It is always refreshing to read a Brad Thor novel. With the passing of Tom Clancy in 2013, the literary world was left with a gaping hole of political thriller writers with a conservative sensibility. Thor has more than picked up the gauntlet and filled this void. His Scot Harvath series continues to make an impact with themes and stories that are an ideal fit for the political turmoil in which we currently live.

BLACK ICE, at least initially, finds a far more mellow version of the Scot Harvath we have grown to love over the years. He has had to deal with a lot of change --- both in the political climate that has altered his role as a special agent and with the loss of his friend and mentor with his organization, the Carlton Group. Fans of the series also understand that Harvath is a former Navy Seal and an ex-Secret Service member who has a special set of skills that has found him in demand for projects few others could accomplish.

"Scot Harvath is the hero we need to do whatever it takes to maintain our security and safety in the face of so much adversity from our political rivals."

First off, let’s break down the book’s title and its significance throughout the story. The rapidly melting sea ice in the Arctic waters --- a Blue Arctic --- will create new opportunities and challenges for world powers that seek to exploit the area, specifically the United States, Russia and China. Since the current value system of the U.S. vastly differs from those other countries, it will become imperative that we prevent them from using such natural resources to wrest power from our nation.

At the beginning of BLACK ICE, Harvath is in a helicopter with two other men that is about to crash in the very same Arctic territory. We will see these series of events in detail later in the book --- it’s one of the best action sequences I’ve read in a while --- but first we must go back 72 hours to set up the plot. Harvath is having a great summer in Oslo, Norway, with his true love, Sølvi. His life could not be any better since he stepped away from his previous line of work. That is until he literally sees a ghost, a man he had killed years earlier, appearing before his eyes.

America’s top spy is quickly called back into action in a race against both time and the combined efforts of China and Russia. He is brought up to speed on what those countries are plotting, and it involves control of the Arctic Shelf and threats of nuclear power being utilized in that region. China is seen as the largest threat here, especially since the “ghost” Harvath saw earlier was Colonel Jiang Shi of the People’s Liberation Army --- a really bad guy with a lot of power who Harvath swore had been eliminated from the political chessboard.

The race to get icebreaker ships into the Arctic has become a reality, and it appears that the U.S. is way behind in this area. Harvath seems to run on automatic pilot in situations like this, an intelligent killing machine who is willing to do anything to achieve the goals of his assignment. He relies on his loyal band of colleagues who have been there for him throughout his super spy life, and it is great to see the old gang together again. China’s goal is to disrupt radar technology in a mission labeled “Black Ice,” and Harvath may be the only person standing between them and success.

BLACK ICE is a slow burn of a novel that spends a lot of time establishing the players and the moves being made in this political game. However, once the last third kicks into gear, we get to see Brad Thor at his best with action sequences that will literally chill readers while simultaneously taking their breath away. Scot Harvath is the hero we need to do whatever it takes to maintain our security and safety in the face of so much adversity from our political rivals.