Beyond the Sea of Ice [Audio Cassette]

William Sarabande (Author)

Book Description

Stunningly visual, extraordinarily detailed, powerfully dramatic, here is the first volume of a remarkable new series . . .The First Americans.  When humans first walked the world, when nature ruled the earth and sky, a proud tribe is threatened by a series of natural disasters.  A bold young hunter named Torka, who lost his wife and child to a killer mammoth, leads the survivors over the glacial tundra on a desperate eastward odyssey to the save their clan.  Through attacks of savage animals and encounters with strangers not unlike themselves, they must brave the hardships of a foreign landscape and learn to live in an exotic new world of mystery and danger.  Toward the land where the sun rises they must travel.Beyond The Sea Of Ice,  toward a new day for their clan--and an awesome future for the American.

--This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

This audiobook, the first in a novel-based series called "The First Americans," gives a fictional scenario of the migration of humans from Asia to the New World 30,000-40,000 years ago. Torka, a hunter, loses his band to a rampaging giant mammoth during a hard winter. His grandfather and a young girl are the only survivors. Together they travel east to find a new home. Along the way they break old taboos, tame a wild dog, produce children, invent the atlatl, and more. The story is trite and syrupy. Paul Ukena reads well but, curiously, makes all the bad guys sound Japanese. The musical interludes are irritating in their frequency. Purchase only where the book is popular.
Joanna M. Burkhardt, Univ. of Rhode Island Coll. of Continuing Education Lib., Providence
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From the Publisher

Stunningly visual, extraordinarily detailed, powerfully dramatic, here is the first volume of a remarkable new series . . .The First Americans. When humans first walked the world, when nature ruled the earth and sky, a proud tribe is threatened by a series of natural disasters. A bold young hunter named Torka, who lost his wife and child to a killer mammoth, leads the survivors over the glacial tundra on a desperate eastward odyssey to the save their clan. Through attacks of savage animals and encounters with strangers not unlike themselves, they must brave the hardships of a foreign landscape and learn to live in an exotic new world of mystery and danger. Toward the land where the sun rises they must travel.Beyond The Sea Of Ice, toward a new day for their clan--and an awesome future for the American. --This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: Sunset Productions; Abridged edition (April 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1564311015
• ISBN-13: 978-1564311016
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 4.9 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (42 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,167,969 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Joan Hamilton Cline is the real name of William Sarabande, author of the internationally bestselling First Americans series. She was born in Hollywood, California, and started writing when she was seventeen. First published in 1979, Joan has been writing as William Sarabande for eleven years. She lives with her husband in Fawnskin, California.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great first book., February 17, 2003

By 

cherrylee14 "cherryleefourteen" (Manhattan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Beyond the Sea of Ice: The First Americans, Book 1 (Mass Market Paperback)

This was a great book. Interesting characters, good plot, nice storyline. I really enjoyed Torka and Lonit's struggles to survive in this harsh land. Well I didn't really ENJOY it, but you get the picture. The first series by the author is decent, I had no problem reading all four books. The FIRST book in the next series is good. After that don't even buy them used, you'll still hate yourself. Just bask in the glow from the first series and pick a new author.

39 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Somewhat disappointing, July 17, 2000

By 

Courtney L. Lewis "Sassy Librarian" (Kingston, PA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Beyond the Sea of Ice: The First Americans, Book 1 (Mass Market Paperback)

I had anticipated from the other customer reviews that this book would be similar to the Auel "Earth's Children" series. While both take place in humankind's prehistory, I'm afraid I found little else in common. Particularly disturbing was the widespread misogyny and violence against women portrayed as part of the culture of the humans at the time. I also found the author's often excessive descriptive sytle distracting at times - a little more simplicity would have been appreciated. The main character, Torka, was difficult for me to connect with and I felt his character development to be abrupt and without explanation. I'm afraid I'll stick to Auel's perhaps more utopian, but certainly better written, view of this time period.

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Compelling; Gory but good, March 22, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Beyond the Sea of Ice: The First Americans, Book 1 (Mass Market Paperback)

I hate gory or disturbing tales, and this book was packed with them, but I found it to be amazing anyway. It was very believable (mostly). I can't say why I liked it so much; I just couldn't put it down. It's a fast read. I intend to order the next book. I've read all four Earth's Children books and was looking for something to read while waiting for the next book. This book was better than EC in some ways, but overall it lacked some of the warmth of Jean Auel's books. Don't let that stop you though. This is an excellent, freaky, chilling, suspenseful adventure.