mpetruce's review against another edition
2.0
One of the reasons I like reading the solo projects of Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child is so when I read their team efforts, I try to guess which part is Preston and which part is Child. This book will help you do that a bit.
It reads quickly and all. I wish the characters were a little more vivid. Many of them are just kinda there, clearly meant to just fill space or to eventually get theirs. And that was one problem, I didn't like the likable characters enough to care if they lived or hate the hate-able characters enough to care if they died.
Still, wacky high science adventure at the top of the world. If you're fans of these guys, read this. It's a great book to read when you're between books to read. I hope that makes sense.
It reads quickly and all. I wish the characters were a little more vivid. Many of them are just kinda there, clearly meant to just fill space or to eventually get theirs. And that was one problem, I didn't like the likable characters enough to care if they lived or hate the hate-able characters enough to care if they died.
Still, wacky high science adventure at the top of the world. If you're fans of these guys, read this. It's a great book to read when you're between books to read. I hope that makes sense.
ninthwave's review against another edition
2.0
It's remarkable how much the quality of individual work can vary from that of collaborative efforts, sometimes for the better, and sometimes for the worse. I have read solo efforts by both Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child, and I think they are much better as a team. I found Terminal Freeze disappointingly predictable, to the point that I almost felt that I could've written the outline. I think it's okay for a writer to have a standard formula, but the formula alone doesn't bring a story to life, and this one feels phoned in.
All prolific writers have some works that are better than others, and this was one of the meh ones, in my opinion. (I don't want to write a review that includes spoilers, but let's just say that I couldn't help giggling and thinking of Lady Gaga's "Poker Face" every time a certain sound was heard by the expedition team. I know that sound was supposed to be menacing, but, well, not so much.) :)
I generally enjoy Lincoln Child's work, and I'll probably give another of his solo titles a chance, but in the spectrum of the books I've read by him, this may be the defining point for the low end.
All prolific writers have some works that are better than others, and this was one of the meh ones, in my opinion. (I don't want to write a review that includes spoilers, but let's just say that I couldn't help giggling and thinking of Lady Gaga's "Poker Face" every time a certain sound was heard by the expedition team. I know that sound was supposed to be menacing, but, well, not so much.) :)
I generally enjoy Lincoln Child's work, and I'll probably give another of his solo titles a chance, but in the spectrum of the books I've read by him, this may be the defining point for the low end.
spidergirl502's review against another edition
3.0
It was better than I thought it would be. I love when Child teams up with Preston (particularly the Pendergast books), though when they publish a work on their own, I tend to be disappointed. Terminal Freeze isn't up to par with the collaborative works, but still, it was plenty thrilling! It's a good Summer read - fairly quick and captivating. I enjoyed it.
badwolfbae's review against another edition
4.0
Man, I loved this book. Definitely more Jeremy Logan in this book while he still isn't the primary lead which is again interesting. I absolutely loved that there were references to Frock and the Callisto effect from Relic and Reliquary. Love that there was a monster. The only thing I will say is the ending wasn't the strongest, there were a couple of loose ends that needed finishing. But this is definitely one that will be read multiple times.
noshelfesteem's review against another edition
2.0
Terminal Freeze was not as enjoyable as his last novel, Deep Storm. The writing style was fine, certainly what I expected from this author. However, I was originally attracted to the Preston/Child books because they usually include lots of real science. This one was not grounded in that regard. Also, some of the character develop was left until late in the story, which made them seem like afterthoughts. I wish Child would go ahead and write a story about aliens invading/inhabiting our planet, instead of merely hinting at it in the contrived plot lines and dialog of these latest two novels.
xkay_readsx's review against another edition
3.0
A climate thriller set in the Arctic north of Alaska at a US government station, "Fear Base", love the name! A paleoecologist, biologist, enigmalogist, and TV camera crew are there to document a prehistoric animal found in a cave as a result of global warming. A native Shaman warned them to leave the area to no avail. Adding to the suspense, the creature disappears, they are stuck in the ice storm, and not everyone will make it out alive! This story reminds me of the movie "The Thing" with Kurt Russell and the TV series "Fortitude".
mistylyn's review against another edition
3.0
Unfortunately, this book fell somewhat short for me. Ok, I take that back--it fell VERY short. Yes, the premise works: a team of geek scientists stumbling upon a creature frozen in time in the artic cold of the Alaskan tundra. In fact, I LIKED the plot line. What I didn't like, however, was the lack of character development. I just didn't buy Evan as ex military, and instead saw him as a spineless patsy. I honestly wished for the creature to rid us of him so Child could get on with the story. It wasn't just Evan, however, that fell short in the character department. NONE of the characters is ever explored quite enough for the reader to form any sort of affection or attachment. As the creature picks them off, I found myself thinking, "Yeah...so WHAT?" I didn't feel I was ever given enough information to invest in any of them. Child walks past opportunity after opportunity to delve more into the psyche/past/present of any number of interesting possibilities--Gonzales is a perfect example. We get one or two pages of shallow information about him, and I really wanted to know more. I've not read any of Child's other work, so perhaps this glossing over of characters in favor of plot is something stylistic--a choice he makes throughout his body of writing. I can promise you, however, that I will never know that unless told, as I don't foresee myself ever indulging in another of his novels.
tarana's review against another edition
4.0
This was exciting. I listened to the audiobook read by Scott Brick. He did a great job, but he had good material. No slow or dragging spots in this book. This is the first time I have heard anything by this author and I'm inspired for more.
aspygirlsmom_1995's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
gotoboston's review against another edition
5.0
Rating: 4.5/5
So, Terminal Freeze is a book I picked up in a bargain bin quite awhile ago while on vacation. I needed something to read and a roughly $2 book was worth a chance. I didn't expect much from the book, I just wanted something to pull out when I needed it.
I certainly did not expect to love it so much. Rereading it again years later on a whim after purchasing the rest of the series, I still can say this is one of my favorite books. Style wise, it isn't the best book I've ever read. The story is clever but not revolutionary.
But, what Lincoln Child does well is bringing characters to life. And writing a story that keeps you on the edge of your seat in suspense. His novels are like the best kind of thriller movie. They are fast paced and exciting with lots of twists and turns, many that you don't even see coming.
And what I particularly like about this book is the underlying discussion about the perils of global warming. Of course, these days it's not a new topic but back when I first bought this book it what still hotly debated. And even though it's not a new topic, global warming is still a very important topic.
I don't particularly want to spoil the book, so please just take a chance and read it! You totally don't even need to read the first one to enjoy this one, though Deep Storm is a really good book as well.
So, Terminal Freeze is a book I picked up in a bargain bin quite awhile ago while on vacation. I needed something to read and a roughly $2 book was worth a chance. I didn't expect much from the book, I just wanted something to pull out when I needed it.
I certainly did not expect to love it so much. Rereading it again years later on a whim after purchasing the rest of the series, I still can say this is one of my favorite books. Style wise, it isn't the best book I've ever read. The story is clever but not revolutionary.
But, what Lincoln Child does well is bringing characters to life. And writing a story that keeps you on the edge of your seat in suspense. His novels are like the best kind of thriller movie. They are fast paced and exciting with lots of twists and turns, many that you don't even see coming.
And what I particularly like about this book is the underlying discussion about the perils of global warming. Of course, these days it's not a new topic but back when I first bought this book it what still hotly debated. And even though it's not a new topic, global warming is still a very important topic.
I don't particularly want to spoil the book, so please just take a chance and read it! You totally don't even need to read the first one to enjoy this one, though Deep Storm is a really good book as well.