Saturday, July 16, 2011

Review: A Line in the Ice


Reviewed by Jen
 
This book definitely gave me the feel of a mid-grade science-fiction movie, a la Ghosts of Mars or something in the same vein. We've got a group of soldiers stationed together in Antarctica. There are six of them, each representing a different country. The conditions are horrible; their accommodations and supplies, meager. But their mission is critical: They're fighting the inhuman beasts appearing in the frigid landscape.

As the book begins, the soldiers discover a man climbing from the rift where the beasts have appeared. He doesn't have gear for the cold and he collapses immediately. The group takes him back to their base to try to figure out who he is and where he came from. Charlie takes a particular interest in him. And as he wakes up, he begins to tell her a fantastic tale about where he came from and why he sought them out.

Lysander claims he is from another world, called Illyria. His people are descended from a group of World War I soldiers lost in a similar rift, decades ago. But his people have been nearly wiped out by an alien race and he's made it his mission to protect Earth from a similar fate. Of course, a romance brews between Lysander and Charlie. But she is cautious, especially once she finds out his plan to return to his home world.

The romance is good, though it progresses at lightning speed. Lysander is a stalwart hero, with a big heart. Frankly, he's almost too good. The story features plenty of action. But I think I felt a bit removed from the danger, because we didn't have a face for the enemy. It was an entire race of bad guys who are a threat to the entire race of humanity. It wasn't a personalized danger, if that makes any sense. The tension was moderate, in both the romance and overall story arc. I was interested in how it all would play out, but not necessarily emotionally invested. It was ok. 3 1/2 stars.

*ARC Provided by NetGalley

A Line in the Ice
by Jamie Craig
Release Date: July 4, 2011
Publisher: Carina Press 

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2 Comments:

At Saturday, July 16, 2011 at 10:27:00 AM CDT , Blogger C.J Duggan said...

I Love your blog! I double clicked the follow button with much enthusiasm. We have such spooky same taste in books I think I am really going to like it here.

If your ever in the hood?
http://can-duu.blogspot.com/

 
At Saturday, July 16, 2011 at 10:53:00 AM CDT , Blogger Jen at Red Hot Books said...

Thank you!! I'm very glad to have you here. I'm off to visit your blog right now.

 

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