Beyond the Ice Limit: A Gideon Crew Novel

Narrated by:
David W. Collins

Unabridged Audiobook

Ratings
Book
20
Narrator
9
Release Date
May 2016
Duration
10 hours 30 minutes
Summary
BEYOND THE ICE LIMIT
That thing is growing again. We must destroy it. The time to act is now...
With these words begins Gideon Crew's latest, most dangerous, most high-stakes assignment yet. Failure will mean nothing short of the end of humankind on earth.
Five years ago, the mysterious and inscrutable head of Effective Engineering Solutions, Eli Glinn, led a mission to recover a gigantic meteorite--the largest ever discovered--from a remote island off the coast of South America. The mission ended in disaster when their ship, the Rolvaag, foundered in a vicious storm in the Antarctic waters and broke apart, sinking-along with its unique cargo-to the ocean floor. One hundred and eight crew members perished, and Eli Glinn was left paralyzed.
But this was not all. The tragedy revealed something truly terrifying: the meteorite they tried to retrieve was not, in fact, simply a rock. Instead, it was a complex organism from the deep reaches of space.
Now, that organism has implanted itself in the sea bed two miles below the surface-and it is growing. If it is not destroyed, the planet will be doomed. There is only one hope: for Glinn and his team to annihilate it, a task which requires Gideon's expertise with nuclear weapons. But as Gideon and his colleagues soon discover, the 'meteorite' has a mind of its own-and it has no intention of going quietly...
Reviews
Profile Avatar
John C.

Beyond the Ice Limit is a techno-thriller that is simultaneously a horror thriller, which is the trademark style of Preston & Child. In terms of depth in regards to character and story, you will find much more of that in The Ice Limit, which is the prequel to Beyond the Ice Limit, although that book does not involve Gideon Crew as it was written long before his series came into being. As far as Gideon Crew is concerned, this is the apex of his series and is everything that his prior novels have been building toward, as well as being the purpose of his existence. Given its premise, Beyond the Ice Limit is a very plot-heavy novel, and if you've read the prior Gideon Crew books, especially The Ice Limit, you will know that this book is under pressure to be the culmination of everything that was started. Thus, the expectations for it are a bit higher than what it can meet, especially considering that it has to meld together the Gideon Crew series and The Ice Limit standalone thriller, which it tries its hardest to do. It doesn't have an ace for everything up its sleeves, and in terms of character you will especially find that it's very restricted to the big three of Gideon, Garza, and Glinn. No one else in the story really gets fleshed out because the story does not have time, again, because of the premise. You can't go wrong, however, with the excellent research of Preston & Child and also their sheer imagination and creativity. From marine engineering to nuclear engineering, from surgery to submersibles, from chemistry to physics—they've got it all covered, so rest assured, you're reading a very smart book. I especially found the underwater episodes to be very entertaining and suspense filled, and what's probably the best are The Ice Limit easter eggs, the nature of which I won't spoil for you. If you really want to properly enjoy this, go read The Ice Limit first. I did not read any of the Gideon Crew novels prior to Beyond the Ice Limit, but I wouldn't dissuade you. The first time I read this, I had not read The Ice Limit, but the suspense all the same felt like it would give me a heart attack. I burned the midnight oil just to get it done. I found it a little shallow in the aftermath, but I will not say that it's poorly written in any sense of the word. The plot is all that matters. The narration by David W. Collins is good, but maybe a little dry. He speaks very crisply and clearly and does a good job giving each character their own voice. The audio quality is certainly to my standards.

Profile Avatar
Luke G

The book was ok up until the end where it seemed rushed as if the book was due to the publisher. Very much a disappointment compared to his other novels.

Profile Avatar
Anne Gourlay

Enjoyed it but not as compelling as previous Gideon Crew books. Too much description and too little plot advancement. Seemed to drag the story out.

Profile Avatar
Janice Meyerovitz

I have been a fan of Preston & Child for many years and this is the first book of theirs that I "listened to" instead of "reading". It was just as terrific as usual. Their plots are always thought provoking and always on point. Thanks for the great entertainment.

1 book added to cart
Subtotal
$27.99
View Cart