Scan barcode
A review by rebelbelle13
Beyond the Sea of Ice by William Sarabande
3.0
At this point, I've read several native-American novels set in the ice age, or focused on crossing the Alaska/Russia land bridge. Granted, it's hard to keep a story interesting when all you have to work with for landscape and weather is ice and snow. Beyond the Sea of Ice felt repetitive and stagnant at times, and I found myself having to really push through certain sections. The novel's true saving grace was the characters. I really wanted to see Torka, Lonit and Umak survive and succeed. They felt like real characters with depth who grew and learned with time and circumstances. The third-person omniscient viewpoint let us read what all the characters were feeling and thinking- which, initially, got on my nerves, as Lonit was constantly saying she was worthless, and Torka hated everyone and everything, and Umak was questioning his worth and second-guessing himself. As time went on and they traveled, their characters evolved and they learned to work with and appreciate each other.
It was interesting to see a group of people (Galeena's band) who were not self-sufficient, and made all the wrong choices, who were dirty, and sacrificed their young, and over-hunted. Typically in these types of novels, the characters are described as clean, and not wasteful and efficient, and I appreciated the way Sarabande included these people, because of course, not all native Americans were like Ayla from Clan of the Cave Bear.
I was not prepared for the ending section, which felt way too rushed and definitely pulled on the heartstrings- but it prepared us nicely (and awfully conveniently) for the next installment, Corridor of Storms.
All in all, Sarabande took some chances and did some different things, and I appreciated that. He has solid characters. Otherwise, there was a lot of the same, and sections that were a chore to push through. I am interested to see what happens next, though.
It was interesting to see a group of people (Galeena's band) who were not self-sufficient, and made all the wrong choices, who were dirty, and sacrificed their young, and over-hunted. Typically in these types of novels, the characters are described as clean, and not wasteful and efficient, and I appreciated the way Sarabande included these people, because of course, not all native Americans were like Ayla from Clan of the Cave Bear.
I was not prepared for the ending section, which felt way too rushed and definitely pulled on the heartstrings- but it prepared us nicely (and awfully conveniently) for the next installment, Corridor of Storms.
All in all, Sarabande took some chances and did some different things, and I appreciated that. He has solid characters. Otherwise, there was a lot of the same, and sections that were a chore to push through. I am interested to see what happens next, though.