Ice and Monsters: The Lost, Book 1

The Recon Marines are in the middle of a North Sea exercise off the coast of Norway. Then fog, thicker than normal with an eerie feel, moves in. That's when the Recon Marines are suddenly, inexplicably, in another place. It's not Norway. But they have no idea until they're attacked by, "merpeople" that Colen realizes that they're not where they were only moments ago. And the craziness starts. The Captain, a boot, refuses to believe they're not in Norway. His decisions, made according to His Officer Training, were based on their old reality. But Gunny Taylor is the real commanding officer based on tours fought during a lifetime of being Recon Marines. Gunny has common sense & tries to get the Captain on board but to no avail. After the first battle with the sea people took Marine's lives, they were ill-prepared for what awaited them. And what the Captain decides after the second battle changes the fate of all the Recon Marines. The story takes off from there & moves non-stop. I'm hooked now, and on to the next book in the series. I'm trying not to spoil anyone's read, but I am sure that any reader of warfare books knows that they're excellent reads. If you've not read a warfare series, why not? You're missing all the great books! Thank you Peter Nealen. I'm so happy you put this story down on "paper" for us to share. It's a fun, action-filled, military story that bares the hearts and minds of this group of Recon Marines. And well done too!

I love military fiction, but this is one better. Like Taylor Anderson's cross-time shipwreck "Destroyermen" series, "Ice and Monsters" charges into the new "wargate" genre with guns blazing right out of the drop, and hardly lets up until the last page. I read it in one day. If you like action and high fantasy peopled with heroes and villains, this will entertain. I'm not a vet, but the realistic skirmishes and weapons handling are perfectly accessible to civilians interested in military and military history. No punches pulled. Realistic portrayal of people under great stress. I only removed one star because I feel like the first two novels could have been one fat one...but maybe someday we'll get a paper omnibus edition, which I will put on my shelf. In the meanwhile, I'm happy to throw money at each Kindle edition singly. Hey, I can read my Kindle in the dark without NVGs, so there's that.

Here's a recent entry in the new "WarGate" subgenre, featuring a modern military unit somehow transported into a world of fantasy/legend to face the monsters and other inhabitants of the place. (I'm just as happy that author Peter Nealen omitted the supposed third WarGate element of perpetual resupply, although since that was mentioned in the Foreword I kept waiting for it to appear.) The plot was a page-turner with almost continual combat from beginning to end, with frequent surprises and hardly any repetition of action. I'm assuming the author drew on his own combat experiences and those related to him by other real Marines for the realistic feel to his descriptions of combat and fieldcraft - well, except for the monsters, which are well-imagined and not cookie-cutter copies from any game, fiction, or myth that I'm familiar with. (I found it interesting that of the two "top" reviews currently showing, one seems to be about a completely different book/series, and the other complains about the WarGate "perpetual taco machine" resupply gimmick, which as I noted Peter Nealen did not even feature in this book! I suggest you ignore those.)

This book was non stop, edge of your seat action. We'll written with good characters. Now I have to get the next book and explore other series from this author.

When I first picked up this book, I was expecting a lone warrior navigating a fantasy world. Instead, I was pleasantly surprised to find a team of Navy Seals thrust into a fantasy realm. The narrative kicks off in a familiar setting, with the soldiers on a routine exercise, only to be transported to a world teeming with monsters. The characters, each with their unique traits, are easily distinguishable and leave a lasting impression. The main character, Connor, is a squad leader who only wants to go home and keep his men alive. The team leader is a fresh-faced schoolboy who'd never seen actual combat, and his second-in-command is a grizzled but fair gunny sergeant. The three men constantly butt heads with every action they take. Connor wants to leave ASAP, the captain wants to make nice with the locals, and Gunny intends to keep everyone together. As the book unfolds, you see what kind of lengths each character will take. The book takes a second to pick up because it uses military language, but the author tries his best to explain to the readers what they mean. The book is a good mix of action and drama, with parts of the book allowing the reader to absorb the atmosphere and tension the writer delivers. The author's details of how the soldiers deal with the cold and animosity they feel towards the native people help them understand the fear and uncertainty they all face. All in all, the author does a great job with the book and sets up the sequel to pique interest enough to read the next in the series.

I am not disappointed. Wasn't sure about purchasing it at first, based on the preview, but looked at some reviews and figured it was worth it. And it is. If the other books in the series are just as good, BZ to Peter for not getting stale and repetitive. I just purchased book 2, will be reading it this week.

A welcome change. Had not heard of the author beforehand and only read on Jason Anspach's referral. Glad I did. A well written storyline. Continuous action and the author did not have the usual filler to increase his line count. Good plot and I look forward to the next.

it reminded me of 'Monster Hunter' with Milla Jovovich. If you like these kind of stories, i can only say highly recommended. Without spoilers, when a Recon Marine unit on exercice goes into a fogbank on the Norwegian coast, things start to go wrong. Well things, let's say everything. Marines meet LOTR and worse. Written by aformer marine, the book shows the love and unitpride he has for marines trying to come to grips with an alien (if it were only aliens) world. Action, exciting, fast paced with creatures who make Orcs look like girlscouts. I didn know Peter Nealen, now i ordered book two and i'm making place on my shelves for more. This man is on auto buy from now on, i hope , since these days i already have discovered four new writers and read the dreaded words 'not available at the moment'

American Recon marines vs lots of big monsters. Constant action against ever greater threats with dwindling ammunition. High tension military sci-fi fantasy with touches of horror. Peter Nealen has built a fascinating and entertaining world with this book. When a company of Recon marines deploy on exercise and drift through a fog bank the enter a world of ice and monsters, with magic and gods, savage creatures and humans. The characters are good and have some depth but it is mostly about the action. I really enjoyed this one and will be reading more. Mark Boyett is the perfect narrator for this book.

I enjoyed this first entry. I wasn't aware that this sort of genre was called wargate fiction. A great mashup of modern military being transported some how to a location where fantasy elements of monsters and eldritch powers are real. Nice story flow with believable characters. Hope they find a PTM soon or they will have very little to offer the natives as at the end of this entry they are black on ammunition. I'll be continuing with the series and on the strength of this entry will be trying the author's other works.

This is the first (but certainly not the last) Peter Nealen novel that I will read. In fact I have pre-ordered Book 2! Convincingly told tale mixing modern day military forces (USMC) with traditional fantasy elements. The characters were well fleshed out, the pace of the story held my attention and it built up nicely to a sound conclusion with the reader wanting more. Unlike some e-literature product, there were negligible grammatical errors which can otherwise cause disappointment. Great start to the series!