FROM OUR EDITORS

An effort to retrieve the largest meteorite known to man is the captivating idea behind The Ice Limit, Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child's (The Relic, Riptide) latest action-adventure triumph. Funded by an obsessive billionaire, the treacherous expedition to reach the meteorite's current locale -- and retrieve the massive chunk of rock -- draws a talented cast of specialists closer to untold riches -- or a painful demise.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

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...

SYNOPSIS

On a desolate island off the southern coast of Chile, a gigantic meteorite is discovered. Billionaire Palmer Lloyd feels he just has to have it for his new museum.

FROM THE CRITICS

Barnes & Noble Guide to New Fiction

The adventure fiction team of Preston and Child are at it again with a thriller centering on a gigantic meteorite found off the coast of Chile and the egotistic billionaire who decides it must be the centerpiece of his new museum. "Another great read from Preston and Child." While judged not "quite as good as Relic," The Ice Limit is still a "rip-roaring adventure with take-your-breath-away nautical action."

Publishers Weekly

The summer-beach reader has few better friends than Preston and Child, who, beginning with Relic (1995), have produced one (generally) smart and suspenseful thriller after another, most recently Thunderhead. Their new novel--which, like its predecessors, skirts the edge of science fiction--is their most expertly executed (though not most imaginative) entertainment yet. Its concept is high and simple: a scientific expedition plans to dig out and transport to New York harbor the mother of all meteorites from its resting spot on an icy island offshore Chile. The mission is nearly impossible: not only will the meteorite be the heaviest object ever moved by humanity, but the Chileans, if they learn of the mission, may decimate it in order to keep the meteorite. Six strong if broadly drawn characters propel the premise into action. There's bullheaded billionaire Palmer Lloyd, who funds the expedition, and three (of the many) people he hires to get the rock: world-class meteorite-hunter Sam McFarlane, disgraced for his obsession about possible interstellar meteorites; Captain Britton, disgraced alcoholic skipper hired to ferry the meteorite to the U.S.; and Eli Glinn, cold-blooded mastermind of an engineering firm dedicated to getting incredible jobs done--this one at the price of $300 million. There's Commandante Vallenar, a Chilean naval officer exiled to his nation's southern wastes, who will stop at nothing to defend Chile's honor and property. Finally, there's the meteorite--blood red, impossibly dense, possessed of strange and dangerous properties. Like the premise, the plot is simple, traversing a near-linear narrative that sustains serious tension as the expedition travels to Chile, digs out the meteorite and heads homeward--only to face both Vallenar and a ferocious storm. What the novel lacks in sophistication, it makes up for in athleticism: this is a big-boned thriller, one that will make a terrific summer movie as well as a memorable hot-day read. (July) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.|

VOYA

When meteorite fanatic Sam McFarlane first encounters billionaire Lloyd Palmer, Palmer dashes his hopes of locating a long-sought-after meteorite in the Kalahari desert. Palmer offers McFarlane the chance to find and retrieve an even more special one—the largest meteorite in the world—that McFarlane's friend and ex-partner died trying to find. Palmer, who sweetens the deal with nearly a million dollars, wants the four-thousand-ton meteorite for his museum of rare and unusual (and costly) items. He engages the services of Eli Glinn's premier engineering firm, Effective Engineering Solutions. EES must figure out how to uncover and extract the huge meteorite from the Chilean island near the edge of Antarctica and to transport it successfully back to Palmer's New York museum. Further complicating the task is the secrecy in which it must be shrouded. Chile's government does not know of the existence of the meteorite, and Palmer wants the government to stay in ignorance, which takes the full efforts of McFarlane, Glinn, and the band of EES specialists. When the meteorite is located, the group becomes aware of its strange behavior—unlike any other meteorite ever found before. Preston and Child, coauthors of many previous thrillers, including Riptide (Warner, 1998/VOYA December 1998) and Thunderhead (Warner, 1999/VOYA Clueless? list, December 1999), again have produced a solid, suspenseful page-turner filled with unexpected twists and unusual characters. The dramatic end will prompt readers to thumb back through pages they just read. Teens who have enjoyed this writing team's earlier work or who relish Clive Cussler's adventure novels will love finding The Ice Limit. VOYACODES: 4Q 4P S A/YA (Better than most, marred only by occasional lapses; Broad general YA appeal; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12; Adult and Young Adult). 2000, Warner, 449p, $25.99 Ages 16 to Adult. Reviewer: Joanna Morrison

SOURCE: VOYA, December 2000 (Vol. 23, No. 5)

KLIATT

To quote KLIATT's Sept. 2000 review of the Time Warner Audiobook edition: ...[a] tense thriller set in the cold waters near the southern tip of South America and Antarctica. A secret expedition seeks to steal a huge meteorite from an island off the coast of Chile. Where has it come from and why is it there? Not only are the technical difficulties of moving such a massive object awe inspiring but the personal and diplomatic politics are dramatic as well. Dialogue and characters are believable and the story is breathtakingly tense throughout. Refreshingly, the master of the freighter is a woman. For lovers of The Perfect Storm... KLIATT Codes: SA*—Exceptional book, recommended for senior high school students, advanced students, and adults. 2000, Warner, 494p., $7.99. Ages 16 to adult. Reviewer: Jean Palmer; KLIATT , November 2001 (Vol. 35, No. 6)

Library Journal

The scene: a ship near Cape Horn off the Chilean coast. The cast: a well-paid but dedicated and courageous staff of technicians, including a female skipper and a scientist each with a questionable past. The problem in this adventure by best-selling coauthors Preston and Child (Riptide): how to transport the biggest meteorite ever to a New York museum without attracting the attention of the Chilean authorities and the press? Add the further complication that the meteorite derives from a strange, unfamiliar element. At one point, the vessel is attacked and trapped by a Chilean ship. As the suspense builds, the various strands of the plot come together. Will the ship survive? What happens to the meteorite if, indeed, it is a meteorite? The book is recommended with one reservation: if you don t enjoy necessary technical passages, you may be bored. On the other hand, if you enjoy Clive Cussler, you ll probably enjoy this novel. [Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 3/1/00.] Fred M. Gervat, Concordia Coll. Lib., Bronxville, NY Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information. Read all 6 "From The Critics" >