Eis

by James Follett

The top brass of Western Intelligence are badly rattled when transatlantic cables are inexplicably and provocatively cut, and Russian and American relations reach freezing-point. Only Glyn Sherwood and Julia Hammond, two scientists working in the Antarctic, can guess the identity of the enemy. It is a gargantuan slice of the glacial continent bearing millions of tons of rock on its grasp, which triggers a series of disasters as it drifts inexorably north.

Genres: Fiction, Thriller

Audiobook

Published January 1, 1988

About the author

James Follett (not "Follet") was an author and screenwriter, born in 1939 in Tolworth, England.

Follett became a full-time fiction writer in 1976, after resigning from contract work as a technical writer for the British Ministry of Defence. He has wrote over 20 novels, several television scripts (including episodes of the BBC's Blake's 7), and many radio dramas. Follett was one of the 400 most popular British authors, measured by the numbers of books borrowed from public libraries in the UK, having spent 11 years in the public lending right's top two bands of authors.

Reviews

[Tara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short and interesting, this book is the perfect read for a day on the bus or plane.

While the characterisation is sparse, the story moves fast and I found myself eagerly reading on to find out how they'd avert tragedy. The technical information is separated into little amounts that don't bore the reader, and the small amount of foreshadowing and mystery is fun to try and figure out. A very good read.

[Milcia S. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mam tę książkę w kieszonkowej wersji i ile ona przeżyła ze mną koncertów, to nie zliczę. Była ratunkiem podczas czatowania pod stadionami. Dlatego też teraz nigdzie ze mną już nie jeździ, bo jest w dosyć opłakanym stanie. Jeden z moich największych skarbów na półce

[Patricia A Schueler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic

Couldn't put the book down it kept me riveted . Very exciting and well written . This coming from a 73-year-old woman .

[Beannie Wise · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have enjoyed other James Follett novels but not this one. I felt like the plot was too far beyond reality, such that it was hard for me to ever "get into it". Follett really let his imagination run wild and the book was more like a sci-fi adventure than anything else.

Reader was Bill. not Beannie - don't know how to update these reviews to show that.

[KEVIN L ROBERTS · Rating 5 out of 5]

Movie is written all over this book

ICE is a true page turning, stay up all night and can't put it down book. Great story lines and characters. Even the ICE becomes a living thing. Another exciting book from James Follet.

[Soren E. Lytken · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm afraid this ranks as the worst book I have read in many years. The story is unrealistic, the descriptions entirely superficial, the characters uninteresting and shallow, the dialogues bland. There was just nothing to like about it.

[Duane · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5* actually. It is an okay read. Plot moves along at a decent enough pace to keep you entertained. But it doesn’t get bogged down with technical jargon or theories. It’s a quick read as well so you won’t be investing too many hours in it. Would I recommend it?, sure.

[Katarzyna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I keep wondering if 'Oaf' is a typo or an (to say the least) uncharitable nickname of one of the main characters.

The book is partly dated (the political/spy parts) but the parts to do with the titular ice are very much not so

[Nancy Denton · Rating 5 out of 5]

My Second Read !

It's hard to imagine a lot of this book but in the end, everything is a total possibility in today's rapidly changing climate. Let's hope that James Follett's imagination doesn't become reality !Thanks

[Finley Ponthie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Far Away From Being Believable.

The whole world knows that when ice melts it turns simply to water, not to some gummy substance with color.

[Michael D. Moyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable but not deeply gripping

Entertaining, very light read. Imaginative in seeking out yet another potential disaster but not gripping. Just a fun light fun.

[Jen&Jude Hamilton · Rating 3 out of 5]

ice

Too much manufactured suspense for my taste. Well written and a good read. Why didn’t they think of the fire hoses in the first place!

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting read about ICE. It wa exactly that. Thank you.

[Terry Dipaolo · Rating 3 out of 5]

put it back on the shelve! just unbelievable.

[Sean Randall · Rating 4 out of 5]

"He bit on his cigar and summed up with a six-word sentence that made up in conciseness what it lacked in finesse: “Those bastards are up to something.”"

This is a very good Follett indeed. Obviously, I can't say with any degree of certainty what would happen if a gargantuan iceberg decided to start rolling its way through the ocean, but for your average lay person this is quite an interesting premise to read about. It's at the eighteenth chapter, I think, we start to get a glimpse of our characters spunk and pluckiness; the escape from the doomed cruise liner is thrilling.

Then again, it's also interesting how my sympathies lay with Oaf, as the doer of the team; until Sherwood, our wining Welsh geologist, actually starts making himself useful and does more than mess things up for everyone else. This story has it all: tension between the characters, humour where appropriate, but a very real threat to many people which is thought-provoking and intelligently written about.

[Linda · Rating 2 out of 5]

The initial premise of this book is that an ice shelf the size of Connecticut has broken away from Antarctica. So far, so good; that HAS happened in the past.

HOWEVER ... Ignoring all actual current patterns, and not even getting stuck in the doldrums, said shelf travels northeastward up the Atlantic Ocean, takes a left at Brazil, then travels northwestward and heads straight for the tip of Manhattan (presumably missing Lady Liberty, but I read this so many years ago I've forgotten).

If you ignore the silliness, the action parts of the book aren't bad.

[wwjdcindygmail.com · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fair

I know this is a dated book but even with that in mind, this wasn't that great.sometimes what could have been a thrilling story gets rushed through and what I think would have been exciting gets watered down to just a few mentions.that's the case here.a little too technically boring.

[Nathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid read from this author. This was the first book I've read by Follett, and it kept me rooted to it until I had it done. An amazing read and it sounds like the author did his research before writing it.

[Jake Bennett · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good thriller with lots of daring do.

I might have given it another star if many of the sequences had not been so unrealistic. I kept wondering when James Bond was going to appear.

[Adrian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Picked this one up thinking it was by Ken Follett ! It proved to be three short novels in the spy-thriller genre. There wee some whimsical moments, especially in the middle one, such as meeting with an Ian Fleming and James Bond. All good reads, to put in your holiday reading bag.

[Bettie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bettie's Books

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Available at BBC Radio 7. Quite interesting.

[Paul Servini · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite predictable at times, but enjoyable enough.

[Henry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad read at all. An Ice Berg is heading towards New York.

[Steve Markham · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book isn't bad but the ending is just a tad povious. Has the od bit of umour as a fair few of his seem to which helped with the enjoyment.

[Sam Burnett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brr.