on in this novel and I almost had the feel of H.P. Lovecraft with hidden horrors that no one should ever see. There seems to be a definite homage paid to "The Thing" but I found this book to be quite different and a lot of fun to read especially at night. I also liked how the author developed the main characters and did so in such a way that it did not detract from the book itself but added a needed element.
I received a copy of this book from the publishers for free in exchange for an honest review. ( )

Anomaly in the Ice Rift...

Ice rift is about an expedition team that is sent to the Pine Glacier Ice Shelf in Antarctica to determine the acceleration rate of the ice stream and also investigate an anomaly in the ice rift that's showing up on NASA's scans. When the team descends into the rift they discover a spaceship that evidently crashed and is now buried under the ice shelf. The team sees this as the opportunity of a lifetime to gain important invaluable information about their discovery so they board the ship...

Honestly, I loved the beginning of this story and the end of the story, but the middle of the story when the team boards the ship-not so much. For one, I felt like there way too many horror elements/creatures introduced (trying to avoid spoilers). I think one or two elements would have been satisfactory but the team encountered one thing after the other and the descriptions of the creatures and the inside of the 'never-ending' ship were so over-the-top so that they came across as completely unrealistic. Also I felt like too much of the story was spent on the team wandering around on the spaceship. I know I would've liked it a lot more if the author utilized the team's base camp and the actual Antarctic landscape more then the ship.

Overall I think with a little bit of editing, the story has a lot of potential but if you enjoy outrageous creature features you may like it immensely the way it is.

This is the first book I've read by Indie author, Ben Hammott, but I noticed he has written some other books in different genres that look very intriguing so I definitely plan on checking those out.

*I received this ARC from NetGalley & Ben Hammott in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!

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