Most helpful customer reviews
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4.0 out of 5 stars
Thumbs Up, Jun 6 2004
In my opinion, this was an all-around good book. It captivated me through the duration of the novel and made me feel like I was really there. The author gives fantastic visual images but does not provide too much so that nothing is left up to the imagination. I understand that this is the first book of the series so all of the characters, settings, relationships, and plots must be introduced to give the reader some type of basis for reading. This process, in several books, can be uninteresting and tedious but Sarabande does a great job of keeping the reader entertained. Although, I'll admit, I chose this book to read because it appeared to be action-packed, I found myself emotionally invested in each of the characters as well as entertained by the intense action. They had to overcome countless adversities including the elements, the animals, and themselves. Their struggles to survive in the harsh environment were both compelling and inspiring. This book has everything... a great, well-developed, and interesting plot, believable and interesting characters with different relationships, an entertaining story-line, and even romance. I think it is an extremely well-written and well-thought out book. It defiantly deserves 4 solid stars.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Almost Biblical, Oct 3 2003
The author must have put much thought into the framework of the story. It tells a story, but also give the reader an opportunity to "read between the lines." Full of action, drama, heartbreak and sex it is almost Biblical. The characters come alive and we see how many of today's applied beliefs and governmental systems may have come to be. Even though this story took place eons ago, the strain of society, getting along, argumental debates and electing a leader are all aspects that the reader can apply and see at work today. Please, don't let me scare you by saying that this book is "almost Biblical". Although I am of Christian faith, I always wondered about other parts of the world from the beginning, the differences in religions today and amazingly... I see that many have more in common than they realize. This book give us a clear understanding on how people gathered answers to the unanswerable. I'm on book four now and have enjoyed each book equally thus far. I highly recommend these first four of the series for anyone who enjoys fiction and has interests in Philosophy, Social and Anthropological History. It's not in anyway "Chick Flick Romanced" instead it's pretty hardcore.
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2.0 out of 5 stars
Lacking., Jul 2 2003
This is not the worst book I ever read, nor the worst book I ever finished; the best I can say for it is that it held my attention while I was reading it. I took nothing away from it; it's the cheap action thriller of the prehistoric fiction genre, except of course that most of the fun in the cheap action thriller comes from its tendency not to take itself too seriously - a trait that Beyond the Sea of Ice certainly does not share. Despite its tendency to regard itself as epic fiction in the highest degree, it's not an intelligent read by any means, and while I don't expect earth-shattering conclusions from every piece I read, I also like to have engaging characters in my fluff, something I found painfully absent from this book. Sarabande's work suffers from the people-perfection syndrome and centers on characters without dimension. Their motivations are murky; at many points, they undertake the actions set to them not because they are people with motivations and goals of their own but because the script tells them to. If this book were a movie, it'd be the kind I might rent out of curiosity, watch once, go "okay then" and never see again. The idea that Torka and Lonit become the Adam and Eve of prehistoric American civilization hurts me in ways I don't even think I can communicate.
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Most recent customer reviews
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by William Sarabande
by William Sarabande
by William Sarabande
by William Sarabande
by William Sarabande
