Review: Icebreaker by Stephen William Hannah

The Book:

Inside their walls, the people are safe from exposure to the unnamed horror that broke the world long ago; but now Bear, the last scientist in Forgehead, takes a case that threatens to throw that safety into question. Someone has been terminally exposed to the phenomenon, despite never having ventured outside the walls. This has only happened once before - to Bear's father.

With the safety of Forgehead in question, and an opportunity to finally discover what happened to his father, Bear must leave the safety of the walls to unravel the mysteries left behind by the pre-cataclysm world; a task that will require him to join the Interloper Initiative, the team who crew the gigantic Crawler landships, the only vehicles that can roam the world outside the walls in relative safety. "Icebreaker" is the first entry in the Interloper Trilogy, a tale of horror and science charting the last days of a dying world, and humanity's endeavour to survive.

My Thoughts:

This is quality post apocalyptic science fiction, set in a future frozen Scotland - which gives it extra points from me!

We first meet Bear as he tries to investigate the case of a boy who has been terminally exposed to the mysterious Phenomenon. I was immediately drawn into the plight of these people, their future society on the verge of collapse, the unspeakable closing in on them.

Bear joins the team of Icebreaker, a giant crawling landship, and this is where things really get interesting. I loved the characters that we meet here, as well as the whole idea of the landships. There’s a lot of action, but also a lot of humanity, and Bear is a fascinating character who I really want to win!

Icebreaker is an excellent story. The concept is original, the characters memorable and the perilous world they live in is strangely compelling. Icebreaker is the first in a trilogy and I’m sufficiently hooked to want to read on, to see how everything evolves, and perhaps learn the truth behind what has happened to the world. At yet Icebreaker is a fully rounded story in itself, leaving just enough unanswered questions. The perfect balance.

A very good and enjoyable book which deserves to be noticed.