Recommendations based on Ice Station Zebraby Alistair MacLean

* statistically, based on millions of data-points provided by fellow humans

  1. The Guns of Navarone

    by Alistair MacLean
    A daring mission to destroy a fortress blocking the Allied forces from a major port.

    The island of Navarone, off the Turkish coast, has been heavily fortified as the Germans attempt to stifle British naval activity in the Aegean. A force of twelve hundred British soldiers is now ... (Wikipedia)

  2. The Eagle Has Landed

    by Jack Higgins
    A daring mission to kidnap Winston Churchill from his English home in World War II.

    In November of 1943, an elite team of Nazi paratroopers descends on British soil with a diabolical goal: to abduct Winston Churchill and cripple the Allied war effort. The mission, ordered by Hitler ... (Goodreads)

  3. The Odessa File

    by Frederick Forsyth
    The uncovering of a sinister Nazi plot, while searching for the truth of a young boy's death.

    In November 1963, shortly after the assassination of John F. Kennedy , Peter Miller, a German freelance crime reporter, follows an ambulance to the apartment of Salomon Tauber, a Holocaust survivor ... (Wikipedia)

  4. The Day of the Jackal

    by Frederick Forsyth
    An assassin attempts to kill the president of France in a thrilling race against time.

    The book begins in 1962 with the (historical) failed attempt on de Gaulle 's life plotted by, among others, Lieutenant-Colonel Jean-Marie Bastien-Thiry in the Paris suburb of Petit-Clamart : ... (Wikipedia)

  5. The Eiger Sanction

    by Trevanian
    Art professor and assassin Jonathan Hemlock is forced to climb the treacherous Eiger mountain to complete a deadly mission.

    Dr. Jonathan Hemlock is an art professor and mountaineer . He is also a collector of paintings, most of them obtained from the black market . To finance his collection Hemlock, who served in a ... (Wikipedia)

  6. The Dogs of War

    by Frederick Forsyth
    Mercenary mission to overthrow a corrupt African dictatorship.

    1970: The prologue shows "Cat" Shannon and his fellow mercenaries leaving a West African war they have lost, saying their goodbyes to the General , who employed them for six months. A few weeks ... (Wikipedia)

  7. Eye of the Needle

    by Ken Follett
    A thrilling tale of espionage and wartime romance, set in the chaos of WWII.

    In 1940, Henry Faber, a German spy nicknamed 'die Nadel' ('The Needle') due to his trademark weapon being a stiletto , is working at a London railway depot, collecting information on troop movements. ... (Wikipedia)

  8. The Bourne Identity

    by Robert Ludlum
    An amnesiac assassin must uncover his past and true identity in a deadly search for the truth.

    The preface of the novel consists of two real-life newspaper articles from 1975 about terrorist Ilich Ramírez Sánchez, known as " Carlos the Jackal ." The story opens with gunfire on a boat in the ... (Wikipedia)

  9. The Hunt for Red October

    by Tom Clancy
    A thrilling adventure of a submarine captain's race against the clock in a thrilling game of cat and mouse.

    During the Cold War ,(the story must be set in 1982, according to the days assigned to the dates in the novel, e.g. Dec. 17 was a Friday only in 1982,1976 and 1971 ) Marko Ramius, a Soviet Navy ... (Wikipedia)

  10. One Shot

    by Lee Child
    A former military investigator must solve a murder case in a short period of time.

    In a small Indiana city, a lone gunman in a parking garage calmly fires into a rush-hour crowd in a public plaza, committing a massacre of five apparently random victims with six shots. The shooter ... (Wikipedia)

  11. Gorky Park

    by Martin Cruz Smith
    A thrilling murder mystery, set in the Soviet Union, uncovering secrets and conspiracies.

    The story follows Arkady Renko , a chief investigator for the Moscow militsiya , who is assigned to a case involving three corpses found in Gorky Park , an amusement park in Moscow. The victims - two ... (Wikipedia)

  12. The Ipcress File

    by Len Deighton
    A British spy investigates a brainwashing scheme. Full of twists and turns, it's a classic espionage thriller.

    The novel is framed as the unnamed protagonist delivering his personal report on "the IPCRESS affair" directly to the Minister of Defence , thus making the novel itself the 'IPCRESS File' of the ... (Wikipedia)

  13. A Matter of Honor

    by Jeffrey Archer
    A young British naval officer is falsely accused of theft and must clear his name in a court-martial trial.

    In June 1966 disgraced British colonel Gerald Scott leaves a mysterious letter to his only son, Adam Scott. Adam's mother tells him that she had already asked his father to destroy the letter. Later, ... (Wikipedia)

  14. The Hard Way

    by Lee Child
    An ex-military drifter unravels a criminal conspiracy and takes justice into his own hands.

    In Lee Child’s astonishing new thriller, ex–military cop Reacher sees more than most people would...and because of that, he’s thrust into an explosive situation that’s about to blow up in his face. ... (Goodreads)

  15. Flight of the Intruder

    by Stephen Coonts
    American Navy pilots take on a daring mission to strike deep into North Vietnam.

    Flight of the Intruder begins with a night attack mission flown by Jake Grafton and his navigator Morgan "Morg" McPherson from the USN aircraft carrier, USS Shiloh , striking a target in North ... (Wikipedia)

  16. The Black Echo

    by Michael Connelly
    A former LAPD detective is drawn into a web of mystery and crime as he investigates the death of a Vietnam vet.

    The novel centers on Harry Bosch , a Vietnam veteran who served as a " tunnel rat " (nicknamed Hari Kari Bosch), with the 1st Infantry Division — a specialized soldier whose job it was to go into the ... (Wikipedia)

  17. Roots: The Saga of an American Family

    by Alex Haley
    A multigenerational saga tracing the journey of an African American family in the U.S.

    Roots tells the story of Kunta Kinte —a young man taken from the Gambia when he was seventeen and sold as a slave—and seven generations of his descendants in the United States. Kunta, a Mandinka ... (Wikipedia)

  18. Nightfall

    by Isaac Asimov
    A planet with six suns experiences a rare eclipse, causing chaos and destruction as the inhabitants face the darkness for the first time.

    The planet Lagash ("Kalgash" in the novel) is constantly illuminated by at least one of the six suns of its multiple star system . Lagash has areas of darkness (in caves, tunnels, etc.), but "night" ... (Wikipedia)

  19. Kidnapped

    by Robert Louis Stevenson
    A young man's thrilling escape from kidnappers and the pursuit of justice.

    The main character and narrator is 17-year-old David Balfour. (Balfour is Stevenson's mother's maiden name.) His parents have recently died, and he is out to make his way in the world. He is given a ... (Wikipedia)

  20. The Lost World

    by Arthur Conan Doyle
    An expedition to a remote region of South America, filled with prehistoric creatures and danger.

    Edward Malone, a young reporter for the Daily Gazette , asks his editor for a dangerous assignment to impress the woman he loves, Gladys, who wishes for a great man capable of brave deeds and ... (Wikipedia)

  21. The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency

    by Alexander McCall Smith
    An empowering story of female friendship, courage, and detective work in Botswana.

    Precious Ramotswe has only just set up shop as Botswana's No.1 (and only) lady detective when she is hired to track down a missing husband, uncover a con man, and follow a wayward daughter. However, ... (Goodreads)

  22. 4:50 from Paddington

    by Agatha Christie
    An elderly woman witnesses a murder on a train, and Miss Marple helps solve the case.

    Mrs Elspeth McGillicuddy is on her way from a shopping expedition to visit her old friend Jane Marple for Christmas. Her train passes another train running parallel and in the same direction as her ... (Wikipedia)

  23. Airport

    by Arthur Hailey
    An airport becomes a microcosm of human drama, revealing the stories of those who pass through its gates.

    The story takes place at Lincoln International, a fictional Chicago airport based very loosely on O'Hare International Airport . The action mainly centers on Mel Bakersfeld, the Airport General ... (Wikipedia)

  24. The Rhinemann Exchange

    by Robert Ludlum
    A WWII spy thriller involving a secret exchange of prisoners between Germany and the US.

    On the eve of the Second World War , David Spaulding, a radio voice actor, is recruited by Colonel Ed Pace to run a secret network in Lisbon . The plot advances to 1943. Both the Allies and the Axis ... (Wikipedia)

  25. Clear and Present Danger

    by Tom Clancy
    CIA analyst Jack Ryan uncovers a covert war against drug cartels in Colombia, leading to a dangerous mission to stop the violence.

    The President of the United States , who is running for reelection, finds a fierce opponent in Ohio Governor J. Robert Fowler, who has rallied the American public behind his administration's failures ... (Wikipedia)

  26. The Whole Town's Talking

    by Fannie Flagg
    A small town's inhabitants, both living and dead, share their stories and experiences over the course of a century.

    Elmwood Springs, Missouri, is a small town like any other, but something strange is happening at the cemetery. Still Meadows, as it’s called, is anything but still. Original, profound, The Whole ... (Goodreads)

  27. The Aquitaine Progression

    by Robert Ludlum
    A lawyer uncovers a conspiracy involving a powerful pharmaceutical company and must go on the run to expose the truth.

    In Geneva, American lawyer Joel Converse meets a man he hasn’t seen in twenty years, a covert operative who dies violently at his feet, whispering words that hand Converse a staggering legacy of ... (Goodreads)

  28. Farewell, My Lovely

    by Raymond Chandler
    A hard-boiled detective's adventures as he investigates a complex case of murder and corruption.

    Private detective Philip Marlowe is investigating a dead-end missing person case when he sees a felon, Moose Malloy, barging into a nightclub called Florian's, looking for his ex-girlfriend Velma ... (Wikipedia)

  29. Without Fail

    by Lee Child
    An ex-military investigator takes on a secret mission to locate a missing person.

    Jack Reacher arrives in Atlantic City after hitching a ride cross-country with a couple of aging blues musicians who dream of playing at B.B. King 's club in New York City . He is approached there by ... (Wikipedia)

  30. Patriot Games

    by Tom Clancy
    A former CIA analyst must protect his family from domestic terrorists, while thwarting a major international conspiracy.

    A kidnapping attempt on the Prince and Princess of Wales and their infant son occurs at the Mall in London . The attack is orchestrated by members of the Ulster Liberation Army , an ideologically ... (Wikipedia)