This is a review of The Ice Ghost, by Kathleen O'Neal Gear (DAW) and The Ice Orphan, by Kathleen O'Neal Gear (DAW)

I previously reviewed the first of the “Rewilding Reports” novels (The Ice Lion) and I liked it (The Ice Lion, by Kathleen O'Neal Gear, DAW). The set-up is appealing: In the far future, an attempt to halt the Earth’s runaway warming resulted in a new, apocalyptic Ice Age with glaciers three miles high and a poisonous slime, “zyme” covering the oceans. As the planet descended into this frigid nightmare, the last scientists recreated species that had survived earlier Ice Ages: dire wolves, helmeted musk oxen, cave lions, and extinct, archaic human species like the Denisovans, Neanderthals, and Homo erectus. Remnants of the previous civilization persist in myths (about the godlike Jemen = G-men), an enigmatic scientist with an artificially extended lifespan, and a quantum computer spiraling into loss of function.

Some of the things I liked best about the first volume are here in the subsequent books. Foremost is the humanity, culture, and sensitivity, and poetic imagery of the pre-human characters. We moderns tend to regard our ancestors as dim-witted and lacking in social graces, although recent discoveries reveal such markers of cooperative culture as care for the injured and burial of the dead long before H. sapiens came along. Gear’s characters, although having much smaller brains, are nonetheless resourceful, compassionate, and thoughtful. The Dog Soldiers (H. erectus) may have had small, sloping skulls, but their understanding of ethical issues, not to mention their literacy and reverence for books, marks them as anything but “primitive.” In fact, the most advanced of the three species, the Rust People Neanderthals, are the most violent.

The Ice Ghost and The Ice Orphan continue the adventures of Sealion People (Denisovan) Lynx and Quiller, and members of Quiller’s family, as they struggle against an increasingly hostile terrain and new enemies. Legends mix uneasily with prophecies and dreams, as none of the pre-human species draws precise differences between poorly understood history, inspiration, and the visions born of mental illness or hallucinogens. The disintegrating quantum computer, called “Quancee,” is undoubtedly real, as is the reanimated Jemen general bent on destroying the computer’s autonomy and changing it into a weapon, and the brutal Rust People (Neandertal) shaman whose visions drive him to invade the Jemen stronghold and reawaken the ancient ruler. Who, of course, has an agenda of her own.

These next two volumes have many of the strengths of the first, including smooth prose, sympathetic characters, innovative world-building, and wonderful physical descriptions. The characters are portrayed through their experiences so that only occasionally are their physical appearances important. What matters is the quality of their characters, their courage, compassion, leadership, and honesty.

Each of the three books centers on a different but related quest, and therein lies not only the charm of the series and the independence of each installment, but a flaw in the latter two. The first volume of a series has a lot of work to do, establishing not only viewpoint characters, their goals and conflicts, but the world itself. In this case, the world’s history is critical to the story. To her credit, Gear does not bash us over the head with pages of exposition and backstory. History is gleaned from hints here and there, and the understanding of the characters. In this, Gear does a great job, even when historical facts have become distorted or even erased with time and the demands of survival in an increasingly perilous environment.

The problem I experienced was that, compared with the first volume (The Ice Lion), what comes next felt lightweight. They seemed more like novellas in the scope of the plot, stories fleshed out with too many repetitive descriptions and inconsequential or trivial events.

My second problem arose from the conflation of imaginary and real events. In books of this type, there’s an expectation that mysterious elements will be revealed (as opposed to fantasy, where magic need not have any relationship to the laws of physics), that the reader will be able to put together the pieces and figure out what the age-warped technology, historical events, and so forth really are. And how much were real technology, events, and so forth, versus how much the imaginative, often superstitious interpretation. Gear’s characters treat superstition as just as real as tangible physical articles, but we the readers lack the clues to distinguish them. Perhaps those clues will be revealed in a future volume. Alas, I for one found two novels too long to be befuddled. This was made worse by hand-waving technology, such as near-immortality antiaging tech, a way for the genetically modified prehumans to receive telepathic communications from a computer, and the dream quest of Quiller’s adolescent son, which left me wondering if he was spiritually “transformed” or actually dead.

I continue to recommend the first volume of this series for all the reasons cited above. As for the rest, other readers may find the same delight in them. The series looks to be continuing. As they say, “YMMV.”

The Ice Ghost continues the story of Lynx and Quiller and others in this post-apocalyptic ice world that was once Earth. Flitting between elements of science fiction and fantasy, I found myself interested as well as frustrated throughout the second installment of the Rewilding Reports series. Continue reading to get my meaning.

Please keep in mind that there will be spoilers for book one throughout so do not read if you’ve not read the first book The Ice Lion.

The end of The Ice Lion eventual ly revealed that the people were hominid species that had been reintroduced to Earth in the aftermath of the Zyme. The Zyme was this type of algae that basically took over the Earth, causing humanity to eventually die out. I really liked that reveal. It was neat to see how through the point of view of these hominid species we are introduced to (what I assume is) modern technology.

World Building
I think I was frustrated because I’m not sure how attached I should be to true current scientific knowledge in this series. As I mentioned, The Ice Ghost switches between science fiction elements. There are the “Jemen”, who I’m guessing are “G-men” aka “government men.” The Jemen attempted to save humanity by reintroducing older hominids that would survive this new world. So a solid science base.

But where it veers from there is what throws me off. The characters discuss having visions, hearing voices of spirits, extraordinary life spans, etc. Unfortunately, the narrative POVs are not through said characters. So I’m not sure if this is sci-fi or if it is fantasy. Now I’m also getting into the issue of where the line between science fiction and fantasy can be drawn.

Characters & Plot
In terms of characters, they seem the same as they had at the end of the previous book. This says to me that there is not much character development that happened. While not always a bad thing it just was not a focus for this installment of the Rewilding Reports. The Ice Ghost introduced some new characters, who added to the overall plot in a great and compelling way.

The plot moved very quickly. This is probably another reason why I felt frustrated: there was no time to answer my many questions. The pacing really helped with wanting to continue reading as something was typically always happening. There is a sense of danger and urgency that really drove me to flip the page (or swipe in my case).

Overall
I was super excited to be able to read the second installment but found myself unsure of how I felt about it. Rather than answering questions, The Ice Ghost created even more. Granted there will be a third book. I HOPE that it will help me solidify my feelings on this series. While I was frustrated and unsure, the scales do fall in favor of The Ice Ghost. I feel compelled to read the final one to get my answers! Well done, O’Neal, well done.

Quiller is the victim of Trogan’s prophetic visions. While he forces her to find the Old Woman of the Mountain, Quiller’s husband RabbitEar and her friend Lynx try to rescue her. The adventure through the underworld will test everyone involved, reveal some of the Jemen’s secrets and raise more questions about how the people living in the current Ice Age came to be and what their purpose is.

God save me from religious leaders. Especially if the flock is kept ignorant. The mysterious leaders can make anything up! I’m talking about Trogan, who Quiller’s people believe is an evil witch. Evil is a pretty good description for him. High-handedness, threats and violence are not justified because Trogan, is being led by a ‘god’.

While Quiller and company are trekking through the underworld, her tribe, the Sealion People are threatened by the Rust People (Trogan’s tribe). Among the tribe is Quiller’s adopted family, which includes enigmatic son Jawbone.

I have found this evolving story to be fascinating. Between a post-apocalyptic ice age, human genetic manipulation, advanced human abilities, and the humanity of the Ice Age archaic peoples, I have embraced the story arc. To get the most out of this book, read The Ice Lion first, then pick up The Ice Ghost. The next installment will be highly anticipated by this reader.

Through NetGalley, the publisher provided a copy of this book so that I could bring you this review.

This second cli-fi book in the series is compelling. Quilled is taken by Trogan to fin the Old Woman in the Mountain. ARC from NetGalley.