Cold Sea Rising [Hardcover]

Richard Moran (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This first novel recalls one of those disaster movies in which famous stars huff and puff in order to save the world from calamity. The book's main problem is plausibility. Maybe a volcano could cause the Ross Ice Shelf to split off from the rest of Antarctica and drift north, threatening to raise sea levels by 20 feet. But despite Moran's best efforts to provide scientific credibility, this scenario is not convincing. Set in 1990, the narrative moves from its frosty premise into the level of superpower conflict as the Russians try to turn the floating ice into armed platforms that would bob around off the U.S. coast. Attempting to forestall the progress of the ice and a probable World War III, are a New York Times reporter with unusual clout and his father-in-law, Admiral Waldo Rankin, the foremost authority on Antarctica. Wooden characters and a lack of palpable excitement will leave readers cold. 40,000 first printing; $50,000 ad/promo; paperback rights to Berkley.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Moran has pulled together earth science, politics, romance, and stock characters for a fast-paced disaster story. In glacial Antarctica, the earth's frozen crust is breached by a spewing volcanic plume. The fissure grows until the Ross Ice Shelf floats free and drifts toward the warm Pacific; soon the melting glacier will flood every island and port. Predictably, the villainous Soviets launch a plot to carve out smaller icebergs and turn them into floating ports for world takeover. Waldo Rankin, ace Antarctic scientist, recruits son-in-law Josh to sound the alarm via his New York Times network. Daughter Melissa and her counterpart glaciologist Anna in the USSR work separately to provide convincing data to show the potential catastrophe. Anyone who relishes tales of collapsing buildings, colliding meteors, and vehicles gone berserk will enjoy this latest version of the ultimate cataclysm. Barbara Conaty, Medical Coll. of Wisconsin, Milwaukee
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Arbor House Pub Co (April 1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 087795755X
• ISBN-13: 978-0877957553
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,830,248 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Typical of its Time, March 26, 2008

By 

Peter Dykhuis (Grandville, MI USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cold Sea Rising (Paperback)

Cold Sea Rising is a typical Espionage/Adventure book of the mid 80's. The Soviets are out to conquer the world but first they must take out the United States. The United States of course does everything in its power to make itself the perfect unaware and vulnerable target. The only hope is a couple of heroes behind the scenes in both the US and Russia who are trying to stop the plot.

The backdrop to the story is an environmental catastrophe that heats up the Antarctic shelf allowing an absolutely enormous sheet of ice to float into the open seas. The Russians want to use the ice sheet as a device to conquer the US. I can't tell you more with out giving away the plot completely.

A pretty decent yarn. I found myself not liking the characters much but enjoying the story over all. I am not a scientist so I do not know what the plausibility of the environmental catastrophe is but it didn't sound all that believable. I was able to suspend my disbelief and enjoy the novel for what it was. A good, once read book for a lazy summer afternoon. Borrow it from a friend or library and enjoy.