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The Ice Limit  By  cover art

The Ice Limit

By: Douglas Preston,Lincoln Child
Narrated by: Scott Brick
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Publisher's summary

The largest known meteorite has been discovered, entombed in the earth for millions of years on a frigid, desolate island off the southern tip of Chile. At 4,000 tons, this treasure seems impossible to move.

New York billionaire Palmer Lloyd is determined to have this incredible find for his new museum. Stocking a cargo ship with the finest scientists and engineers, he builds a flawless expedition. But from the first approach to the meteorite, people begin to die. A frightening truth is about to unfold: The men and women of the Rolvaag are not taking this ancient, enigmatic object anywhere. It is taking them.

©2001 Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child (P)2010 Hachette

Critic reviews

"This is a big-boned thriller, one that will make a terrific summer movie as well as a memorable hot-day read." ( Publishers Weekly)

What listeners say about The Ice Limit

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    2,539
  • 4 Stars
    2,037
  • 3 Stars
    927
  • 2 Stars
    264
  • 1 Stars
    107
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    2,539
  • 4 Stars
    1,187
  • 3 Stars
    423
  • 2 Stars
    112
  • 1 Stars
    77
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    2,090
  • 4 Stars
    1,344
  • 3 Stars
    637
  • 2 Stars
    189
  • 1 Stars
    71

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

This book just cries for a sequel

I've listened to 435 books from Audible so far and I would have to put this one in my top 10 list. Preston & Child are favorites of mine to begin with but they have scored big time with this one. Like one of the other reviewers I found myself googling locations and topics mentioned in the story as well as following the course of the ship on Google earth. Interesting and exciting from beginning to end. I also liked the addition of the news reports at the end of the book but it just reinforced my feelings that this book must have a sequel.

In respect to the narration by Scott Brick I must disagree with Sandra's review. One of the things I search for on a regular basis are books read by Scott. No ridiculous accents or over blown dramatics or pretending to do female voices, just solid steady narration. His inflections and timing are subtle but effective and the tone of his voice is pleasant whether on earphones or speakers.

I highly recommend this book.

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155 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Wonderful, Well researched, Page Turner

These authors certainly did their research! Prompted me to Google certain topics mentioned in book for more information because the items were fascinating: Roaring 60's in Southern Ocean; Panspermia Theory; South Georgia Islands; and some mechanical engineering.

This book is extremely well written and Scott Brick does a wonderful job reading. The characters well developed with plot moving smoothly. It is the best AudioBook I have listened to.

The story is about a billionaire, Palmer Lloyd, who hires a crew of scientists, engineers, and others to retrieve an extremely heavy object from an island off the southern tip of Chile. Lloyd has an oil tanker converted and disguised to sail to Chile to accomplish this task. The object is the scientific find of the 21st century and puts the entire crew who sail in peril...and more.

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136 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

So what?

I have a serious weakness when it comes to Audible book sales. I tend to browse and, often, buy. Sometimes I find a gem this way, but often the result is a book that falls into what I consider to be the "Who cares?" category. This book is one of those.

It is well written, and Scott Brick, as normal, does an excellent job. But the plot seems very, very thin. Yes, there is a meteorite. Yes, people want it. Yes, there is an individual who cares about nothing but getting the meteor and has too much power for this to end well (I do not believe I am giving anything away to say that). And, yes, this is the story about how they go about trying to get it. But nowhere in the story did I feel that this was an important thing to be doing or that the subsequent loss of life was worth the result.

It was clear to me about 20% into the book how it would end and, about 50% into the story, why their pursuer was so dogged about this chase. For me it was an effort to finish the book and even the ending did very little to redeem the effort.

If I had it to do over again I would have skipped this sale item.

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82 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

Couldn't make myself finish it...

The plot on the description sounds pretty exciting...but I found that it was taking way to long to get to anything in the description! I want to get to know some interesting characters pretty quickly and get to the dang alien substance or whatever! I don't care about political and military threats in a book that's supposed to be about a dangerous, life threatening unknown substance! Seriously, i hate to not finish a book when i use a credit for it, but I found myself skipping hours ahead just to hear something about the dang rock! Do NOT get this book. It might be interesting to someone with nautical knowledge, but didn't work for me.

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50 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

Boring.

I don't know how the other readers could consider this book "exciting." Let me sum up the book for you. There is a very large, very heavy meteorite that is going to be moved by ship. Moving something of that size and weight is complicated. They remind us of this fact in every sentence for the entirety of the story. Some people think moving the rock is a bad idea. Fast forward to the end and they actually try to move the meteorite and have more problems. A few people die because of the rock but that doesn't really add any excitement to the story. The End.

I just saved you a credit and many hours of your life that you will never get back. The publisher's summary makes the story sound more like a thriller than it actually is. If you decide that you DO want to hear the story, do yourself a favor and listen to it at 2x normal speed. The narrator is the slowest reader ever and makes everyone sound the exact same- imagine William Shatner's speech pattern if he was also dozing off. 2x puts it at about normal human speech pacing.

If you want an exciting read about a strange rock that also involves a lot of ocean, just read Sphere by Michael Crichton. Trust me.

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41 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

A very fun read

I really enjoyed this book up to the end, although I was a bit frustrated by the ending. I had to knock off a star from my rating because the authors went way beyond their expertise when it came to superconductivity and electrophysics; there were a few really big groaners in this area speaking as an electrical engineer. The story and narration were so good, any small plot holes were entirely forgivable and I ended up staying up way into the night listening. Well worth a listen!

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30 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

This rock didn't rock me

I didn't find the rock and the quest for it nearly as exciting as the characters did. I got through the book, but I wouldn't say it was fabulous. Scott Brick is a good reader during exciting, tense scenes. But his directors should encourage him to lighten up when introducing characters, getting through small talk, etc.

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29 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Fiercely engrossing, unputdownable

This is without question the most exciting audiobook I have ever heard. The research is meticulous, as in all great historical fictions. The idea of trying to move an interstellar meteorite halfway around the world in a disguised oil tanker is romantic, outrageously ambitious, and captivating throughout. Scott Brick has become almost as good as Frank Muller was, which is the highest praise I can give. The plot never lets up, with twists and turns that literally will keep you up a night. Human, believable characters (with perhaps one exception) all involved in a mission which could revolutionize the scientific world, or kill them all: this is reading and writing at its very best.

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27 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

A great thrill ride!!

I read this book a few years ago and loved it. To find it finally on audio, well I just had to listen. It was as good the second time as it was the first! Preston and Child are good separately but are fantastic together. I'm going to have to listen to all of the books I read years ago just to get those thrill rides.
The only thing is I wish the narrator would add a little more excitement to his voice. He comes off as monotone. But the story is excellent!

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27 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars

Good story ruined by poor naration

This is the second book I've purchased narrated by Scott Brick and I should have learned after the first one. I'm sure this is a great story, but Brick's narration is slow, lethargic, delivered in a monotone, and you can't tell one character from another. I liked the story, but had to force myself to finish it. Last one I'll buy narrated by Scott Brick.

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21 people found this helpful