Terminal Freeze

A small college sends a research team into northern Alaska, with funding from a television station, which sends a production crew along. The TV crew, however, takes over the project, with disastrous and dangerous results. Scott Brick works wonders with the story, thanks to his edgy vocal tones and impeccable timing. With solemn and reverent tones Brick depicts the values of the native culture, particularly regarding its ancestral history, and the insensitivity of the television crew. He also provides a realistic portrayal of the scientists who find themselves facing endless obstacles in their research. Brick brings the same high standard of performance to his narration that he brings to the Ender science fiction series, and listeners will not be disappointed. R.L.L. (c) AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine

December 8, 2008
In this taut, suspenseful SF thriller from bestseller Child (Deep Storm
), an obscure scientific expedition in Alaska's remote Federal Wilderness Zone stumbles on the frozen body of what appears to be a saber-tooth tiger in a cave, though only the eyes are clearly visible through the ice. When news of the find reaches the cable television network sponsoring the expedition, Emilio Conti, a legendary documentary filmmaker, rushes to the scene, where he plans to film the thawing of the animal on live TV. After the frozen creature disappears, Conti suspects sabotage, until horribly eviscerated corpses begin to pile up at the military base hosting the expedition. Paleoecologist Evan Marshall suspects that the prehistoric beast is responsible—and that the initial identification of it as a saber-tooth was mistaken. While the story line of a horrific monster picking off a shrinking group of survivors in a confined area is nothing new, Child's superior writing raises this above the pack.