Ice Station takes place on the Ross Ice Shelf in Antarctica. It begins when a group of American scientists working there discovers something deep in the ancient ice. The “something” is made of metal, which means it was created by an intelligent race millions of years before. The premise is fairly similar to Saucer by Stephen Coonts, but he does a much better job.

This is a nonstop, roller-coaster ride of a novel that I finished it in an hour. It jumps from action scene to action scene like a big-budget Hollywood action flick. Almost every country in the world is after the technology inside the spaceship. (You knew it would be a spaceship. That is how predictable this book is.)

Unfortunately, the book is full of clichés. Nearly every scene has been done before, and done better. It even has a rehash of the good old “taxi driver turns out to be the villain” routine.

The book is written like a screenplay, with no paragraph longer than two lines. The whole thing feels speedy, but it ultimately disappoints. Despite the many plot twists and surprises on every page, I was left feeling cheated. There seemed to be no point to the book. It could almost be justified as Brainless Fun, but it's not fun. It was 500 pages of pure drivel, and I'm someone who likes thrillers. I would recommend any book over this. And, according to many reviews, Riley's work doesn't improve much from here. My advice is to read Saucer instead.