Thursday, June 11, 2009

Beneath the Ice


Beneath the Ice by Alton Gansky
Barbour Publishing, 2004
trade paperback, 320 pages
ISBN-13: 9781586606749
action/Christian fiction
Highly Recommended

Synopsis from cover:
In the world's most barren, desolate landscape an enigma beneath the ice is about to be revealed.
Perry Sachs, vice president and senior project manager for Sachs Engineering, is renowned for overcoming seemingly impossible challenges - those which others in his field deem insurmountable. But when Perry and his team are called to Antarctica for an excavation job, the scoreboard is reset - and it's anybody's game.
It's a game in which severe conditions, unexpected tragedy, unknown threats, and the rise of a mysterious adversary have escalated the stakes to a deadly level.
Can Perry's faith sustain him amidst forces intent on destruction? Can his team accomplish the unthinkable?
My Thoughts:

Beneath the Ice is better written than A Treasure Deep. Gansky appeared to have dropped his use of excessive similes. Although it curtailed my game of looking for them, it is for the best. This is the second book in Gansky's series of books featuring Perry Sachs, a sort of Christian Indiana Jones. In order to enjoy the book, you do need to accept some unbelievable premises, like a huge, all-encompassing world-wide conspiracy, and ignore some inaccurate technical details. And, as I mentioned in my review of A Treasure Deep, Perry and his top people need to stop mentioning they went to MIT. The academics in the story would mention what college or university they are affiliated with. Successful, confident men in their 30's with top positions in a major company don't. Highly Recommended

Quotes:

Dr. Harry Hearns struggled to place the plastic-coated electric lead into the tiny copper socket. He failed for the third time. anyplace else, an other time, this would have been a simple task, but this was not just any place or any time. opening

Russo was right. It looked like a building - and a large one at that. That was nonsense. It had to be. Researchers had found fossil trees and other plant life in Antarctica but nothing showing a human presence - and buildings were distinctly human things. pg. 11

"Dr. Griffin James, glaciologist, Ohio State - chief scientist."...
"Dr. Gwen James, biologist, University of California, San Diego."...
"Commander Trent Larimore, United States Navy."...
"Sarah Hardy, robotics, King's College, London....I'm with NASA."
"Jack Dyson, civil engineering, MIT..."
"Gleason Lane.... also MIT....computer science"
"Perry Sachs," Perry said. "Project director, Sachs Engineering, architecture, MIT." pgs 25-27

For decades EA Mining had been one of the most successful mining operations in the world; now it was second to none. That gave Enkian a large measure of pride. It also made him one of the richest men on the planet. pg. 38

When first presented with the difficulties of working in Antarctica, Perry assumed warmth and protection from wind and ultraviolet light would be the most important considerations. He had been wrong. The more he learned of Lake Vostok and the need to keep it uncontaminated, the more he realized sterility was the most difficult job before him. pg. 41

1 comment:

Jane said...

I've never heard of these.
I may want to add them to my rising pile of Mount TBR.