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Frozen Sky #2
Betrayed
SUNFISH VS HUMAN
A quake in the ice nearly kills Alexis Vonderach, setting off new confrontations with the blind alien tribes of Europa. In the weeks since First Contact, her crew has learned their bizarre language... but the sunfish are as violent as their world...
A quake in the ice nearly kills Alexis Vonderach, setting off new confrontations with the blind alien tribes of Europa. In the weeks since First Contact, her crew has learned their bizarre language... but the sunfish are as violent as their world...
212 pages, Unknown Binding
First published April 29, 2014
50 people are currently reading
239 people want to read
About the author
Jeff Carlson
39 books160 followersJeff Carlson is the international bestselling author of "Plague Year," "Long Eyes," "Interrupt" and "The Frozen Sky." To date, his work has been translated into sixteen languages worldwide.
His new novel is "Frozen Sky 3: Blindsided."
Readers can find free fiction, contests, videos and more on his web site at http://www.jverse.com
His new novel is "Frozen Sky 3: Blindsided."
Readers can find free fiction, contests, videos and more on his web site at http://www.jverse.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
November 6, 2014
This book was pretty good except for the fact that nothing happened. The scenes literally consist of a lady and an alien fighting, the alien goes away, and it comes back with more aliens then some of the aliens get killed by the other aliens. That's the whole book. There's lots of mildly interesting filler in between, but if I wanted to be teased like this, I'd watch an episode of Dragon Ball Z. Sigh.
July 24, 2014
When we last saw Alexis Vonderach in Frozen Sky it was the year 2113 and she had just made first contact with an alien race. The creatures that inhabit Jupiter’s moon Europa are referred to as sunfish by Earthlings and they live beneath the frozen surface. Earth had been taking resources from Europa for months before they realized that beneath the ice were hieroglyphics and tunnels. Vonderach and some other explorers met Europa’s locals and they were not friendly.
Flash forward three months and the sunfish and Earthlings have an uneasy truce. This is where we are in the opening of Jeff Carlson’s Frozen Sky 2: Betrayed. Tribe Top Clan Eight-Six has sent one representative who the humans call Tom to an underground module so they can learn more about Europa’s new visitors. Earth has sent Vonderach, together the two learn each other’s language but when the ground starts to quake due to Earth’s machines, the peace between humans and sunfish may be shattered.
Earth’s leaders start to debate what should happen next as more sunfish arrive with reinforcements. At this part of the book you see that every human in Frozen Sky 2 has their own agenda and only Vonderach is thinking of someone other than herself. War is about to begin between an ancient race who lives for violence and the greedy governments of Earth who only care about Europa’s raw materials.
Frozen Sky 2: Betrayed has a little bit of everything. At one point this book is an action adventure with the battle between sunfish and humans. it’s also a horror novel with Vonderach trapped in an underground room with a hostile alien and the betrayal that goes on later in the book. Later the book becomes a suspense novel with an insane robot that doesn’t know which species that it wants to destroy. It even workes as a political thriller with all the governments of the world and the scientists having their own agenda and manipulating each other to get what they need. Even the sunfish have tribes and agendas and battle each other to have the best living conditions. I really enjoyed hearing about how they lived.
I took Europa as a metaphor for early life on earth with sunfish representing caveman who battle for limited resources. That being said, you also see the supposedly advanced humans who still battle each other like the primitive sunfish. I loved how in the beginning of this book Jeff Carlson includes a timeline giving all the advancements of Earth throughout time and in this story you also see how sunfish civilization have risen and fallen over the centuries and you began to understand that they really aren’t that different.
Frozen Sky 2: Betrayed is an excellent novel on many levels. My favorite parts were the interactions between Vonderach and Tom as they try to work out deals and learn about each other. I also loved Vonderach trying to reason with the crazy robot that has the memories of the scientist she once worked with. Despite the great action and political intrigue in this novel it was the personal relationships between the different characters that I enjoyed.
Frozen Sky 2: Betrayed is the work of a master storyteller and a great example of what good Science Fiction should be.
Flash forward three months and the sunfish and Earthlings have an uneasy truce. This is where we are in the opening of Jeff Carlson’s Frozen Sky 2: Betrayed. Tribe Top Clan Eight-Six has sent one representative who the humans call Tom to an underground module so they can learn more about Europa’s new visitors. Earth has sent Vonderach, together the two learn each other’s language but when the ground starts to quake due to Earth’s machines, the peace between humans and sunfish may be shattered.
Earth’s leaders start to debate what should happen next as more sunfish arrive with reinforcements. At this part of the book you see that every human in Frozen Sky 2 has their own agenda and only Vonderach is thinking of someone other than herself. War is about to begin between an ancient race who lives for violence and the greedy governments of Earth who only care about Europa’s raw materials.
Frozen Sky 2: Betrayed has a little bit of everything. At one point this book is an action adventure with the battle between sunfish and humans. it’s also a horror novel with Vonderach trapped in an underground room with a hostile alien and the betrayal that goes on later in the book. Later the book becomes a suspense novel with an insane robot that doesn’t know which species that it wants to destroy. It even workes as a political thriller with all the governments of the world and the scientists having their own agenda and manipulating each other to get what they need. Even the sunfish have tribes and agendas and battle each other to have the best living conditions. I really enjoyed hearing about how they lived.
I took Europa as a metaphor for early life on earth with sunfish representing caveman who battle for limited resources. That being said, you also see the supposedly advanced humans who still battle each other like the primitive sunfish. I loved how in the beginning of this book Jeff Carlson includes a timeline giving all the advancements of Earth throughout time and in this story you also see how sunfish civilization have risen and fallen over the centuries and you began to understand that they really aren’t that different.
Frozen Sky 2: Betrayed is an excellent novel on many levels. My favorite parts were the interactions between Vonderach and Tom as they try to work out deals and learn about each other. I also loved Vonderach trying to reason with the crazy robot that has the memories of the scientist she once worked with. Despite the great action and political intrigue in this novel it was the personal relationships between the different characters that I enjoyed.
Frozen Sky 2: Betrayed is the work of a master storyteller and a great example of what good Science Fiction should be.
March 15, 2015
Cross-posted from Papyrus Independent Author Reviews (http://papyrus.calebblake.net/2015/02/14/frozen-sky-2-betrayed-by-jeff-carlson/)
How do you maintain a truce with a harsh alien species with which you can barely communicate? And how much more fragile is that truce when all your decisions are made by a distant bureaucracy riddled with self-interest and political agendas? One betrayal could start an inter-species war.
Betrayed is the sequel to The Frozen Sky by Jeff Carlson, an author who has had a number of novels which seem to be a mixture of self-published and traditionally published works. The Frozen Sky was a terrific read, so I was quite eager to see what he did with the sequel. Both novels are set of Europa, a moon of Jupiter. It's not the first time that I've seen this moon as a focus of first-encounter fiction. The story revolves around discovery of and interactions with a species of life-form on Europa known as the Sunfish. The environment in which the story takes place is rich, plausible and fascinating.
In this novel, the plot covers a crisis point in the ongoing truce between Humankind and Sunfish. It does not attempt to build up the situation over days or weeks, nor does the crisis endure over a long period. Instead the entire story fits within a matter of a day or so, and as such, is a tense, action-packed sequence. What develops, does so very quickly leaving the onus on the reader to keep pace with several intelligent scientists and engineers as they interpret the actions of the Sunfish and attempt to avert a war. It was a thrill ride that I thoroughly enjoyed.
Vonnie, the engineer and main character of the first novel returns in this novel as an ambassador for the Europa mission, working directly with the Sunfish. She has become a controversial celebrity back on earth and we see her developing some political smarts whilst trying to stay true to her mission of developing a truce with the Sunfish species. As a reader we essentially inhabit Vonnie over the course of the story and everything is related from her perspective. Her self-doubts and internal conflicts are exposed which allows us to see more than just a tough and determined heroine. I'm not one for too much romance, especially if it feels "bolted on". However, romance is introduced through Vonnie in a way that added to my appreciation of her character. Her feelings towards Koebsch and Ben added nuance to the story without dominating it.
The writing matched the pace of the story well. I didn't sense any awkwardness or gaffs in the prose and the atmosphere remained consistently tense and exciting throughout. The concepts presented seem well-researched from my inexpert perspective. I read this feeling like the Europa mission was a possibility in our future and the attempts to understand an alien discourse also felt plausible.
I would highly recommend both of Carlson's novels The Frozen Sky and Betrayed. There's plenty of action, an icy subterranean world to explore, artificial intelligence, a completely novel species to meet and the old favourites of politics, petty rivalries and deceit. What's not to love?
How do you maintain a truce with a harsh alien species with which you can barely communicate? And how much more fragile is that truce when all your decisions are made by a distant bureaucracy riddled with self-interest and political agendas? One betrayal could start an inter-species war.
Betrayed is the sequel to The Frozen Sky by Jeff Carlson, an author who has had a number of novels which seem to be a mixture of self-published and traditionally published works. The Frozen Sky was a terrific read, so I was quite eager to see what he did with the sequel. Both novels are set of Europa, a moon of Jupiter. It's not the first time that I've seen this moon as a focus of first-encounter fiction. The story revolves around discovery of and interactions with a species of life-form on Europa known as the Sunfish. The environment in which the story takes place is rich, plausible and fascinating.
In this novel, the plot covers a crisis point in the ongoing truce between Humankind and Sunfish. It does not attempt to build up the situation over days or weeks, nor does the crisis endure over a long period. Instead the entire story fits within a matter of a day or so, and as such, is a tense, action-packed sequence. What develops, does so very quickly leaving the onus on the reader to keep pace with several intelligent scientists and engineers as they interpret the actions of the Sunfish and attempt to avert a war. It was a thrill ride that I thoroughly enjoyed.
Vonnie, the engineer and main character of the first novel returns in this novel as an ambassador for the Europa mission, working directly with the Sunfish. She has become a controversial celebrity back on earth and we see her developing some political smarts whilst trying to stay true to her mission of developing a truce with the Sunfish species. As a reader we essentially inhabit Vonnie over the course of the story and everything is related from her perspective. Her self-doubts and internal conflicts are exposed which allows us to see more than just a tough and determined heroine. I'm not one for too much romance, especially if it feels "bolted on". However, romance is introduced through Vonnie in a way that added to my appreciation of her character. Her feelings towards Koebsch and Ben added nuance to the story without dominating it.
The writing matched the pace of the story well. I didn't sense any awkwardness or gaffs in the prose and the atmosphere remained consistently tense and exciting throughout. The concepts presented seem well-researched from my inexpert perspective. I read this feeling like the Europa mission was a possibility in our future and the attempts to understand an alien discourse also felt plausible.
I would highly recommend both of Carlson's novels The Frozen Sky and Betrayed. There's plenty of action, an icy subterranean world to explore, artificial intelligence, a completely novel species to meet and the old favourites of politics, petty rivalries and deceit. What's not to love?
December 11, 2015
Betrayed (Frozen Sky #2) by Jeff Carlson starts off a few months after the end of The Frozen Sky: A Novel (Frozen Sky #1). The sunfish and the human scientists are still exploring their tentative relationship, and how it will work out is still very much in doubt. A habitat module has been constructed just under the ice where humans and sunfish can meet face to “face” and negotiate. Alexis Vonderach (Vonnie) is locked in a fight for dominance with the sunfish they call “Tom”, which is necessary for any sunfish discussion. She and Tom begin to start a dialog about the sunfish acting as guides and ambassadors for the scientists in exchange for food and protection. This is halted abruptly when ice tremors start and possibly endanger the sunfish. If the tremors are caused by human machinery on the surface, the sunfish will consider this an act of aggression, and any treaty will be impossible.
Jeff Carlson has done a masterful job of creating an intriguing story on many levels. There is the clash of competing interests between the various governments and commercial interests on earth, as political alliances are considered between former enemies. The scientists on Europa are tasked with following out the orders from their governments on Earth. There are many of them who are agents of their government's intelligence services, with agendas of their own. There is one scientist in the group that is openly working against forming an alliance with the sunfish in order to promote the commercial exploitation of Europa and the sunfish for the profit of that company. He is on the secretly on the payroll of that company.
Because of various deaths and disasters in the European Space Agency group (ESA), who originally discovered the sunfish, they have joined forces with the Brazilian team, who are all military. The Brazilians are heavily armed, and prepared to destroy the sunfish if they feel that is necessary to protect the human camps on Europa. As the distance between the Earth and Europa increases, the communication delay between them increases, forcing the scientists to rely on possibly out-dated instructions from their governments, or the government’s A.I. proxies on Europa.
Each scientist on Europa has their own agenda to follow. Only Vonnie, the person who discovered the sunfish, seems to have any interest in forging a treaty for the benefits of both parties.
The parallel between the distrust the humans and starfish have for each other is not hard to miss. The sunfish history and culture is slowly revealed as Vonnie learns more about them. There are other groups of sunfish under the ice, and the two groups of sunfish must come to their own agreement. The sunfish have their own political battles to fight.
Jeff Carlson has written an adventure story that is an impressive addition to the literature of First Contact, communication, and cooperation with an alien species. You will be enthralled with this book and will not be able to put it down.
Jeff Carlson has done a masterful job of creating an intriguing story on many levels. There is the clash of competing interests between the various governments and commercial interests on earth, as political alliances are considered between former enemies. The scientists on Europa are tasked with following out the orders from their governments on Earth. There are many of them who are agents of their government's intelligence services, with agendas of their own. There is one scientist in the group that is openly working against forming an alliance with the sunfish in order to promote the commercial exploitation of Europa and the sunfish for the profit of that company. He is on the secretly on the payroll of that company.
Because of various deaths and disasters in the European Space Agency group (ESA), who originally discovered the sunfish, they have joined forces with the Brazilian team, who are all military. The Brazilians are heavily armed, and prepared to destroy the sunfish if they feel that is necessary to protect the human camps on Europa. As the distance between the Earth and Europa increases, the communication delay between them increases, forcing the scientists to rely on possibly out-dated instructions from their governments, or the government’s A.I. proxies on Europa.
Each scientist on Europa has their own agenda to follow. Only Vonnie, the person who discovered the sunfish, seems to have any interest in forging a treaty for the benefits of both parties.
The parallel between the distrust the humans and starfish have for each other is not hard to miss. The sunfish history and culture is slowly revealed as Vonnie learns more about them. There are other groups of sunfish under the ice, and the two groups of sunfish must come to their own agreement. The sunfish have their own political battles to fight.
Jeff Carlson has written an adventure story that is an impressive addition to the literature of First Contact, communication, and cooperation with an alien species. You will be enthralled with this book and will not be able to put it down.
July 29, 2016
“The Frozen Sky: Betrayed” by International Best-Selling Author Jeff Carlson is another high-octane page-turning thriller in The Frozen Sky series. Picking up shortly after the original “The Frozen Sky” episode ended, we find Vonnie in a small cell under the ice, with one of the sunfish. She and the sunfish, Tom, are together for the sole purpose of learning about each other’s species. A small tremor frightens Vonnie, which excites Tom, who launches an attack on her. Fortunately, she prevails and Tom becomes appropriately contrite.
However, the military leader in the small surface contingent wants to drop a nuke through the ice to kill all the sunfish because of the attack on Vonnie. Quick thinking by Vonnie and Ben resulted in an order telling the military to stand down. The inter-species action, as well as the human disagreements about almost everything, provide non-stop suspense throughout the book, from page 1 to “Not The End”.
“The Frozen Sky: Betrayed” is a fairly fast read, which is a good thing, because once you start it, you won’t want to put it down until you finish it. The character development is superb, making each character seem as real as death and taxes. The conflicts and in-fighting amongst the humans could not be more realistically written. Even the descriptions of the Sunfish’s social interaction is so real you would swear they are an actual species, really living under the ice of Europa, one of Jupiter’s many moons.
There is an obvious reason Jeff Carlson is an International Best-Selling Author; he is an incredible writer. “The Frozen Sky: Betrayed” is definitely a must-read story.
However, the military leader in the small surface contingent wants to drop a nuke through the ice to kill all the sunfish because of the attack on Vonnie. Quick thinking by Vonnie and Ben resulted in an order telling the military to stand down. The inter-species action, as well as the human disagreements about almost everything, provide non-stop suspense throughout the book, from page 1 to “Not The End”.
“The Frozen Sky: Betrayed” is a fairly fast read, which is a good thing, because once you start it, you won’t want to put it down until you finish it. The character development is superb, making each character seem as real as death and taxes. The conflicts and in-fighting amongst the humans could not be more realistically written. Even the descriptions of the Sunfish’s social interaction is so real you would swear they are an actual species, really living under the ice of Europa, one of Jupiter’s many moons.
There is an obvious reason Jeff Carlson is an International Best-Selling Author; he is an incredible writer. “The Frozen Sky: Betrayed” is definitely a must-read story.
July 24, 2014
Jeff Carlson is at again in another amazing piece in The Frozen Sky series. FROZEN SKY 2: BETRAYED finds itself starting not long after the original FROZEN SKY. The book follows Vonnie on her adventurous journey in an inter-species showdown.
From the very beginning, BETRAYED feels like familiar territory in a very good way. Each page seemed to wiz by with ease as the intense action and realistic dialog was written with smooth transitions and realism. Carlson, a literary great, proves in this story that he does his research. The descriptive narrative within the text are seamless and without effort, providing the reader an easy escape into his created universe.
If you loved the original FROZEN SKY, then FROZEN SKY 2: BETRAYED is a must read. If you didn't read the original, why are you reading a review for it's sequel?? Go read it! Come back and thank me later. Jeff Carlson is a force to be reckoned with, and with amazing stories continuously coming out from him, it's a sign that he's not going anywhere anytime soon.
I thank him for that.
From the very beginning, BETRAYED feels like familiar territory in a very good way. Each page seemed to wiz by with ease as the intense action and realistic dialog was written with smooth transitions and realism. Carlson, a literary great, proves in this story that he does his research. The descriptive narrative within the text are seamless and without effort, providing the reader an easy escape into his created universe.
If you loved the original FROZEN SKY, then FROZEN SKY 2: BETRAYED is a must read. If you didn't read the original, why are you reading a review for it's sequel?? Go read it! Come back and thank me later. Jeff Carlson is a force to be reckoned with, and with amazing stories continuously coming out from him, it's a sign that he's not going anywhere anytime soon.
I thank him for that.
June 16, 2014
Carlson nails it yet again, I'm now a serious fan of his work.
This shorter book continues the story of Vonnie's engagement with the mysterious sunfish on Jupiter's frozen moon. This harsh environment is filled with a sense of isolation, and sets the atmosphere for a dangerous struggle to survive in this remote desolate landscape. FS2 spends some time fleshing out the Sunfish race going into more detail of their behavioural, hierarchical and social activities. This adds so much to create a truly believable lifeform, none of the standard bipedal human like aliens here. This doesn't slow down the pace of the book at all, and I found myself tearing through it, eager to see what would happen to Vonnie and the rest, making life risking choices on gut feel alone.
Great book, can’t wait for FS3.
This shorter book continues the story of Vonnie's engagement with the mysterious sunfish on Jupiter's frozen moon. This harsh environment is filled with a sense of isolation, and sets the atmosphere for a dangerous struggle to survive in this remote desolate landscape. FS2 spends some time fleshing out the Sunfish race going into more detail of their behavioural, hierarchical and social activities. This adds so much to create a truly believable lifeform, none of the standard bipedal human like aliens here. This doesn't slow down the pace of the book at all, and I found myself tearing through it, eager to see what would happen to Vonnie and the rest, making life risking choices on gut feel alone.
Great book, can’t wait for FS3.
June 21, 2014
FS-2: Carlson gives us more this time about the politics and intrigue of those backing the expedition to Jupiter's moon Europa, plus the relationships and psychology of the scientific team. There's lots of conflict and tension, and great interaction between Vonnie and the sunfish as they try to understand (comprehend) one another. I am a huge fan of Tom, the "expendable" male who distinguishes himself and ascends in importance to the tribe through learning about and negotiating with Vonnie. I keep rooting for Lam, the human intelligence stripped down and dumped into a probe. The complicated relationships between the humans, their duplicitous and fluid opponent/ally natures, rife with ego and personal interests, are such a contrast to the completely open, tribe-focused sunfish. The human and nonhuman characters seem like "real people," which is a trick with a "cast" as large as this.
July 8, 2014
The cover illustration echoes old pulp covers where women are menaced by tentacled monsters. The story opens with the exact scene depicted on the cover. Both are intentionally misleading. Yes, Vonnie does get roughed up by a sunfish, but as it turns out...
This short novel continues the story started in The Frozen Sky: The Novel, and it can't really be read on its own. There are two specific instances of betrayal, one for each species; the whole narrative deals with the negotiations between humans and the sunfish native to Europa, which face difficulties from the conflicts between different interest groups and the alienness of the sunfish. (Also, there is the matter of the time lag: Earth governments and other groups have to be represented by AI proxies.)
This is an intriguing appetizer for the bigger book that will hopefully come sooner rather than later.
The way things are going, it seems the humans on Europa are helping create a sunfish superpower with foreign aid. That can't go wrong, right?
Nitpicking: the pieces of lyrics from the German national anthem are wrong. Google would have helped there. ("And" is substituted for "und" several times and one "und" has turned into "under", making nonsense of the whole thing.)
This short novel continues the story started in The Frozen Sky: The Novel, and it can't really be read on its own. There are two specific instances of betrayal, one for each species; the whole narrative deals with the negotiations between humans and the sunfish native to Europa, which face difficulties from the conflicts between different interest groups and the alienness of the sunfish. (Also, there is the matter of the time lag: Earth governments and other groups have to be represented by AI proxies.)
This is an intriguing appetizer for the bigger book that will hopefully come sooner rather than later.
The way things are going, it seems the humans on Europa are helping create a sunfish superpower with foreign aid. That can't go wrong, right?
Nitpicking: the pieces of lyrics from the German national anthem are wrong. Google would have helped there. ("And" is substituted for "und" several times and one "und" has turned into "under", making nonsense of the whole thing.)
July 18, 2014
An enjoyable read, though it didn't capture my curiosity and fascination like the first book. This book focused on the "politics" between the humans and tribes of Europa. While it was interesting, it lacked the first book's deep exploration and thrill of adventure in going deeper and deeper down into Europa, which immersed me and made me curious to learn more about the planetary environment the aliens live in.
When I finished the first book, I was immensely curious to find out what is deeper down in Europa and was hoping to fulfill my curiosities by waiting patiently for this sequel. This sequel didn't take us deeper into this inhospitable world unfortunately, though it did shed more light on the ways in which the alien species thinks and behaves, and the negotiations between the humans and aliens to establish a peace deal was certainly interesting. We learned immensely more about the sunfish, but not the environment of Europa or what potentially lurks deeper.
I expect the next instalment will take us deeper under the ice (or into the ocean below) in a way that captures the adventurous exploratory aspects of the first book. This book gets the job done and prepares us for deeper exploration into Europa in the next instalment.
When I finished the first book, I was immensely curious to find out what is deeper down in Europa and was hoping to fulfill my curiosities by waiting patiently for this sequel. This sequel didn't take us deeper into this inhospitable world unfortunately, though it did shed more light on the ways in which the alien species thinks and behaves, and the negotiations between the humans and aliens to establish a peace deal was certainly interesting. We learned immensely more about the sunfish, but not the environment of Europa or what potentially lurks deeper.
I expect the next instalment will take us deeper under the ice (or into the ocean below) in a way that captures the adventurous exploratory aspects of the first book. This book gets the job done and prepares us for deeper exploration into Europa in the next instalment.
September 18, 2014
Jeff Carlson is an excellent SF writer. I have read all six of his books and felt Interrupt was his best (my favorite). The FS books are well done, have good character development, and unique narrative story lines. Give him a try if you have not read him. Keeps your interest throughout the book. I am looking for more from him.
June 21, 2014
If you enjoyed the first book you will enjoy this one. Just wish it was longer, sadly I finished it in one sitting.
I highly recommend all of Jeff Carlson's works if you have not read them.
Also there is no Barnes and Noble version listed here on Goodreads
I highly recommend all of Jeff Carlson's works if you have not read them.
Also there is no Barnes and Noble version listed here on Goodreads
July 22, 2014
This was a good sequel for Frozen Sky. A good use of characters and continuation on the events of the first book. Only thing i'd change would be to have the story a little longer. It just seemed a little shorter then I was hoping for.
July 2, 2014
Interesting follow-up to the first Frozen Sky. More about the politics between humans, between humans and the sunfish and between the sunfish. Leaves an intriguing cliff hanger and hints of what is to come in the sequel.
December 26, 2014
Excellent Sci Fi
Very good Science fiction. Development and relationships between humans well developed. Individual alien personalities and interaction with humans very well developed. Looking forward to the next book in the series.
Very good Science fiction. Development and relationships between humans well developed. Individual alien personalities and interaction with humans very well developed. Looking forward to the next book in the series.
November 12, 2014
A great continuation to the series! I hope Jeff is right now feverishly working on the next installment
September 16, 2019
Általában el tudom dönteni, hogy valami tetszik-e vagy sem, de ezúttal szinte az egész olvasás alatt ide-oda pattogtam a két véglet között.
Izgalom- és akciófaktorban nincs hiány, ráadásul ez az a féle, ami engem is bedarál. Sokszáz oldal után azonban szépen kirajzolódik ami nem rajzolódik ki, vagyis hogy íve az nincs a történetnek, inkább önmagába visszatérő hurkokból áll, ami ismétlődő sablonelemekből építkezik: páncélos bevetés a jég alatt, egy kis lövöldözés vagy naphalgyilkolászás, valaminek fel kell robbannia, sok sok vér, naphalak(!), egy kis szex, sok sok #szexpartnerváltási# érzelmi dilemma, parancsmegtagadás és erkölcsi győzelem, rejtélycsomagok és megoldásmorzsák - körülbelül 50-100 oldalanként ismétlődve. Szívesen mondanám, hogy Carlson profi szórakoztató - amolyan ponyvasorozatgyártó -, ha nem keveredne a sziporkázó gondolatok közé lépten-nyomon a giccs, akár egyazon bekezdésen belül, és nem lenne teljesen életszerűtlen a különleges feladatra kiválogatott, nyilvánvalóan nem hétköznapi szellemi képességekkel rendelkező, célorientált és intelligens expedíciótagok ifjúsági regényeket idézően "gazdag" érzelmi világa. Félreértés ne essék, önmagában rendkívül érdekes lehet a "vajon hogyan torzul egy sok időre, nagyon szűk helyre összezárt, kislétszámú embercsoport kapcsolatrendszere" gondolatkísérlet, de élek a gyanúval, hogy nem pont így. És ha már kísérletezésről beszélünk, ezen a téren jobban esett volna több merészség, és kevesebb sztereotípia. Üresen koppannak a szavak, valójában nagyon egysíkúnak és konzervatívnak éreztem az emberi viszonyulásokat minden tekintetben.
Amiért végig tudtam olvasni ezt a duplaregényt, és akár folytatnám is a sorozatot, az természetesen az Európa és a naphalak: a kapcsolatteremtés kihívásai, a két civilizáció közötti folyamatos félreértések, konfrontációk és kiegyezések, az újra és újra felbukkanó kérdések, amelyek feje tetejére állítanak mindent, amit korábban gondoltunk. Nagyon izgalmasnak találtam az irányt, ami felé a utalásszerűen elszórt ötletek alapján haladunk, kár volt feláldozni a magvas gondolatiságot a tömegfogyasztás kiszolgálásának oltárán (és ezáltal csonkán hagyni a történetet, lásd alább).
Zűrök az eredeti kiadás körül
Az utószóból (alias A szerző jegyzete) kiderül, hogyan is volt Carlsonnal és a kiadójával: a karcsúra sikerült második kötet után az író ugyanis saját bevallása szerint igencsak belemelegedett a sztoriba, és egy 750+ oldalas harmadikat próbált letolni a kiadója torkán. Ezt a kötetet aztán - ha jól értem - piaci megfontolásokból és közös megegyezéssel kettébontották, csakhogy a szerző tragikus halála megfosztott minket a kielégítő befejezéstől. Morbid észrevétel tőlem, de ez az eset sajnos jól mutatja, hogy nem érdemes túlnyújtani azt ami térben és időben is szépen lekerekíthető, ráadásul fejben már megvan. Ebből így már se olvasó, se kiadó, se a szerző nem tud poszthumusz jól kijönni, kétségkívül kiábrándító a végeredmény.
Zűrök a magyar kiadás körül
Az teljesen rendben lenne, hogy a 2. és 3. kötet egybekerült a magyar kiadónál, nyilván megvannak egy ilyen döntésnek a stratégiai okai, csak az nincs rendben, ahogy ez megvalósult. Ahogy azt már máshol jeleztem, se a cím, se a borító, se egy tartalomjegyzék nem jelzi, hogy valójában nem a Fagyott égbolt második, hanem a második és a harmadik kötet egybeszerkesztett kiadásával van dolgunk. (Ezt csak a copyright oldal átböngészése teszi nyilvánvalóvá.) A gyanútlan magyar olvasót ezek után alaposan összezavarhatja, hogy 1.) az eredeti második kötetet a Fagyott égbolt 2 első részének nevezték el, a harmadik kötetet pedig a második részének, 2.) az utószó viszont végig a Fagyott égbolt 3-ról beszél, mivel a jelek szerint Carlson ezt kifejezetten ahhoz írta (jelen kötetben ez alatt a második részt kell érteni (követtek még? :D), 3.) a borító is az eredeti angol nyelvű kiadás harmadik kötetének, vagyis a Fagyott égbolt 3-nak az átvétele, 4.) a látszólag egyetlen kötetben triviális információtartalmú ábrák ismétlődnek; ennek nyilván csak úgy van értelme, ha ezek a részek eredetileg szeparáltan, jelentős időkülönbséggel jelentek meg.
Itt szeretném megjegyezni, hogy az ábrák/térképek továbbra is felvetik azokat az általános aggályokat, amikre az első kötet értékelésénél már kitértem, de ez már csak hab a tortán. Megbánni nem bántam meg az olvasást, de eleve tisztában voltam a történet befejezetlenségével. El tudom képzelni, hogy aki utólag szembesül a helyzettel, meglehetősen csalódott lesz, és a csalódottságáért bizony a regény(ek) színvonala sem feltétlenül kárpótolja.
Izgalom- és akciófaktorban nincs hiány, ráadásul ez az a féle, ami engem is bedarál. Sokszáz oldal után azonban szépen kirajzolódik ami nem rajzolódik ki, vagyis hogy íve az nincs a történetnek, inkább önmagába visszatérő hurkokból áll, ami ismétlődő sablonelemekből építkezik: páncélos bevetés a jég alatt, egy kis lövöldözés vagy naphalgyilkolászás, valaminek fel kell robbannia, sok sok vér, naphalak(!), egy kis szex, sok sok #szexpartnerváltási# érzelmi dilemma, parancsmegtagadás és erkölcsi győzelem, rejtélycsomagok és megoldásmorzsák - körülbelül 50-100 oldalanként ismétlődve. Szívesen mondanám, hogy Carlson profi szórakoztató - amolyan ponyvasorozatgyártó -, ha nem keveredne a sziporkázó gondolatok közé lépten-nyomon a giccs, akár egyazon bekezdésen belül, és nem lenne teljesen életszerűtlen a különleges feladatra kiválogatott, nyilvánvalóan nem hétköznapi szellemi képességekkel rendelkező, célorientált és intelligens expedíciótagok ifjúsági regényeket idézően "gazdag" érzelmi világa. Félreértés ne essék, önmagában rendkívül érdekes lehet a "vajon hogyan torzul egy sok időre, nagyon szűk helyre összezárt, kislétszámú embercsoport kapcsolatrendszere" gondolatkísérlet, de élek a gyanúval, hogy nem pont így. És ha már kísérletezésről beszélünk, ezen a téren jobban esett volna több merészség, és kevesebb sztereotípia. Üresen koppannak a szavak, valójában nagyon egysíkúnak és konzervatívnak éreztem az emberi viszonyulásokat minden tekintetben.
Amiért végig tudtam olvasni ezt a duplaregényt, és akár folytatnám is a sorozatot, az természetesen az Európa és a naphalak: a kapcsolatteremtés kihívásai, a két civilizáció közötti folyamatos félreértések, konfrontációk és kiegyezések, az újra és újra felbukkanó kérdések, amelyek feje tetejére állítanak mindent, amit korábban gondoltunk. Nagyon izgalmasnak találtam az irányt, ami felé a utalásszerűen elszórt ötletek alapján haladunk, kár volt feláldozni a magvas gondolatiságot a tömegfogyasztás kiszolgálásának oltárán (és ezáltal csonkán hagyni a történetet, lásd alább).
Zűrök az eredeti kiadás körül
Az utószóból (alias A szerző jegyzete) kiderül, hogyan is volt Carlsonnal és a kiadójával: a karcsúra sikerült második kötet után az író ugyanis saját bevallása szerint igencsak belemelegedett a sztoriba, és egy 750+ oldalas harmadikat próbált letolni a kiadója torkán. Ezt a kötetet aztán - ha jól értem - piaci megfontolásokból és közös megegyezéssel kettébontották, csakhogy a szerző tragikus halála megfosztott minket a kielégítő befejezéstől. Morbid észrevétel tőlem, de ez az eset sajnos jól mutatja, hogy nem érdemes túlnyújtani azt ami térben és időben is szépen lekerekíthető, ráadásul fejben már megvan. Ebből így már se olvasó, se kiadó, se a szerző nem tud poszthumusz jól kijönni, kétségkívül kiábrándító a végeredmény.
Zűrök a magyar kiadás körül
Az teljesen rendben lenne, hogy a 2. és 3. kötet egybekerült a magyar kiadónál, nyilván megvannak egy ilyen döntésnek a stratégiai okai, csak az nincs rendben, ahogy ez megvalósult. Ahogy azt már máshol jeleztem, se a cím, se a borító, se egy tartalomjegyzék nem jelzi, hogy valójában nem a Fagyott égbolt második, hanem a második és a harmadik kötet egybeszerkesztett kiadásával van dolgunk. (Ezt csak a copyright oldal átböngészése teszi nyilvánvalóvá.) A gyanútlan magyar olvasót ezek után alaposan összezavarhatja, hogy 1.) az eredeti második kötetet a Fagyott égbolt 2 első részének nevezték el, a harmadik kötetet pedig a második részének, 2.) az utószó viszont végig a Fagyott égbolt 3-ról beszél, mivel a jelek szerint Carlson ezt kifejezetten ahhoz írta (jelen kötetben ez alatt a második részt kell érteni (követtek még? :D), 3.) a borító is az eredeti angol nyelvű kiadás harmadik kötetének, vagyis a Fagyott égbolt 3-nak az átvétele, 4.) a látszólag egyetlen kötetben triviális információtartalmú ábrák ismétlődnek; ennek nyilván csak úgy van értelme, ha ezek a részek eredetileg szeparáltan, jelentős időkülönbséggel jelentek meg.
Itt szeretném megjegyezni, hogy az ábrák/térképek továbbra is felvetik azokat az általános aggályokat, amikre az első kötet értékelésénél már kitértem, de ez már csak hab a tortán. Megbánni nem bántam meg az olvasást, de eleve tisztában voltam a történet befejezetlenségével. El tudom képzelni, hogy aki utólag szembesül a helyzettel, meglehetősen csalódott lesz, és a csalódottságáért bizony a regény(ek) színvonala sem feltétlenül kárpótolja.
July 2, 2017
So Vonnie, her clandestine AI Lam, and her friends who covered for her have successfully negotiated a treaty with the volatile sunfish beneath Europa's frozen sky. But all is not right as rain, as there are still many questions about this mysterious new species.
Military and science teams from all the world's major and semi-major players approach the area. Vonnie and her friends interact a lot with the sunfish, discovering that there are many tribes, each of which is headed by a few intelligent, strategizing matriarchs managing many dumb, savage males.
The nearby Brazilian team is always ready to respond militarily and has a short fuse to boot. Vonnie is bringing more of her team to her and the sunfish's side, but they have to constantly send reports to and receive orders from Earth to mitigate whatever they're thinking of doing. And a cantankerous old foe sneakily causes more mischief for them to deal with. Vonnie is keen on a human-sunfish partnership, but there is a long way yet to go on that, with hurdles provided by the creatures' volatility and violence, and human greed and noncooperation.
This is a very short book and should be considered a novella. It's like 1/3 the length of the first book. As such, there isn't much romance or language, though Vonnie and her boyfriend Ben are definitely closer and there's a triangle including their boss.
Vonnie continually rips humans and defends sunfish, wound about with her own convoluted moral code. Humans are idiots because they kill but sunfish just do it because that's the way they are. Why can't people be more open to these new creatures, while she berates a crewmember who doesn't particularly like sunfish. Give the sunfish a chance, but there's no chance that there's a God. Again, the constant bias is irritating.
Military and science teams from all the world's major and semi-major players approach the area. Vonnie and her friends interact a lot with the sunfish, discovering that there are many tribes, each of which is headed by a few intelligent, strategizing matriarchs managing many dumb, savage males.
The nearby Brazilian team is always ready to respond militarily and has a short fuse to boot. Vonnie is bringing more of her team to her and the sunfish's side, but they have to constantly send reports to and receive orders from Earth to mitigate whatever they're thinking of doing. And a cantankerous old foe sneakily causes more mischief for them to deal with. Vonnie is keen on a human-sunfish partnership, but there is a long way yet to go on that, with hurdles provided by the creatures' volatility and violence, and human greed and noncooperation.
This is a very short book and should be considered a novella. It's like 1/3 the length of the first book. As such, there isn't much romance or language, though Vonnie and her boyfriend Ben are definitely closer and there's a triangle including their boss.
Vonnie continually rips humans and defends sunfish, wound about with her own convoluted moral code. Humans are idiots because they kill but sunfish just do it because that's the way they are. Why can't people be more open to these new creatures, while she berates a crewmember who doesn't particularly like sunfish. Give the sunfish a chance, but there's no chance that there's a God. Again, the constant bias is irritating.
March 19, 2018
Note: I'm now reading the trilogy as a whole. This is my second time through books 1 and 2.
With two young children, my reading conditions are pretty bad: distractions, interruptions, and deep tiredness (the kind where you wake up several times with the e-reader crashing into your chest before you finally give up and put it on the nightstand). I still managed to enjoy the breakneck pace in this book. It's a short read. There are just a handful of tense scenes. Lives and more are at stake.
It does contain its own resolution and develops characters and plot but it's clearly "book 2 of 3", an episode in a larger story. As such, it does leave you wanting more. And, of course, there is more. On to book three!
With two young children, my reading conditions are pretty bad: distractions, interruptions, and deep tiredness (the kind where you wake up several times with the e-reader crashing into your chest before you finally give up and put it on the nightstand). I still managed to enjoy the breakneck pace in this book. It's a short read. There are just a handful of tense scenes. Lives and more are at stake.
It does contain its own resolution and develops characters and plot but it's clearly "book 2 of 3", an episode in a larger story. As such, it does leave you wanting more. And, of course, there is more. On to book three!
March 11, 2017
Jeff Carlson’s Vonnie would be a role model for Alien’s Ellen Ripley or Terminator’s Sarah Connor. She can be beaten, but does not know how to quit. In Frozen Sky Betrayed, Jeff Carlson further develops the culture of the sunfish, and bravely documents the near-insanity of what it takes for Vonnie to continue to protect and understand the aliens she has come to love. And then, there is the nerve-wracking intensity of human interactions among a couple of dozen people 628 million kilometers from earth.
Read Frozen Sky first. And be grateful that not only is there a Frozen Sky: Betrayed, but also a Frozen Sky Blindsided to follow.
Read Frozen Sky first. And be grateful that not only is there a Frozen Sky: Betrayed, but also a Frozen Sky Blindsided to follow.
February 2, 2019
Simply amazing, once again. I was very intrigued about the timeline at the beginning. It was very cool. I thought the way Sunfish communicate and the way Vonnie was able to communicate back was awesome. And Lam, the AI, continues to play an important role in this series. I was so sucked into the book I felt I was beside them, and felt their emotions. I loved this book, and am looking forward to reading Blindsided. hopefully Battlefront will be done soon, because I don't want to wait.
May 18, 2017
Enjoyable
I enjoyed the second book in the series as much as the first. I'm looking forward to reading the third installment.
I enjoyed the second book in the series as much as the first. I'm looking forward to reading the third installment.
October 21, 2018
It was quite impressive. Best book I read this year out of 14 other sci-fi books.
April 14, 2019
Continues the encounter with alien tribes on Europa and the difficulties of establishing a treaty with a culture barely understood and a language only just beginning to learn.
March 9, 2021
Second book was better than the first one as they dive deeper into the intelligence of the sunfish.
August 13, 2021
More of a novelette than a full novel, Betrayed is a satisfying sequel to Frozen Sky. I look forward to the next entry in the series.
June 17, 2022
A folytatás még izgalmasabbra sikeredett, mint az első kötet. Scifirajongóknak kifejezetten ajánlott, de mindenki másnak is jó szívvel tudom javasolni.
July 7, 2016
Picking up where we left off in book 1 we follow our favorite first-contact explorers as they forge a shaky alliance with the life forms they discovered on Jupiter’s moon Europa. Continuing the theme of the altruistic humans matching wits with those who seek to gain from the aliens (either dead or alive) and those who would “defend” themselves by destroying the aliens, the strange and seemingly primitive nature of the aliens adds to the tension keeping the reader turning pages. I really appreciate that these aren’t your typical, run-of-the-mill, pulled from our collective concious cute-and-fuzzy ETs or bipedal lizard men bent on global domination. Their physiology, motivations, actions and reactions are truly foreign and we struggle to communicate and maintain a relationship. With current speculation and interest in Europa I’m loving the suggestion that it could sustain life - something Carlson apparently knew all along! Take *that* NASA! Can’t wait to read book 3!
May 29, 2014
This sequel has little of the novelty and energy of the first installment and also suffers from some pretty lazy exposition in spots.
November 24, 2015
I was worried this would struggle to match the first in the Europa series but I'm glad to say I was proven wrong. This is a much shorter story but it worked, brilliant story, brilliant author.
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