The Ice People [Paperback]

Maggie Gee (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 1999

In this novel, Maggie Gee speculates about the survival of love between men and women in a frozen future world where children are rare, child-size robots run out of control, and homosexuality is the norm. Far into the the 21st century, civilization has broken down in the face of the deepening cold. An old man, Saul, lives in a disused airport with a gang of wild boys, who spare his life only because of his skills as a storyteller. Saul tells of his youth, days of fierce heat and dwindling fertility. Men and women live separately, the women cluster around the rare children, and men turn to each other or to robot "pets." But Saul is different—he falls in love with Sarah.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'A fantastic book.' Mariella Frostrup'Excellent... intelligent, driven, imaginative, obsessive yet still gracious, one of our best.Exciting stuff.' Fay Weldon'Up there with Orwell and Huxley.' Jeremy Paxman'A gem of a book.' Rose Tremain 'A rattling good page-turning yarn.' George Melly'Maggie Gee is one of our most ambitious and challenging novelists.' Sunday Times'A gem of a book.' Rose Tremain'She writes elegantly, unsentimentally, expertly.' The Independent'Mordandly witty, unsparing, politically savvy, a beautifully clear and bracing nasty vision.' TLS --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

About the Author

Maggie Gee was chosen as one of Granta's original 'Best Young British Novelists'. She has published many novels to great acclaim, including My Cleaner, The Flood, and The White Family which was short listed for the Orange Prize for Fiction 2002 (UK). She is the first female chair of the Royal society of Literature and lives in London.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: John Blake (May 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 186066153X
• ISBN-13: 978-1860661532
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,621,456 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Scary, scary scary...., December 27, 2008

By 

G. A. McHale (Koganei-shi, Tokyo Japan) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Ice People (Paperback)

Living in the managed autocracy of 1984 would be ingorant bliss, compared to living through the process of decivilisation depicted in The Ice People. It is the imminency of the story that maximizes discomfort. Ever worried about trends in gender politics, climate change, fertility, food security, environmental degradation, social propaganda, corporate neo-feudalism ? Maggie Gee is the uber-dentist. She hits a nerve wherever she drills.

And it is only page 65.... sigh....

2 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars a darkly humorous dystopian novel, January 13, 2003

By 

m_noland "m_noland" (Washington, DC United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Ice People (Paperback)

Martin Amis once said that Maggie Gee was the only female author of his generation that he would bother to read. And while one might not endorse such sentiments wholeheartedly, in this dystopian novel with its themes of man's relation to nature and technology and relations between men and women it is clear that she has an unusual capacity for writing from the standpoint of her male protagonist-narrator. The novel has both suspenseful and darkly humorous moments, and although it won't make anyone forget "1984," or even the more contemporary writing of Octavia Butler, it is certainly a good read.

4 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A classic masterpiece. Immensely poetic., October 2, 2000

By 

Jarkko Yfantidis (Thessaloniki Greece) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Ice People (Paperback)

I am not going to reveal much about this book. It is probably better than 1984 of George Orwell. It is an undeniable masterpiece, you must search for other reviews if you have trouble believing me. This book will be probably amongst the greater masterpieces of human history. Prophetic, brutal,elegant,real, human. It will change your life. It makes a difference in an era of too much novels published. Immensly poetic from the begining to the end. To me is clear that is the best narrative ever, but you should see for your self. A unique book, that never goes out of mind.