The Ice Lion

The Rewilding Reports, Book 1

By: Kathleen O'Neal Gear

Narrated by: Shaun Taylor-Corbett, Sisi Aisha Johnson

Length: 9 hrs and 35 mins

Publisher's summary

This cli-fi novel from a notable archaeologist and anthropologist explores a frozen future where archaic species struggle to survive an apocalyptic Ice Age

One thousand years in the future, the zyme, a thick blanket of luminous green slime, covers the oceans. Glaciers three-miles-high rise over the continents. The old stories say that when the Jemen, godlike beings from the past, realized their efforts to halt global warming had gone terribly wrong, they made a desperate gamble to save life on earth and recreated species that had survived the worst of the earth's Ice Ages.

Sixteen-summers-old Lynx and his best friend Quiller are members of the Sealion People - archaic humans known as Denisovans. They live in a world growing colder, a world filled with monstrous predators that hunt them for food. When they flee to a new land, they meet a strange old man who impossibly seems to be the last of the Jemen. He tells Lynx the only way he can save his world is by sacrificing himself to the last true god, a quantum computer named Quancee.

©2021 by Kathleen O’Neal Gear. (P)2021 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

“Shaun Taylor-Corbett takes on the portrayal of Lynx, whose marriage feast is interrupted by a lion attack. Forced to go on a vision quest by the elders, Lynx is portrayed by Corbett as a gentle, timid young man not likely to survive. Sisi Aisha Johnson narrates the storyline of Quiller, who is already a fierce warrior. Johnson conveys her youth as well as her courage and dedication to helping her friend Lynx.”—AudioFile Magazine

"With this engrossing series launch, Gear conjures a vivid postapocalyptic world.... This mesmerizing adventure through a world destroyed by climate change is sure to have readers hooked."—Publishers Weekly

"Gear brings her vast knowledge of prehistoric cultures to this climate-fiction tale with beautiful and engaging worldbuilding.... A loose, beautiful tapestry of a tale."—Kirkus Reviews

Adds to the detail and the expression of the book

The Ice Lion (Rewilding Reports #1)
by Kathleen O'Neal Gear
The narrators Sisi Aisha Johnson and Shaun Taylor Corbetts add their vocal performance to the book. Marking the transition from Quiller, to Lynx by their presentation. Their resonance of voice brings out the reverie of the characters as they face the history that lies before them. The sheer awe of the conflict and the problems with in the story are brought out even more than just reading the book. You are transformed into the story in a way, left only with the magnitude and majesty of the very trying times. I found that the vocal utterance of the story brings more detail to life.

After Maze Master, Lady you better not be right. I cheered when the Gears first introduced this book at the last People of the Earth days meeting. I have been waiting a long time to see this story. The remarkable aspect is that even after waiting for this for years, I am still excited. The book as a young adult book would be a great thought provoking lesson for students. I can't wait to share it with my students. The idea that climate change is inevitable has been haunting us for years in the news. That we can't fix what we broke is what they like to say. The concept of Ice Lion is when they fixed it, they did too good of a job. An attempt to combat their mistake causes them to fight an unending battle with the glaciation of the Earth. The remarkable story shows how people adapt to the Glacial Ice Ball Earth. The concepts of small groups, hunting and gathers, and oral traditions are all expanded on in this book. As you begin the story it could have been in the future or the very distant Ice age past. You immediately make a connection with Lynx, a young man who does not fit in as a warrior or a hunter, too gentle a spirit for his world. Quiller is the young girl that not only is a warrior, a leader in her own right at the ripe old age of 15. The book allows students to understand you don't have to fit in to be special, and being what everyone else claims is right is not always the best choice. I found the mystery of the adaptation of Ice Ball Earth and the specific characters in this book even more intriguing as you get into the story. It's perfect for younger readers, because the clues were always there, if you just knew what you were looking for. I can't wait for the next book to see where not only the characters land but how the science develops, to either solve the problem of their own creation or just show the tragedy in assuming the wrong solution.

Child-like voice so annoying

Other than the SOO annoying child-like voice the female uses this was a really great audiobook.

The Ice Lion

Very different than what I am used to from Kathleen gear. It has piqued my interest.

Pretty predictable...

in that you can predict the Gear's books will be SO unpredictable! In this book of Kathleen's, which is set in the future, I was expecting it to be more "sci-fi-ish". What I got was more along the lines of the books she, together w/ her husband Michael, write of the ancient People of North America (which tie for my all time favorite book series'), w/ a crumb or two of sci-fi thrown in. Granted, I listened to this book rather than read it. Perhaps it lost something in translation. I have a visual brain so my ears may have missed nuances my eyes would have caught. Someday, I will read it for myself to see. Overall, I loved the storyline & the characters. The narration was good, but at times I had difficulty understanding something, even after replaying it several times. Was it due to unknown words invented for the story, the speed &/or accent of the readers voices, or my visual brain missing something? IDK. I'm putting it down, for now, as a combination of all three. Every fan of historical/futuristc novels should read this book! For Gear fans, imho, it's another mandatory read! Sequel, please!

Don’t waste your time

Boring… very slow paced because it’s taken up with too much dialogue. Needs editing!!!

I love the “people “ books. This is nothing like them.