What do you think?
Rate this book
Maximum Ice
For 250 years, the Star Road's Ship Mother, Zoya Kundara, has provided counsel to generations of the human crew. Escaping the ravages of radiation, the ship returns to Earth and finds a world on the brink of extinction. It's up to Zoya to go out into the alien culture of this world and unlock the secrets of the Ice, the crystalline matrix that is encapsulating the planet.
Hardcover
First published January 29, 2002
14 people are currently reading
240 people want to read
About the author
Kay Kenyon
43 books255 followersKay Kenyon is a fantasy and science fiction author. She is now working on her 21st novel, a fantasy. She has been a finalist for the Philip K. Dick Award and several others and recently had a trilogy optioned for film, The Dark Talents: At the Table of Wolves.
Her newest fantasy series is The Arisen Worlds quartet. Book 1, The Girl Who Fell Into Myth, Book 2, Stranger in the Twisted Realm, Book 3, Servant of the Lost Power and Book 4, Keeper of the Mythos Gate. "A story of powers and magic on a grand scale.” —Louisa Morgan, author of The Secret History of Witches.
Her acclaimed 4-book series, The Entire and The Rose, has been reissued with new covers: Bright of the Sky. Called "a splendid fantasy quest" by The Washington Post.
She loves to hear from readers, and you can contact her at http://www.kaykenyon.com where you can also sign up for her newsletter.
Her newest fantasy series is The Arisen Worlds quartet. Book 1, The Girl Who Fell Into Myth, Book 2, Stranger in the Twisted Realm, Book 3, Servant of the Lost Power and Book 4, Keeper of the Mythos Gate. "A story of powers and magic on a grand scale.” —Louisa Morgan, author of The Secret History of Witches.
Her acclaimed 4-book series, The Entire and The Rose, has been reissued with new covers: Bright of the Sky. Called "a splendid fantasy quest" by The Washington Post.
She loves to hear from readers, and you can contact her at http://www.kaykenyon.com where you can also sign up for her newsletter.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
August 29, 2020
This is a good (semi-)hard-sf novel with an ecological theme. The opening is too diffuse, but after a hundred pages or so it all begins to come together if the reader has patience. Kenyon seems to introduce more characters and viewpoints than in her previous books. The life-on-the-starship sequences are especially convincing.
June 27, 2021
(Probably spoilers ahead.) The Star Road is a ship that left an earth in chaos, its crew escaping genocide and hoping to find a new world to live on. This mission is unsuccessful so they return to earth and find everything is changed. It's been 250 ship years and 10,000 earth years and things are looking very different after lots of computing powers gets hijacked for a quest for immortality. Stasis and space travel are pretty close to immortality, especially with Zoya Kundara's role of being Ship Mother.
Now that is an interesting function in the crew. She is the holder of stories and memories of the people who left and why they left as she was there. During the Star Road's voyage she has spent most of it in stasis and only woken up to deal with emergencies, and she's the only one left who remembers the earth as home and from 10,000 years ago. I wonder that the 250 years are long enough for her to actually want to go back (and in subjective time it would be even less given she's been asleep for most of it) but I guess home can also have a strong pull.
Once back on earth the ship's crew deal investigate the local situation and Zoya is sent of as an ambassador to meet the Ice Nuns. There are interesting ideas that pop up here and there throughout the story, but a lot of it is touched on or skimmed over and doesn't have that much weight in the story. The Vatican gave the ship an AI priest which is interesting in all sorts of ways that aren't explored by the book. And I loathe the 'Romany are carriers of a virus that kills a lot of people and that they are immune to for seemingly magical reasons because it's never explained' storyline which makes no sense - apart from to kick the Star Road off into space. I suppose it could also be 'the Romany are scapegoated for a disease killing lots of people and then run off the planet' storyline too which makes a bit more sense but that's not addressed either.
Now that is an interesting function in the crew. She is the holder of stories and memories of the people who left and why they left as she was there. During the Star Road's voyage she has spent most of it in stasis and only woken up to deal with emergencies, and she's the only one left who remembers the earth as home and from 10,000 years ago. I wonder that the 250 years are long enough for her to actually want to go back (and in subjective time it would be even less given she's been asleep for most of it) but I guess home can also have a strong pull.
Once back on earth the ship's crew deal investigate the local situation and Zoya is sent of as an ambassador to meet the Ice Nuns. There are interesting ideas that pop up here and there throughout the story, but a lot of it is touched on or skimmed over and doesn't have that much weight in the story. The Vatican gave the ship an AI priest which is interesting in all sorts of ways that aren't explored by the book. And I loathe the 'Romany are carriers of a virus that kills a lot of people and that they are immune to for seemingly magical reasons because it's never explained' storyline which makes no sense - apart from to kick the Star Road off into space. I suppose it could also be 'the Romany are scapegoated for a disease killing lots of people and then run off the planet' storyline too which makes a bit more sense but that's not addressed either.
November 10, 2015
A SIMPLE MAN'S REVIEW:
The premise of this book is intriguing, but unfortunately it takes a while to get there. A ship, carrying refugees from an older version of Earth, return to their home world to see it has been covered in "ice", which is actually a crystalline structure. There are pockets of humanity left but the world is pretty much uninhabitable. But where there are humans, there are politics, and the leading organization is a group of "nun" that are devoted to science (and the "ice") instead of God. That's about as much I want to tell you about the plot.
Is there a rule that states the only interpersonal tension that sci-fi can hold is political? There's a ship - so there must be political parties fighting to be in charge. There's a group of nuns - so there must be conflicting political factions concerning the course of the institution. I get that humans are pretty much like that, but it gets old to have it come up over and over again. I'd like to think we can come up with some different conflict over the next few thousand years!
This was a light read, but it does start out slow. It becomes interesting as it builds and the story begins to focus more on the characters you care about. If you haven't decided - flip a coin. You won't hate it but you won't put it in your bookshelf of honor either.
The premise of this book is intriguing, but unfortunately it takes a while to get there. A ship, carrying refugees from an older version of Earth, return to their home world to see it has been covered in "ice", which is actually a crystalline structure. There are pockets of humanity left but the world is pretty much uninhabitable. But where there are humans, there are politics, and the leading organization is a group of "nun" that are devoted to science (and the "ice") instead of God. That's about as much I want to tell you about the plot.
Is there a rule that states the only interpersonal tension that sci-fi can hold is political? There's a ship - so there must be political parties fighting to be in charge. There's a group of nuns - so there must be conflicting political factions concerning the course of the institution. I get that humans are pretty much like that, but it gets old to have it come up over and over again. I'd like to think we can come up with some different conflict over the next few thousand years!
This was a light read, but it does start out slow. It becomes interesting as it builds and the story begins to focus more on the characters you care about. If you haven't decided - flip a coin. You won't hate it but you won't put it in your bookshelf of honor either.
October 9, 2012
I struggled through the first half of the book, for reasons still unclear but possibly related to the treatment of the Star Road's internal politics or perhaps the wishy-washy weakness of the ship captain as grapples with the insubordination of his crew and his own moral quandries. The pace picks up considerably when Zoya Kundara leaves the ship behind to adventure and explore the Ice-covered surface and the strange society that exists. I had expected the story to be primarily an adventure, which may be part of the problem: the politicking and uncertainty delay answers to the question of what Ice is and what it is doing.
Kenyon stumbles over the hard science, from Ice's five-sided pseudocrystalline structure to the information-draining properties of dark matter. These (fortunately infrequent) discussions turned into mires that stole the story's momentum as I tried to unravel what she was going for.
Kenyon stumbles over the hard science, from Ice's five-sided pseudocrystalline structure to the information-draining properties of dark matter. These (fortunately infrequent) discussions turned into mires that stole the story's momentum as I tried to unravel what she was going for.
April 29, 2012
An imaginative story but lacking believability and compelling characters.
February 22, 2022
I gave it 3 stars because the ideas are top-notch. Kay Kenyon created a very imaginative scenario and I read this book quickly because I was so eager to see how she pulled things together and answered the questions built up from the beginning. The problem I have with this book, and every other novel I've read from this author, is characterization and motivation.
Too many characters' actions don't make any sense. For example, the crew of Road Star turn on the man that brought them children when they found out the kids were purchased from desperately poor families. Why were they so angry? They wanted children, and the children they planned to adopt needed help to escape the desperate poverty and hopeless future of thier own lives.
Why would they decide not to keep the children and turn on the man who arranged it? I can't imagine such a reaction in reality. They loved and treasured those children before the crew had actually met most of their adopted offspring. It's too unrealistic to think they'd just say 'oh no, this is awful. We won't adopt them now, send them back to their miserable lives and parents that sold them off at bargain basement prices." That's ridiculous. Learning the children's true origin would have increased the crew's desire to keep the children safe with adopted families that loved them.
The origin story of Star Road is a bit shaky too. A population with genetic immunity to a deadly illness is definitely realistic. There are many examples in reality. Hatred towards the small group with immunity is also very realistic, although I have trouble with some of their actions too. A civilization advanced enough to create Star Road must have brilliant scientists, and quite a lot of them. I can't imagine world governments with scientific advisers would have decided 'let's kill the gypsies' instead of protecting them and using their genetic immunity in research for a potential cure or vaccine. Anyone capable of rational thought with a solid scientific education would have advocated to save every single gypsy, if for no other reason than reproduction if everything else failed. There's absolutely no way that the immune population would receive the ship meant to leave earth. That's completely unrealistic.
The surviving earth populations were interesting, but I was disappointed after finishing the book. Kenyon never went beyond very superficial explanations, and many characters' actions didn't make much sense. I would enjoy this author's work if she had more solid characters and reasonable motivating factors. Even the dispute between the captain and his first mate didn't seem plausible. The supposed reasons for split loyalties in the crew and rebellion against the captain were very weak. No one had any solid reason for the hostilities that developed. It was obviously a necessary part of the story, but the author didn't really bother to make those hostilities believable. I would have preferred to know more about the ecological recovery plans as well. That was the most important factor for every human involved, but it got very little attention.
Too many characters' actions don't make any sense. For example, the crew of Road Star turn on the man that brought them children when they found out the kids were purchased from desperately poor families. Why were they so angry? They wanted children, and the children they planned to adopt needed help to escape the desperate poverty and hopeless future of thier own lives.
Why would they decide not to keep the children and turn on the man who arranged it? I can't imagine such a reaction in reality. They loved and treasured those children before the crew had actually met most of their adopted offspring. It's too unrealistic to think they'd just say 'oh no, this is awful. We won't adopt them now, send them back to their miserable lives and parents that sold them off at bargain basement prices." That's ridiculous. Learning the children's true origin would have increased the crew's desire to keep the children safe with adopted families that loved them.
The origin story of Star Road is a bit shaky too. A population with genetic immunity to a deadly illness is definitely realistic. There are many examples in reality. Hatred towards the small group with immunity is also very realistic, although I have trouble with some of their actions too. A civilization advanced enough to create Star Road must have brilliant scientists, and quite a lot of them. I can't imagine world governments with scientific advisers would have decided 'let's kill the gypsies' instead of protecting them and using their genetic immunity in research for a potential cure or vaccine. Anyone capable of rational thought with a solid scientific education would have advocated to save every single gypsy, if for no other reason than reproduction if everything else failed. There's absolutely no way that the immune population would receive the ship meant to leave earth. That's completely unrealistic.
The surviving earth populations were interesting, but I was disappointed after finishing the book. Kenyon never went beyond very superficial explanations, and many characters' actions didn't make much sense. I would enjoy this author's work if she had more solid characters and reasonable motivating factors. Even the dispute between the captain and his first mate didn't seem plausible. The supposed reasons for split loyalties in the crew and rebellion against the captain were very weak. No one had any solid reason for the hostilities that developed. It was obviously a necessary part of the story, but the author didn't really bother to make those hostilities believable. I would have preferred to know more about the ecological recovery plans as well. That was the most important factor for every human involved, but it got very little attention.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 29, 2021
It was good but not great. I think it was too long for what it tried to accomplish thus it dragged quite a bit. It's only the third book by this author I have read. I enjoyed the first two in the Dark Talents Trilogy more; I have yet to read the third one in that series. But she is still worthwhile to read!
January 12, 2020
This novel reads like a bad Google translation.
Stunted sentences become repetitive. Horrible characterization. Muddled descriptions. This is just an absolute amateurish mess. Thirty pages is more than enough.
Stunted sentences become repetitive. Horrible characterization. Muddled descriptions. This is just an absolute amateurish mess. Thirty pages is more than enough.
April 17, 2020
The Romany Ship Mother of a returned starship must find out how to combat a cold crystalline substance that has covered Earth during their absence.
May 5, 2021
Excellent scifi set in the crystal covered wasteland of future earth. Loved the characters.
March 6, 2025
For me, this is one of Kenyon's best. I enjoy all her books. Her skill in world building, creating interesting and unique yet plausible ecological settings is wonderful. The protagonist of Maximum Ice is a warm, strong-willed yet selfless and memorable woman on a quest to save a world and a people and whose personal story will tug the heart, particularly at the end. A rich story of intrigue on an Earth unrecognizable due to an ecological disaster. Minor characters are also very well portrayed with stories nicely intertwined with the main character's. Heartwarming. Perhaps, because this main character most resembles Kenyon herself.
December 26, 2017
This is another book that I remember liking in the past, but couldn't remember much about, so I threw it onto this year's reading list. I'm pleased to report that this story seems to have aged well, because I still like it enough to give it a 4-star rating. Kenyon does a good job of breathing life into her characters, even those playing more supportive roles. The eclectic nature of the different characters also plays off nicely against the bleak and monochromatic backdrop of the Ice-enshrouded Earth. I think this book may need to go on my "re-read every few years" shelf.
October 1, 2015
I liked the story, for the most part. I didn't "get" the motivations of a lot of the characters, though. The little land that's left is going to be GONE in a matter of weeks...why would anyone be desperate to plow ahead without understanding what going on first? I hated that the idea that the Gypsies were carriers of the disease was never followed up on; were we supposed to assume it was propaganda that Swan had believed but wasn't true? The ending was gratifying, and the premise was an interesting one, executed reasonably well.
March 2, 2008
The time is many many thousands of years in the future when a ship of gypsies has returned to the earth to find it mostly covered in a white crystalline substance. Enter a changed world where religion doesn't fit except for the returnees and a super computer trying to solve problems which have no solution. A triffel slow at times, there are still plenty of good ideas buried in this book which can leave ya reading at a good pace to find out what odd thing will occur next.
December 31, 2011
This generation ship meets post-apocalyptic culture tale honestly took me more than one try to get into. The reward was ultimately worth the effort, although the story itself suffers from the attempt to cover so many science fiction tropes: first contact, ai, post-apocalypse, authoritarianism, survivalism, (big breath). generation ships, and cultural preservation.
December 2, 2015
I kept having flashbacks to Lirael when the sisters of clarity were described (as in, I was reminded of the Clayr and their glacier). I like zoya's characterization a lot and her essential problem was thought-provoking.
May 12, 2015
I thought this book was VERY readable and enjoyable! I new premise with space travelers returning to an earth far from what they knew. Characters were well threshed out and meshed together well. Nothing like the Rose or any of her other books but she did good!
April 16, 2016
Although the story was a little slow at points, I enjoyed it as much as I enjoy most of Kenyon's books. This is a dystopia / science fiction and has the usual array of memorable characters created with Kenyon's usual skill. The tech parts are a little fuzzy though.
July 18, 2016
Written a bit like a screen play. Slow at first, but builds and I think delivers pretty well.
February 13, 2016
Took a long time to come together, but satisfying in the end.
Read
April 22, 2008Goodwill raid ++
Crap.
Crap.
February 5, 2016
Didn't rock my world, but certainly enjoyable.
December 28, 2017
Post-apocalyptic race to avoid a final apocalypse with a positive ending. Features a colonizing ship, non-religious nuns, and cannibals. The heroes and heroines are a mixed bunch of people trying to find a best choice when options seem limited.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews