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I plan on living to a ripe old age and I have formulated a few rules to accomplish this. I
stay out of planes if at all possible and I never, never, never, get in a boat, ship, etc.
And here I am. Nyah nyah.
I'm really not interested in rocks, either. Five minutes into college geology and strata
and sediment layers and the like, and my eyes glaze over. Accordingly, you might think
that the last thing I would want to do would be to spend several hours reading a book in
which about half of it --- a really scary half --- takes place at sea, and about 100 per
cent of it involves geology. But that's what I did this past weekend with THE ICE LIMIT,
the latest collaboration between Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child.
These guys started off good. They're probably best known for RELIC, which was made into a
scary movie. Their last few books haven't necessarily been great movie material, but
they've been great books. And THE ICE LIMIT absolutely, resolutely kicks heinie all over
the place.
There are any number of reasons for this. Preston and Child, first of all, meticulously
research whatever subject they're dealing with, whether it be archeology, anthropology,
even the dreaded geology. But then they explain the topic so well that even a chowderhead
like me not only understands it but also sits up and takes notice. Then they plot out
their story so well that the reader never feels like the book has been highjacked by the
hardware. Now, there are some writers, some very good writers, who take these steps as
well, but P & C go one better. They throw in a whole bunch of really interesting
characters, characters that you're going to care about.
Characters that you care about + interesting explanations of difficult topics + great
storylines = great books = THE ICE LIMIT.
THE ICE LIMIT begins with the discovery of a gigantic meteorite, the biggest ever found,
entombed in an island off the coast of Chile for millions of years. This attracts the
attention of Palmer Lloyd, a billionaire collector of one-of-a-kind items. Lloyd recruits
Eli Glinn, president of Effective Engineering Solutions, Inc., to move the meteorite from
its resting spot to the United States. It will be the heaviest object ever moved by
mankind. Glinn, inscrutable but driven, has a reputation for never, ever failing. His
foolproof method consists of calculating every possibility, planning for each one, and
then some. It is a method he calls "double overage." He is always successful.
But there are several elements in play here: Moving the meteor isn't like picking up a
marble and putting it in a pocket; the expedition attracts the unwelcome attention of a
minor Chilean naval officer; the weather gets just a bit nasty in that part of the world
at times; and that meteor, well, it doesn't really behave like a meteor. Glinn is quite
adept at pulling the expedition out of situations that would get messed up beyond repair
with anyone else at the helm. He does this with careful planning and by refusing to rely
on luck. But luck, whether relied upon or not, sometimes runs out.
THE ICE LIMIT reads as if Preston and Child were writing while channeling a collaboration
of Kenneth Robeson, Robert Heinlein, and Rod Serling. And they have the chutzpah to not
even explain what the heck the title means until the last quarter of the book. I love it!
A great book by two guys who are quietly becoming the joint masters of the
science-adventure novel. If you haven't read them since RELIC you're cheating yourself.
--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
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