65 Below

By: Basil Sands

Narrated by: Basil Sands

At 65 degrees below zero, exposed human flesh freezes solid within three minutes.

Retired Marine Master Sergeant Marcus Johnson returned to his family homestead in rural Alaska after 20 years chasing bad men. Now he wants nothing but to hunt and fish and run his trapline in peace and quiet, and no more war.

Meanwhile, lurking deep in a long forgotten bunker in the remote arctic hills is a decades-old secret that could not be destroyed, and was never meant to be rediscovered.

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©2010 Basil Sands (P)2011 Sandman Studio Productions of Alaska

Critic reviews

"Sands is fearless in his storytelling, and tireless in his quest to connect directly with his audience. Big Publishing? Watch out for this guy." (Scott Sigler, New York Times best-selling author of Infected, Contagious, and Ancestor)

"Basil Sands is one awesome writer, penning stories pumped with enough adrenaline that you'll suffer from insomnia until you read the last word. This is one writer not to be missed." (Jeremy Robinson, author of Pulse and Instinct)

The characters are well developed

Marcus Johnson, retired Master Sergeant, just wants to have some peace and quiet. He joined the marines at 18 and put in his 20. Now he has come home to his family homestead in Alaska and thought he left the war behind.

No such luck. While running a trap line he comes across a North Korean special ops team digging in the snow. He tries to report it at the nearby base but they don’t believe that North Korean special ops. are on a covert mission on US territory.
Marcus also has seen two other strangers at the local cafe. Neither were speaking English but he understood their remarks. Both were bragging about the plan to take over the US. They were driving a stolen electric company truck.
The police start putting the bits of information together. An officer is sent to contact Marcus about what he saw and heard. She just happens to be the woman he has loved since childhood. She is also the one who broke his heart.

As the action picks up it is discovered that an old bunker was hidden behind the base and it contained a WMD virus. One terrorist is caught and he gives them information on other men involved.

The chase is on. They have to catch the 2 NKs before they can dump their death in the cities water supply. Racing across the snow on snowmobiles in -65 degree temps. is deadly.
The characters are well developed. Marcus adds to his character with flashbacks of his romance with Lonnie and his war experience. I found the flashback very well placed. Lonnie also flashes backs to their romance and wishes she had been more understanding.

Others doubted the plausibility of this scenario but I don’t think it is that far from something that could happen. Where did all the chemical WMDs that this country produced go???

I liked the book cover. It made the land look so cold, forbidding and dangerous . Just what this stroy is about. If you get the audio version it is read by the author. Once he gets going he does his book justice. Basil has a fine voice and makes his book come to life. I enjoyed his narration very much. The audio sound was first rate also.

Audiobook provided for review by the author/narrator.

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Couldn't put it down!

I was a bit leery about buying this one but am sure glad I did. The narrator is the author himself, which I usually find to not work, In this case he was perfect for the book. Like any book, it had a couple weak spots but overall was a real page turner. It was very fast moving, and even the flashbacks worked fine without distracting from the main story. I highly recommend this one and am looking forward to hearing more from this author.

A masterpiece of epic proportions!

I admit I didn't read the summery before picking up this book, 65 Below! I'm glad I didn't or I might not have listened to it at all. I don't normally like military or war books, but this book was phenomenal! From the first page, to the last I was lost in it. I cried, I laughed, I was shaking with cold and sweating for some parts! The most memorable scene has to be the part when one of the good guys has to have his leg cut off to save his life!
The character development was outstanding! I want to read more about Mark Johnson! encore! I am recommending this book to everyone I meet! I will also be forwarding this review on to my family who live in Alaska! I can't say enough wonderful things about this book! I would love to see it on the big screen!
The narration was excellent! I'm an avid listener of audio books, I conquer about 3-4 books a week. I know a good narrator when I hear one. This was extraordinary! I would put him right up there with my favorite narrator, Holter Graham! The accents were incredible! The adrenaline, fear, and pain that you feel in the voices really transport you into the experience!
An excellent work of art, Basil Sands! Congratulations! I will be looking forward to picking up more of your work.

Even in the cold things can heat up

This thriller was awesome. It had a gripping story line, well developed characters, and was easy to follow for one who has very little knowledge of military lingo. It was honestly hard to put down.

This was my first experience listening to a fiction audiobook narrated by the author. I must say I stayed clear of them for personal reasons, but I'm glad Basil Sands superb talent proved me wrong. His character development and amazing versatile voices made this book a five star performance. I will definitely be looking for more of his work.

This audiobook was given to me in exchange for a review.

Felt So Real I Couldn’t Sleep

4.5 out of 5 stars

Once again, Sands wrote a better synopsis that I cannot beat: “A nearly forgotten bunker in the frozen wastes of Alaska is hiding a weapon that could end the world. And only Marcus Johnson and his team can keep it from falling into the worst possible hands.”

I don’t always do back-to-back books by the same author or narrator, but when I do — they take place in Alaska and are incredibly well written and thought out. Basil Sands can write and keep me reading way into the night (2am more than once) — thankfully I didn’t have the sun never rising (or setting) to keep me up later!

The most enjoyable part of 65 below was the combination of military and non-military. From the way that they talked about the situations that they were thrown into. The back and forth made this one of the most interesting, stressful, and fun books I’ve read in a while. Sands is able to write from a military point of view without completely alienating non-military people. His intimate knowledge of weapons, armies, and operational situations is unbelievable and thorough.

Marcus was one of those bad-A main characters that also had a soft side. This was shown in the multiple flashbacks to losing the love of his life (due to her coming back into his life). Obviously things like that cause the main character to do even more than they might have done to make sure that the woman he loves is safe and no longer under threat. Sure, it sounds a little cliche, but it wasn’t done in a sappy way.

The overall story of the book was pretty scary and as I said before kept me up at night to figure out what was going to happen. 65 below was both action-packed and well thought out. Sands took his time in the pacing and storytelling in this book and I think it paid off. I love a good bio-thriller and this book felt like it was on the cusp of it numerous times. I love the feeling of hopelessness that Sands was able to make me feel during parts of this – it felt that real.

Overall, another great book by Sands and another book I’m glad that I listened to by him. I’ll be looking to add more books written and narrated by him (both his and not).

I received a free copy of this book. It has not affected my review of my opinion.

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Well worth the listen

Having lived in Alaska for 25 years I found this book to be using for the most part realistic facts about Alaska. The story line is interesting and keeps youi coming back for more. The author does an excellent job of inter weaving the military with the State police. Well worth the listen.

Basil knocks it out of the Tundra AGAIN.

I first heard Basil on one of his earliest podcasts of his stories and have been hooked ever since......his stories are paradoxically spare and deeply rich in detail.

I previously read 65 Below. It is an addictive page turner.
I am one how reads a book a single time. buying the book and spoken version is unthinkable for me. I've done it each time with Basil.

I have been anxiously awaiting the audible version. To hear Basil stories in Basils voice is a treat. I listening to this story in the Las Vegas summer and was afraid I'd get frostbite from the scenery Basil wove around me.

Next ICE HAMMER on Audible soon I hope.

Thrilling, rollercoaster of an audiobook!

What did you love best about 65 Below?

The narration was expert. Basil has got a great gift in not only engaging the listener when describing the mundane or the exciting, but also impersonating the different nationalities of various characters. It makes a colourful story even more so.

What did you like best about this story?

The plot and the cast of characters. Each one was distinctive, and there were no duffs whatsover. Plenty of personality & depth all-round. The story itself is well-paced, developing nicely and concluding in a blaze of glory.

Which scene was your favorite?

Probably the final climactic sequence.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

OH, YES.

Any additional comments?

Purchase immediately. 65 Below is Basil Sand's finest work. You WON'T regret it!

65 below

Any additional comments?

I found 65 Below to be an enjoyable audiobook to listen to.. It had enough action and intrigue to carry you all the way through the book - it was hard to pause.. And the plot taking place in Alaska gave it some interesting twists. .

Gripping...from the very beginning...

If you could sum up 65 Below in three words, what would they be?

Hang on tight!

What did you like best about this story?

This book grabbed and held my attention from the very start. It was hard to turn it off and focus on other things!

Have you listened to any of Basil Sands’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I haven't, but I'm sure I will now.

Any additional comments?

I wish the ending had been fleshed out a bit more...it seemed to just suddenly end...a bit disappointing after everything that led up to that point. Not bad...just left me wishing for more. Would have liked a better description of exactly what happened with Lonnie between the shooting and her front-porch appearance...and a bit more closure on the Marcus/Lonnie relationship.

I personally could have lived with a little less graphic descriptions of various injuries, etc. as well.

Overall a fun read (or listen in this case). The author did a FANTASTIC job of narration...really fit well with the story.