The Ice Limit by Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of The Ice Limit
Book Review: A Little Disappoining Reading from Preston
Summary: 3 Stars
I was disappointed in this book. Although entertaining reading, I felt it wasn't quite up to par with Preston's other books.
I didn't think this was the type of spellbinding, edge of your seat thriller that I was used to reading from Preston because it was too predictable. The characters were supposed to come off as brilliant Scientists, Industrialists, and Engineers. I don't think they developed as they were supposed to.
Book Review: A Rollercoaster of a Ride
Summary: 4 Stars
I have to say, the dynamic duo of Preston & Child rapidly improved their work from their first books. Ice Limit has all the right elements of a thriller novel: an intriguing problem, adequate characterization, chase scenes, and ever-rising stakes. The scientific and engineering aspects of the story are also well done. This isn't the kind of book you want to put down.
If I had one complaint with their writing, it's that there's definitely a pattern here. At the middle point of their books, when obstacles are high and the body count is growing, and most people would turn back, there is always one character (or more) who becomes so obsessed with achieving his or her goal that they absolutely must push on in their mad, driven way, thus leading the heroes into further trouble. Otherwise the story would end. These books are always an enjoyable ride, but I can't help noticing the repetition in the plots.
Four stars.
Book Review: A pleasant surprise
Summary: 4 Stars
This book was a relief after Robin Cook's "Shock"(don't read it unless you want an example of how not to write a book)and I enjoyed it greatly. The authors were unknown to me and it was the luck of the draw that I stumbled on this jewel. I say jewel because whenever I had to stop reading it I felt a pang of regret, wishing I could read just a little further. The characters in the book are well developed, interesting, and plausible. This plot seemed to slowly unfold as one read and it was full of creditable surprises. The only reason I did not give it a five star rating was that I felt the book would have been better served by ending a hundred pages sooner than it did. In the last 5th of the book the characterizations seemed the lose some of their credibility and the speciousness of the story seemed to suffer from it.Book Review: A poor man's "Sphere"
Summary: 3 Stars
A giant meteorite is discovered, and a wealthy collector wishes to possess it. A marvel of engineering and deceiving politics is planned in order to bring it to the United States. An unanticipated psycho sea captain and the mysterious structure of the meteorite itself poses the greatest danger.This book is filled with predictable and boring characters, from the rebel hero who thinks outside the box, to the rich eccentric man who causes a lot of trouble. It also is plagued with a plot that just doesn't unfold quickly enough. Don't get me wrong, it is a somewhat interesting read though. The planning of the meteorite lifting, the engineering team, and the final sea chase is worth the price of the book, but that's about it.
This book is very reminiscent of Michael Crichton's Sphere, but comes no where close to that level of excitement. It lacks the suspense and the action level that a book like this should have. A classic example is the ship they take to pick up the meteorite. The writer spends more time describing the internals of the ship, then of the dramatic ship chase at the end (sorry about spoiling that).
It's not a great read, but not a bad read either.
Book Review: A real page turner
Summary: 5 Stars
Any one who has ever read a Preston and Child book knows that they grab your attention from page one and it stays until the last page. Ice Limit is no exception. If you like a good mystery-thriller, you will probably like this book. If your not into a lot of scientific theorys you may find it a bit slow at a few parts but other than that it's just a fun book. Enjoy.