Ice Hunt : A Very Well Written Tale Of A Bunch Of People Stuck Between A Rock And A Hard Place Over A Pit Of Lava Holding A Tiny Umbrella To Protect Themselves From Acid Rain.

Smoothie Review Ice Hunt By James Rollins

Quick warning. There is a spoiler. It is broken away from the rest of the article with “*********”s. So if you don’t want spoilers, just skip over that section when you see the stars.

Sometimes you can stumble across something you want without not even looking for it. Early this summer a lady down the road had this gigantic book sale. Her daughter finished college and was moving out leaving boxes of books. And it was there where I found James Rollins entire collection of adventure novels. So far I’ve read two. One is Subterranean which I absolutely loved. And then a Sigma Force novel called Sandstorm which I really couldn’t tolerate because it tried too hard to play out as a Indiana Jones story with James Bond like spies. And I like spy novels, but only if they’re set in a form of reality. I mean James Rollins had tones of archaeological science in there, but the unbelievable and somewhat silly spy characters pulled me out of it. So I grabbed the novels that were not Sigma Force related. And here is a smoothie book review of the next novel I read out of the batch called Ice Hunt.

So what is the story about? It is about the top secret Russian ice station that was abandoned somewhere in the 1960’s. The military, archaeologist, geologists, and every other scientist imaginable open it up to investigate. Inside, they find it is a large research facility. And in the lower level cavern of ice (This is built into one giant ice berg) there are frozen specimens of these, great never seen before monsters called Grendals are discovered. They are essentially Great Dane sized killer whales with clawed arms that will tear anyone to pieces. Meanwhile, the story shifts to a divorced couple, Matt and Jenny. Matt witnesses a plane crash in the wilderness and rescues a reporter from the wreck. But as he does so, he finds that men are flying over head to kill them with a plane, and others are coming through the forest to do the same. The two run and seek Jenny for help because she is a pilot and are in the need of plane to get away. They manage to land at a research base near the ice station only to find that they are framed for bombing another. The group is then transported to the ice station to be interviewed by the commander and chief in the military.

That is the set up. From there on out, it’s pure chaos. The research and melting of the ice in the snow caverns thaw out the monsters who were hibernating. They start slaughtering and eating all they can. Meanwhile on the upper levels, the men who were after the trio return. Turns out they are ( at first) homicidal Russians who are trying to take over the base killing everyone in the way. Then comes along American delta forces who come to fight the Russians with suspicious intentions of their own. Along with all of this, is a huge scientific plot twist that feature human experimentation. The whole thing is pure action once it get rolling with at least a dozen plots twist to keep you interest.

So the good? Well it does have a story. Though it does show up late in the book, it had a strong driving force behind all that is happening. The explosions and action are not mindlessly put there. The action is fun as hell. Chaotic at times, but you’ll never get bored. It’s also realistic as well. It’s nowhere near as silly as a Clive Cussler novel where the main character is perfect and spotless after a fight. These main characters have flaws. They get hurt. They make mistakes. And some die because of it. Lastly the characters are a strong. Matt and Jenney’s broken relationship is real. A deaf character named Amanda is portrayed in a fashion where her disability adds to her character. And as for the Russian Admiral, I have to say he is one of the strongest villains I ever seen in a book. At the beginning you see a one dimensional evil character stereotype. But by the end you’ll learn why he’s doing what he’s doing. It delves into his past and his morality. That’s right. A villain with a conscience. A bad guy who is not that bad. So bravo to Mr. Rollins to decide to make him real and blur the lines of good and evil.

The bad? Not much to say. Though I felt a plot twist felt out of place. Its happens late with a character you follow throughout the whole book. A reluctant character that you may even feel sorry for because he can’t hardly handle anything. Then in the last past part……….

***********************Spoiler********************************
He is a evil secret CIA spy operative
************************End of Spoiler**************************

……It just came out of nowhere like the author was stumped and just randomly decided to change the character all together. But the rest of the story is good, so I’ll forgive the author.

Overall, it’s a very well written tale of a bunch of people stuck between a rock and a hard place over a pit of lava holding a tiny umbrella to protect themselves from acid rain. Their chances rely with luck alone and its the second book by Rollins that I love. I really really hope the rest of the books I got are just as good. It may help fill the gaping hole left behind when my favorite author died a few years back. I recommend this book to everyone.

4 smoothies out of four

Overall Rating: A very well written tale of a bunch of people stuck between a rock and a hard place over a pit of lava holding a tiny umbrella to protect themselves from acid rain.

P.S. Like books. Check out my book and ebook website Lelue’s Realm. Google it or go directly to http://www.freewebs.com/lelue/

The City Of Ember :The Dark Gloomy Setting Makes A Blunder Of Potential Kid’s Book

The City Of Ember by Jeanne Duprau

I’ve been curious about this book. Ever since I’ve seen the movie long ago, I was always wondering what the book was like because the premise is so good. So when I found it cheap, I got it and read it to satisfy my curiosity. The book is the City Of Ember by Jeanne Duprau.

So what is it about? It’s about a city that was built deep underground. It was meant to be a safe haven people fled to. What happened? We don’t know. We can only assume it was something very bad on “the end of the world,” level of things. The city is meant to last 200 years. But 200 years later things are very different. The instructions to leave the great city are lost and forgotten. The great generator that powers the millions on lights is breaking down constantly. People are starving because there is a food shortage. The government is corrupted. And the belief through out Ember, is that Ember is the only light in the darkness. And there is nothing out in the darkness. They must wait for the day that the mythical “Builders” will return to save them. This is very very heavy scifi stuff. But here’s the weird thing. It’s aimed at kids. It follows two twelve years olds as they unravel the mystery and find their way out of Ember.

So the good? Oddly enough the city. It is so vivid and the author explained the sad, gloomy, falling apart world so well. So much so, I was more astonished by the many layers Ember has, that I was more entertained reading about it than the characters. Ember is a fascinating city that is literally on the brink of a civil war.

The bad? Well the characters are very shallow and unrealistic. But the thing that got me more so, was not that. It was a tale dark, sad, gloomy fallen utopia being used as a kid book. It just doesn’t fit. The city is falling apart and people are beginning to starve, and then the book will jump from that to Lina Mayfleet (one of the twelve year old main characters) excited because she got the job of messenger and she loves it and she loves to run everywhere. It just felt inconsistent. The book would be all dark and heavy and then the next page would be light hearted kid friendly. If the author decided to make this for adults it could have been so much better too The author barely scratched the surface of all of those issues, yet does not do much with them which I feel may be because she wanted this to be aimed at kids. And one last complaint. It is not all that exciting. If I step into little kid shoes for a moment, I feel I would be bored and may find the majority of the book depressing.

Overall, the imaginations great. Older science fiction readers will love reading about Ember. But because the concept of a fallen Utopia is very layered and deep topic, I feel that the author not sure how to balance the kid and adult audience creating a kind of blunder, which is shame. It had so much potential. I can’t even give it two smoothies. It should have been a great book. I want to love it, but just can’t bring myself to do it. I can’t even give it mediocre rating.

1 ½ smoothie out of 4

Overall Rating : The Dark Gloomy Setting Makes A Blunder Of Potential Kids Book

P.S. If you like books, please take out time to check out my book and ebook website Lelue’s Realm. Google it or go directly to http://www.freewebs.com/lelue/