Rating: 
Summary: Decent but definitely far from great
Review: Typical Preston and Child formula: an unlikely hero + a rich enterpreneur who will stop at nothing + an untimely romance + a villian that seems almost unstopple = something outer-worldly.Like Crichton, this duo has a knack for writing page-turning thrillers that toss in just the right amount of scientific fact which make their novels almost believable. But, come on guys, didn't I read the same story in THUNDERHEAD and RIPTIDE? The only originality to this latest installment in techo-thrillers is the cliff-hanger ending (sorry if that gives anything away, folks). In fact, I'm certain that I've never looked more forward to a sequel because I feel THE ICE LIMIT was only the tip of the iceberg (bad joke). All in all, though, THE ICE LIMIT is a fun read and filled with everything that makes this sort of novel so much fun. It's total escape-ism with a twist ending at it's best -- and who isn't looking for that these days?
Rating: 
Summary: Don't forget to pack your mukluks!
Review: In The Ice Limit, Preston and Child have come up with an original realistic adventure that takes the reader to one of the most uninhabitable places on earth. The thing that impresses me most about this duo is the thoroughness of their research. Every time they write a book on a new subject or profession, it comes across like they've been doing it all their lives. The facts, lingo, and points of view are always right on target and ICE LIMIT is no exception. My initial impulse was to give this book the typical praise of all the P/C books I've read but after thinking about it I'd have to say this book moved a little slower than most. That's not to say that it wasn't interesting. It just didn't carry the element of suspense and thrill that books like Relic and Riptide did. Yes, there was always the element of what exactly is this thing they are digging up and there were a few monkey wrenches thrown in by the locals but I can't really consider that thrilling or all that suspenseful. Toward the end, the book did pick up steam and ended as a real page-turner. That's not to say I didn't enjoy this book. The detailed writing of the settings, people, and operations were top notch and interesting. The plot was well planned and wonderfully written. The characters were well developed. I would say that ICE LIMIT was a better written book than Riptide; probably on par with Mount Dragon. It had enough plot twists to keep you guessing but lacked the excitement (at least in the first ¾ of it) of some of their other books. Still a recommended read at 4 stars.
Rating: 
Summary: Good for a Long Flight
Review: "The Ice Limit" by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. Warner Books, 2000.
In the first few pages of the book, Nestor Masangkay is zapped when he touches a meteor that he has found on an isolated island off the southern most tip of Chile. Then, for the next 180 pages or so, you are waiting in suspense for the entire expedition (set up by an American billionaire) to be zapped as they are digging up the bright red meteor. Of course, you know that the entire crew can not be killed, as you have another 250 or pages to read, BUT!, the suspense is there as you turn page after page. Being chased by a destroyer of the Navy of Chile has to be better justified , in my opinion. The chase chapter, however, a cat and mouse game, (and on storm-tossed seas), keeps you reading. Towards the end you just know that the meteor will go to the bottom, but again, the book leaves you wondering as to what will happen next. This is a fine book to keep you entertained as you travel on a long flight cross country or across the Atlantic.
Rating:
Summary: The Hunt for Red Meteorite
Review: Palmer Lloyd, eccentric billionaire and 7th richest man in the world is an obsessed collector of all sorts of museum quality specimens. He is presently building his own museum to overshadow all of the most famous museum collections. He learns of the discovery of what could be the largest meteorite ever found. He naturally will go to any expense to obtain this spectacular prize. He assembles a team of experts to not only excavate but retrieve and transport what will be the heaviest load ever moved (5 times the weight of the Eiffel Tower). Unfortunately the location of the meteorite is the frigid, icy, inhospitable Isla Desolacion in the Cape Horn islands south of Tierra del Fuego. The price tag is 300 million dollars. Eli Glinn, head of Effective Engineering Solutions, a Mission Impossible like team of engineers, scientists and mercenaries heads the project. He is ably assisted by oil tanker captain Sally Britton and meteorite hunter and planetary geologist Sam MacFarlane. Together they endeavor to overcome incredulous physical obstacles along with a relentless commendante of a Chilean naval destroyer who is determined to thwart their efforts. The novel is well thought out and extremely suspenseful but is spoiled by a very disappointing ending. The last page diminshed what was 400+ pages of an excellent story.
Rating:
Summary: Non-stop suspense
Review: Lots of ice and plenty of farfetched suspense make for perfect summer escapism with Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child's latest adventure thriller. The book opens with a bang as a lone scientist on a desolate island just north of Antarctica makes the discovery of a lifetime, which promptly incinerates him. Cut to the seventh richest man in the world, American businessman Palmer Lloyd, who throws his financial weight around at a Christie's auction, much to the humbled participants' disgust and admiration, then flies off to the Kalahari to buy a prominent meteorite hunter. Lloyd is building the world's greatest natural history museum and the meteorite hunter, Sam McFarlane, is going to help him acquire his centerpiece - the world's largest meteorite - found by Sam's former partner on that Chilean Antarctic island. Lloyd also acquires an engineer to plan the expedition, a humorless perfectionist who prides himself on his flawless success record. Eli Glinn plans for every contingency, human nature included. The party sets out on a state-of-the-art tanker, disguised as a rustbucket on an ore mining job. Like Glinn and McFarlane, its dignified female captain has been made wiser by a career-blighting error. The expedition attracts the attention of a bitter and suspicious Chilean destroyer captain, whose powerlessness is matched by his tenacity. And then Glinn, who thinks of everything, allows Sam to bury his former partner's body without inspecting it. Uh oh. But the initial digging of the meteorite goes off without a hitch. Palmer Lloyd jumps down on the surprisingly red rock and presses his cheek to it without ill effect. Still, the thing is strange. Its rich, ruby color is mesmerizing, its weight is mind-boggling and it's so hard it burns out a big diamondhead drill without giving up a fragment of itself. Its origins and properties stir up Sam's old obsession - interstellar meteorites. All previous meteorites have come from our own solar system and the possibility of an interstellar rock is a statistical impossibility, or so the scientists say. And soon the problems begin. Though Glinn plans for everything, the rock (the heaviest object ever moved by humans) seems to have ideas of its own. With increasing momentum, several suplots, budding romances, raging storms and sinsiter mysteries clash, collide and hurtle towards an explosive climax among the deadly ice islands of the Ice Limit surrounding Antarctica. The characters are more fleshed out than in previous books and the settings - the high-tech tanker, the forbidding island, the stormy sea - are well done. There are a few holes in the plot (no ship would be racing full speed through 100-foot seas, for one) but who cares? Mystery and suspense are what we are looking for and Preston and Childs ("Riptide," "The Relic," "Thunderhead") deliver.
Rating:
Summary: Couldn't Put It Down
Review: The Ice Limit is on my ten best list. I was reading this book late into the night knowing I'd struggle to get up the next morning. I would say, "Okay, one more chapter." But, before I knew it, it was three more. I've read a handful of books by Preston and Child. Although I like them all, The Ice Limit is my favorite. It's packed with adventure, and I mean packed. The characters are great. The authors' description of the characters made me grow attached to them. And for as many characters as were in the book, this was quite a feat. The premise itself was fascinating. I'm a sucker for plots dealing with the unknown. In this case, the unknown is a meteor. The bulk of the book involves the efforts to extract the meteor from the ice and return it to Palmer Lloyd's museum. Needless to say, this is not a simple process. Beyond the environmental issues, the characters had to deal with sabotage, a mad Chilean (?) navy captain, and the meteor's strange properties. The climax of the novel left me breathless, and the ending left me wanting more. The last final twist got me; I did not foresee it. If you're looking for a fast read with lots of adventure and an intelligent plot, pick up The Ice Limit and settle in for a wild ride.
Rating:
Summary: It's a roller coaster of a read.
Review: Preston and Child do a spectacular job with this one. Nothing's as simple as it seems. Remember that. It applies so aptly to the book. It's exciting to recommend this book. My only critique of the book is the character of the "renegade" Argentinian(?) captain. I thought he was too formulaic for a Preston and Child book. Overall though, it's great, great, great. I love the ending.
Rating: 
Summary: Anti-Climatic, Lame, and Disappointing
Review: This is my second novel by these authors. The first one that I read was the "Cabinet of Curiosities" and I *loved* it so much! I just thought it was such a great read; I loved the story, the characters, the historical influence and the style of writing. Although, the style of writing and character development in "The Ice Limit" is excellent; the story does contain the same high quality. The storyline is very weak and does not have a lot of substance. Basically, it is the story of a group of scientists and engineers hired by a multi-billionaire collector to sail to Chile and retrieve a meteorite from the country for the billionaire's collection. The whole of the novel is spent studying the characters and relaying their efforts to retrieve this collossal rock without letting the Chilean authorities know. That is seriously the bulk of the story. The only element that I felt could redeem the book was the mystery of the meteorite's origin. One scientist believes that it might be an interstellar meteorite. This would be an amazing discovery since scientists commonly hold a meteorite from another galaxy would not break through our atmosphere intact. However, this mystery does not develop significantly in the story. In the very end the true source of the meteorite is revealed, but I did not "get it". I was more confused than ever and felt it was the worst ending of a book I have ever read. It was so anti-climatic. It was a real effort to get through the book and I felt that the ending was a poor reward for my patience. I would not recommend this book to anyone :((
Rating:
Summary: The Rolvaag
Review: Douglas and Preston are at it again! As quoted in a media review of this book it's a real page turner except that it did not elaborate on the real protagonist of the story... The metorite itself. God damn I agree but it'll top your adventure list of great books to read. Ice Limit took me to places I had yet to even envision. Damn I hope there is a sequel. It continues their prose of creating a story that grabs you quickly with intelligent characters and an engrossing journey. Have you ever imagined what it would be like to be on a ship two times over the size of a football field in seas 100 feet high? And oh yeah you have 25 thousand tons of cargo...ready to break loose from it moorings...There's more. You need to read this book.
Rating:
Summary: Ok guys, a bit off the deep end here???
Review: Preston and Child like to use science as the basis for catastrophes. And that is putting it mildly. Most of the time their books are pretty good entertainment, but this particular one about a rather large meteor found in the islands below Chile really went overboard literally. You can almost bet what's going to happen when the scientists and the entrepreneurs try to manhandle this monstrocity onto a large boat (with triple hulls...oh goody). First off, you would think someone would show some sign of brains concerning this hare-brained scheme. Not only is it dangerous, but it is illegal!
Not recommended to take something out of a country to whom it belongs...maybe could have done that 100 years ago, but most people would not want to get involved in the legal fiasco this would cause. Not with people demanding their ancestors back from natural history museums, others wanting reparations (and there are many group with many good cases for reparations). Usually I am fine to suspend belief and enjoy these two authors going at it. That's what their books are for...entertainment value, though I've gleaned a few historical facts from them. But this time, getting to the end, and I won't spoil the ending...but guys, there was nothing there to explain what this thing was! I closed the book, and said "Huh?" Karen Sadler
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