Beyond the Ice Limit by Douglas PrestonMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
This has been a long time coming.
The sequel to The Ice Limit, last seen as a fictional book-within-the-book in one of the Pendergast stories (Still Life With Crows, if I remember correctly), is finally a reality - and as part of Gideon Crew's adventures too!
Without a doubt, Beyond the Ice Limit is one of Gideon Crew's best stories yet, especially given how much the previous installments in the series have all been building up to this one. None of those earlier books, however, can match the alien horrors in store here - a sci-fi horror techno-thriller the likes of which Preston and Child, together, haven't given us in years. Unfortunately, the book is kept out of five-star territory by its tendency to shift the story away from Gideon's mission and highlight something tangentially related in, say, Santa Fe, New Mexico. That got on my nerves a few times because I really just wanted the story to move back to the disgusting gruesomeness of the alien worms spawned by the ever-growing Baobab.
But did I mention the disgusting gruesomeness? Maybe not since Relic have we had such a positively Alien-like story from P&C. Seriously.
I wonder if this is perhaps Gideon Crew's peak of excellence...but of course I hope not. (Though I'm looking forward even more to the next Pendergast book, especially after the Crimson Shore cliffhanger...)
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