Beyond the Sea of Ice is the first book in a
prehistoric series by William Sarabande. As the first book, it is of
course where you should start reading, as it introduces all of the
characters.
Lonit, Torka, and Torka's old father (Umak, who is 45
and considered old by the prehistoric standards) are the only survivors
of a tribe who encountered an enraged mammoth. Together, they have to
survive and seek out a new place to live if they wish to get back on
their feet again. But they have a hard road ahead with dangerous people
and animals everywhere. Not to mention Torka is grieving his wife and
children and looks at Lonit with revulsion now. But Lonit is used to
that, because of her strange eyes she's always been considered ugly, she
just hopes to be useful so she can continue to travel with the two, as
it is her only hope for survival.
I like Lonit. She's a bit moony
over Torka and he can be a jerk sometimes, but her heart's in the right
place and she's a hard worker. It's hard to realize that in this book
she is only in her early teens as she seems so much older. Especially
in the second half. And she goes through quite a bit that no young
child should have to go through. Torka is a strong, steady, mostly
decent man who has a few flaws. But he's loyal to a fault and that
speaks in his favor. And Umak, well he's got a bit of an ego and can be
superficial, but deep down he too has a good heart. Karana, a little
boy they meet in their travels, is probably the most interesting
character though because of his backstory and abilities with nature.
This
book kind of puts a spin on the prehistoric genre because it deals with
a lot of death of tribes instead of having them advancing and
discovering things. Sure there are a few inventions thrown into the mix
to make life better, but largely, this book is just about survival.
And because of the topic of survival, there is a lot of death and
violence in this book. And also rape, sex, and other things that tend
to bother people when they're reading. So if you can't handle that
stuff, stay clear of this book. Really, my only complaint about the
book would be the romance between Lonit and Torka. They start out at
very opposing odds and then out of nowhere it changes. I kept going
back to see if I accidentally missed a few pages (I didn't) but I just
couldn't see the chemistry there.
A good series and I'm eager to
get a start on the next book. This is definitely one that fans of the
Gears or Jean Auel would probably enjoy.
Beyond the Sea of Ice
Copyright 1987
370 pages
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