Rating: 
Summary: Interesting concept/Shallow characters
Review: A wandering tribe of Gypsies (the Rom) return from a fruitless 250 year star voyage to find the world covered with an intelligent crystal called Ice. The book follows the adventures of the women to pierce the meaning of the Ice and what it's done to the earth. Which is all well and good, but the author's writing style is very insecure throughout most of the book and the characters, especially the men, are one-dimensional at best. Ms. Kenyon has her fans and this should not disappoint. But advanced readers of SF might want to move on to more secure writers who have a better hold on the language.
Rating: 
Summary: Ice 9, Kenyon style
Review: After centuries of searching the galaxy for a habitable world (and failing), the people of the road return to Earth. They find that the Earth is nearly covered with an impossible crystal substance referred to as "Ice." Ice, it turns out, is a massive information storage system, and the inhabitants have only one religion - what secrets does Ice hold?
All in all, this is a worthwhile read. While many of Ice's secrets are revealed early in the book, the actual purpose (and problem) with Ice is withheld until the end. Parts of the book do meander a bit, but everything drives forward toward the ultimate goal of both the people of the road and the inhabitants of this far-future Earth. While some of the characters are a tad shallow, you can feel the trouble and worries of the main characters.
While Kenyon has crafted a good story, it didn't grab hold of me as well it could have. There is somewhat of a dystopian feel to the novel, something that is common in SF these days, and while that maybe considered intellectual in some circles it's always left a bad taste in my mouth. There were certain sub plots that I felt were resolved too easily. Without going into too much detail, there was a conspiracy that seemed to go away with a few quick words.
While Maximum Ice (I still think that's a cool title) is not award material, it proves that Kay Kenyon is a good storyteller. I plan on reading more of her work in the future.
Rating: 
Summary: Pretty interesting, but exaggerated in parts
Review: Although Kay Kenyon's books are not so original and do not have the grand epic scale of David Brin, Greg Bear or other classics, they never dissapoint. They all have interesting ideas, her writing is pleasant, her characters are for the most part veridic. I especially love the fact that none of them have the classic hollywoodian happy end; at the end, there is always the promise that on a general scale everything will turn out fine, but nevertheless the characters never achieve complete personal happiness or fulfillment. In my opinion, this is closer to what happens in real life.This book is about the homecoming of a wandering group of people who have left Earth a long time ago in a colony ship, in an attempt to find other habitable worlds. However, they did not, so they return to Earth, only to find that it has been taken over by a mysterious ever-growing structure referred to as 'Ice', whose origin or purpose are for the moment unknown. The people have decayed, do not remember much of technology, and live in underground 'preserves'. The only group who has access to technology are the so-called Ice Nuns, whose apparent purpose is to communicate with Ice, gain access to the knowledge it stores and elevate the living standard of the people. The book's main character, Zoya, travels this world accompanied by a taciturn man called Wolf in an attemp to crack Ice's secrets and find a way for her people to settle down on a greener Earth. The good part about this book is mainly the idea of Ice, which turns out to be a giant computer, originally built as a defense mechanism and storage place, but which now has hidden goals. The idea may not be very original, but it is well delivered. Ice evolves from a mysterious nonliving enemy who must be removed from the Earth at all costs into something completely different, becoming a central character. What I didn't like was the violence in this book, which to me seemed exaggerated: lots of torture, cannibalism and murders. If these weren't insisted upon so much, this book would have been a 4-star. Nevertheless, I continue to consider Kay Kenyon a good author. I have read all of her books except Leap Point and they were all worth the time.
Rating:
Summary: Compelling, intricate, and wild!
Review: Broad in scope without losing sight of the humanity of its characters. Chilling without wallowing in terror. Complex without succumbing to chaos. Kay Kenyon's "Maximum Ice" manages to steer a path between the rigors of hard sci-fi and the drama of character-centric literature without veering too sharply to either extreme. Her science is imaginative, thought-provoking and detailed, but doesn't require an advanced degree to understand. Her characters take center stage, but never at the cost of slowing down the plot.
From a cannibalistic madman to a twisted order of nuns to a terrified people looking for home to a computer the size of a planet, "Maximum Ice" benefits from multiple layers of action, theme, and voice. Part cautionary tale, part downbeat character study, part thriller, it hits on all cylinders. Kenyon has the ability to dive directly into her plot from page 1, immediately communicating to the reader what lesser writers take chapters to get across.
Kenyon's fans will be thrilled by this yarn, while newcomers will find it a fabulous introduction to the unique worlds she spins in her fiction. Highly recommended!
Rating: 
Summary: maximum fun
Review: For star road ship mother Zoya Kundara the circuitous journey from and back to earth last 250 years. She is the only original crew member still alive. However, the years of radiation while seeking a planetary haven has led to a barren population unable to reproduce itself. Since no planet was found, the shrinking desperate crew return to Earth praying that the plague that sent them solar finally ended. Though there has been no communication with earth in most of the time since they left, the star road crew have good reason to believe the plague is gone since ten thousand years have passed in earth time.
The Earth has dramatically changed as a quasi crystal defying the laws of physics dominates much of the surface. After a deadly first encounter with a cannibal witch queen, Zoya goes forward as an envoy to the apparent power, the ice nuns. Though Zoya seeks peace, the ice nuns and an enigmatic ally attuned to the ice like substance plan to destroy the space travelers and use their technology for personal gain.
Maximum Ice will provide maximum fun to fans of science fiction. The story line is loaded with action and several exciting subplots that cleverly tie back to the main trunk of the tale. The characters, including the enigmatic ice, seem genuine and earth a realistic cold, foreboding planet. Kay Kenyon allows her vivid imagination to go wild, but places her concepts into a cohesive, powerful novel that will send sub-genre fans leaping for other creations by this talented author. Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: another great one
Review: Having followed Kenyon since the release of The Seeds of Time in 1997, i was thrilled to pick up her newest work. Maximum Ice is an enthralling, intelligent and fast paced. While some sci-fi novels seem to struggle to get the pace and information mixed in readable way, Kenyon does this beautifully. Her characters are relatable, the story believable, and the technology fathomable. Definitely one to pick up if you enjoy the adventure/sci-fi mix.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing . . .
Review: I picked this book up because I thought the author might do a good job at creating the post-apocalyptic culture of Ice and its nuns described on the back. However, I was greatly disappointed in the actual story . . . Maximum Ice does the one thing authors should never do if they want to keep a reader's attention for a long novel -- it tells you what and who and why everything is basically within the beginning section of the book! What's the point of reading the rest if you already've been told everything? From that point on, the story just meanders on predictably and rather dully until all the not-very-interesting characters realize all the things the reader already knows. Very disappointing and certainly nothing new or interesting in the genre -- definitely not a keeper.
Rating:
Summary: Sadly derivative Tepper-esque story
Review: I've just finished reading Maximum Ice, and was hoping for something significantly more off-the-wall and original, given I first found it on a Philip K. Dick award shortlist.
Unfortunately, the book itself, describing the return of a Gypsy interstallar generational colony ship to an Earth covered in pseudocrystalline 'Ice' is extremely derivative and spends its time in shallow explorations of a couple of character interactions whilst quickly glossing over the technology and its implications. Disappointing, if you're a fan of Hard SF, but perhaps worthwhile if you've read everything else of note and are chasing a lightweight distraction. Read all of the Tepper books instead.
Rating:
Summary: More great Sci-Fi from Kay Kenyon
Review: Interesting concept, well-developed characters and Kenyon's flowing style combine for a great read. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: More great Sci-Fi from Kay Kenyon
Review: Interesting concept, well-developed characters and Kenyon's flowing style combine for a great read. Highly recommended.
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