Icebones [Paperback]

Stephen Baxter (Author)

Book Description

The daughter of Silverhair, lcebones has awakened from her strange sleep of a thousand years in a place she does not recognize, surrounded by others of her gargantuan race who have grown soft and slow on the generosity of their captors. But the human masters are gone, abandoning the mammoths to the harsh realities of a distant, frozen world. And so it falls to Icebones to unite this ragged band and lead them on a remarkable quest for safety. But the journey must wind through a landscape of unimaginable dangers. And the safe haven they seek may be no more than legend. Still lcebones must persevere, for only she carries the accumulated knowledge of mammoth history -- and only she can achieve the glory foretold in songs older than time.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Transported to the Sky Steppe of Mars in the final, satisfying book in British author Baxter's highly original Mammoth trilogy (Longtusk; Silverhair), his engaging wooly characters face an abandoned and potentially lethal terraforming experiment left there by humans (aka "the Lost"). Matriarch mammoth Silverhair's daughter, Icebones, awakens from an unnatural slumber to find herself in a land and time far from her native Pleistocene earth. The mammoths here have no knowledge of their ancient culture, such as the teachings of their mighty progenitor, Kilukpuk. Mammoth tradition says the Sky Steppe is "the Island in the sky where... mammoths would one day find a world of their own, free from the predations and cruelty of the Lost, a world of calm and plenty" yet whatever promise Mars once held is fading now as the changes made by human engineers are reversed under the assault of the red planet's uncompromising weather and geology. Icebones's companions, used to depending on the Lost for everything, can't possibly survive alone. Their only hope is to cross half the world to reach the Footfall of Kilukpuk, a rich valley full of all the sweet grass and water the mammoths need. The journey is long and treacherous, but as the beasts' great Cycle says, "The mammoth dies, but mammoths live on." Baxter fills the tale with taut adventure and splendid settings, making it easy to suspend disbelief.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

When humans colonized Mars, they populated the red planet with preserved specimens of once extinct Earth species. In 3000 C.E., humans have disappeared from Mars, but mammoths remain, unsure of how to exist without the humans they have known as keepers and tenders. Only Icebones, daughter of Silverhair and keeper of the lore of her species, bears the knowledge to keep the herds of mammoths alive despite dangers from the unforgiving planet as well as dissension from within the herd. In the tradition of Watership Down and other animal-based fantasies, Baxter brings the great creatures of Earth's prehistory to life. This conclusion to Baxter's "Mammoth Trilogy" (Silverhair, Longtusk) is suitable for both adult and YA readers of prehistoric fantasy.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Harper Voyager (June 4, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 038081899X
• ISBN-13: 978-0380818990
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.7 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,485,555 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars strong epic morality tale, June 7, 2002

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Icebones (Paperback)

In the year 3000 at least earth time, Icebones awakens from an extended suspended animation to realize she is not on her native planet anymore, but instead is at the top of Olympus Mons, the highest known mountain in the solar system. Even stranger is the behavior of the herd of her kin, woolly mammoths. They complain of starvation, but have no concept of feeding themselves. Instead they had been spoiled from when their former masters, the earthly humanoids, took care of them. Now the humans have deserted their pets on Mars.

Icebones realizes she is different from the other members of her species. The human scientists regenerated them all but she was born in a more natural manner enabling her to understand mammoth history, legend, tradition, and most importantly how to survive in the wild. Against some opposition, she becomes the leader and begins the journey across the planet where food and water might exist so that the species can live.

ICEBONES, the concluding novel of Stephen Baxter's imaginative personification of Woolly Mammoths, is an engaging science fiction tale that readers will enjoy. The story line requires a stretch to accept yet the audience will want to read this novel in one sitting. Fans will appreciate Icebones, a heroine who recognizes her responsibility to guide the unruly herd to the promised land and does not shirk away from doing the right thing though that would be easier on her. This is a strong epic morality tale that holds up with its two predecessors quite nicely to provide an entertaining insightful trilogy.

Harriet Klausner

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Mammoths on Mars, August 8, 2007

By 

Mikko Saari (Tampere, Finland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Icebones (Mass Market Paperback)

Icebones ends the Mammoth trilogy quite far from the other books. Icebones is the calf of Silverhair, the main mammoth from the first book and thus born in our time. However, when the book starts, he finds himself in Mars some thousands years from now. It's strange and doesn't get much explanations until much later.

It's another survival story in changing environment, like the other books in the trilogy. This time it's Mars that's been warm and pleasant after human terraforming, but since humans are gone, it's getting colder again, too cold for mammoths. It takes a huge journey across the planet to survive and Icebones has to lead a group of mammoths who don't like it.

There's adventure, there's some quite beautiful scenery, there's strange creatures and envinronmental threats and mammoths struggling to overcome them - if you enjoyed the first two books, you'll like this as well, but skipping this is not a huge loss. Icebones makes a rather nice heroine, though. Still, Baxter has written better books than the Mammoth trilogy. (Review based on the Finnish translation.)