Big Ice
Christopher Bonn Jonnes
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Buy *Big Ice* by Christopher Bonn Jonnesonline

Big Ice
Christopher Bonn Jonnes
PublishAmerica
Paperback
248 pages
June 2003
rated 4 of 5 possible stars
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I approached Big Ice by Christopher Bonn Jones with some trepidation; I’d recently read a dire novel based on the effect climate change is having on the polar ice caps. Coupling that with the dullness of Al Gore’s An Inconceivable Truth, I wasn’t much looking forward to reading yet more facts and figures of what life is going to be like when the Earth heats up even more.

I’m so glad I didn’t - ahem - judge this book by its cover. This novel is so much more than a disaster story; in fact it’s not a disaster story at all, despite what the words "melting polar ice caps" might mean to you.

Seth Peterson is a brilliant analyst working at Americas National Ice Center (N.I.C.), and he’s spent a good portion of his adult life working on a theory that could possibly help predict which polar areas are most in danger of melting and when. This would, of course, make life much easier for governments around the world as -  a) they’d know which areas are likely to need evacuating in the event of a mass meltdown of the poles, and b) they could accurately estimate the likely times of risk.

Seth’s research could change the way people think about climate change; on a personal level, would propel him to Newton-style acclaim. The only problem is… well... Seth. He has a horrific case of shyness. He is so shy that he can’t even speak to friends (not that he has many), let alone give an in-depth presentation on his research to a conference room packed with his fellow professionals and the world’s media.

Seth’s immediate boss, Bern Harris, recommends he see a counselor. Seth reluctantly agrees in the hope of being able to keep his job. This is, however, the least of Seth’s troubles. A rogue group of environmental terrorists has gotten wind of his research and will stop at nothing to discredit Seth so that his work never sees the light of day.

Big Ice is a wonderfully absorbing read. I have very little interest in climate change (although I know I should have), but Christopher Bonn Jonnes makes a dull subject extremely interesting. Despite the fact that much of this book is set inside a government research agency, he dumbs down the facts and figures so that reading Big Ice isn’t like thumbing through a copy of someone’s dissertation. There’s still a great deal of useful and accurate information in here; it’s just that I didn’t feel I needed a degree in environmental catastrophes to get through the book.

Warming up to Seth takes some time because he comes across as unapproachable and cold. This was probably meant as a clever narrative tool to make his character's illness more believable, but considering he is the main character, this makes for some frustrating reading. One criticism of Seth’s character is the way he is able to turn on and off his shyness. In one chapter he’s having trouble even talking to a couple of his colleagues and actually faints when asked to stand up in a departmental meeting, but twenty-some pages along he’s found the courage to wisecrack a couple of police officers. I know that the story wouldn’t be very interesting if Seth were struck mute with shyness every time he encountered another person, but extreme cases of shyness like this can’t be overcome overnight. On just day three of his medication, he’s able to leave it at home and function as normally as you or I. Artistic license gone mad!

The environmental terrorists Jonnes presents are a scary bunch who will, it seems, stop at nothing to disrupt Seth’s life so he cannot carry on with getting his research published and funded. They murder and maim their way through the majority of the book until we finally find out exactly who they are and what they stand for.

The author obviously has a deep interest in climate change and passes on some knowledge by way of the well-written Big Ice. He tackles the (usually dull) subject in an upbeat manner and with such enthusiasm that he made me feel interested enough to carry on reading. He steers clear of using too many specialized words, which is great because I can, with no climate change interest… erm… I mean training, understand completely what he’s talking about and put it into context with the current global situation.

Dialogue in the book is limited, which might be put down to Seth’s problem, and this means that much of the text is descriptive. Bonn Jones is an absolute master of description; it’s hard to believe this is only his second novel. By the fourth or fifth chapter, I had a picture of Seth, his office, even his apartment in my head; during a particularly graphic murder scene I could literally "see" the body as though it were in front of me.

All in all, this is a top novel. It’s managed to get me (slightly) interested in a subject which doesn’t usually float my boat, and is a fas- paced, exciting book. If you decide to read it, the first few pages aren’t the most interesting words in print. Bear with it; you’ll soon find the story fits nicely together.



Originally published on Curled Up With A Good Book at www.curledup.com. © Christina Cooke, 2006

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