The Ice Limit
by Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child
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Book Summary Information
Author: Douglas Preston, Lincoln ChildEdition: Mass Market Paperback
Published: 2001-07-01
ISBN: 0446610232
Number of pages: 512
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Book Reviews of The Ice Limit
Book Review: Below their own normally high standard
Summary: 3 Stars
PLOT: Billionaire Palmer Lloyd wants the largest meteorite on earth for his new museum in New York. Too bad that this meteorite is extremely large, very heavy and on top of that buried deeply on a Chilean island just north of the Ice Limit surrounded by the brutal forces of nature. Luckily with enough money Lloyd can hire the best: Eli Glinn (president of Effective Engineering Solutions), Rachel Amira (mathematician genius) and Manuel Garza (construction engineer) as well as Sam McFarlane (brilliant meteorite hunter) and Sally Britton (supertanker captain). As soon as the salvage mission begins, the team must battle various obstacles, as well as defend their lives.
I am a huge fan of the writer duo Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. So far all of their former books were entertaining, thrilling and also a bit scary. Overall always a great mixture between mystery and science. As a result their books are way above the average. At least until I read this one.
This is about the planning of the salvage, overcoming the (technical) obstacles, about developing a romance and the forces of nature. The initial idea is ok and the book starts well but the story development is slow and the tension is not constantly rising. As a result the whole story lacks pace and suspense. On top of that there is no real mystery and no horror at all. It is more an adventure story than anything else. Too bad it is neither really thrilling nor entertaining. Therefore this is the first Preston/Child book that did not keep me glued to my seat and made me want to read for hours.
The best part of the book is the very last sentence. Here the book stops with a BANG! The ending gives the whole story a completely new twist. Now I wished to read more but exactly when the story finally gets intriguing the book ends.
Bottom line:
The book is not really bad because the initial story is ok and the writing style is good (as usual). Unfortunately, overall the book is a bit boring. I would recommend reading their previous novels instead because they are just so much better! Especially "The Relic" and "Riptide" kept me awake for long hours and chilled me to the bone.
Summary of The Ice Limit
Billionaire Palmer Lloyd is accustomed to getting what he wants--and what he wants for his new museum is the largest meteorite on earth. Unfortunately for Lloyd, it's buried on an inhospitable Chilean island just north of the Ice Limit in the most brutal, unforgiving seas in the world.Fortunately for Lloyd, he knows people--people like Eli Glinn, the hyper-focused president of Effective Engineering Solutions, Inc.; Glinn's nonconformist, genius of a mathematician, Rachel Amira; and the uncannily able construction engineer, Manuel Garza. Lloyd's also tapped the brilliant but disgraced meteorite hunter, Sam McFarlane, and the exceptional supertanker captain, Sally Britton, whose career was unshipped by intemperance and a reef. Of course, such a team has a hefty price tag:
Lloyd's broad features narrowed. "And that is... "EES's plan is to obtain mining rights to the island, secure the allegiance of various Chilean functionaries via blinding sums of money, disguise a state-of- the-art supertanker as a decrepit ore rig, mine the rock, slip it into the ship, and zip back to New York to thunderous notoriety. Unforeseen, however, are a rogue Chilean naval captain, seas to make Sebastian Junger boot, and a blood-red meteorite of undetermined pedigree and a habit of discharging billions of volts of electricity for no apparent reason."One hundred and fifty million dollars. Including chartering the transport vessel. FOB the Lloyd Museum."
Lloyd's face went pale. "My God. One hundred and fifty million... " His chin sank onto his hands. "For a ten-thousand-ton rock. That's... "
"Seven dollars and fifty cents a pound," said Glinn.
Like Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child's earlier collaborations (Relic, Thunderhead, and others), The Ice Limit tools along swiftly, blending nicely drawn characters (excepting, regrettably, the book's true protagonist, the meteorite), a reasonably exciting narrative, and enough graspable science and plausible-seeming theories to bring readers happily up to speed and keep them climax-bound. Not the authors' best effort, certainly, but a fine diversion nonetheless. --Michael Hudson
The largest known meteorite has been discovered, entombed in the earth for millions of years on a frigid, desolate island off the southern tip of Chile. At four thousand tons, this treasure seems impossible to move. New York billionaire Palmer Lloyd is determined to have this incredible find for his new museum. Stocking a cargo ship with the finest scientists and engineers, he builds a flawless expedition. But from the first approach to the meteorite, people begin to die. A frightening truth is about to unfold: The men and women of the Rolvaag are not taking this ancient, enigmatic object anywhere. It is taking them.
On a desolate island off the southern coast of Chile, an incredible discovery is made: a gigantic meteorite, the largest ever found, entombed in the earth for millions of years. Half a world away, billionaire entrepreneur Palmer Lloyd decides he must have it as the centerpiece of his grandiose new museum. He is willing to pay any price--in dollars and in lives. Getting it back to New York poses a particular challenge: It will be the heaviest object ever moved by humankind. . . .Fueled by Lloyd's money, an audacious expedition takes shape. Disguising a state-of-the-art ship as a rusted freighter, the expedition secretly heads southward with a fail-safe plan to steal the meteorite from Chile. Leading the group is an inscrutable engineer hired by Lloyd, and a world-famous meteorite hunter whose career was shattered by a controversial theory. Soon, along the icy rim of Antarctica, in the grip of a frozen hell, the adventurers are confronted with a terrifying enigma about the origin--and nature--of the meteorite. It is a mystery they must solve--if they are to escape with their very lives. Combining mesmerizing science, unbearable suspense, and great storytelling, Preston and Child once again produce a first-rate thriller that will have readers turning pages as fast they can, toward a shocking conclusion as powerful as the impact of a falling meteorite.
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