Beyond the Sea of Ice: The First Americans, Book 1 (First Americans Saga) 
asked by bestseller on November 23, 2006 7:58 PM
Stunningly visual, extraordinarily detailed, powerfully dramatic, here is the first volume of a remarkable new series . . .The First Americans. When humans first walked the world, when nature ruled the earth and sky, a proud tribe is threatened by a series of natural disasters. A bold young hunter named Torka, who lost his wife and child to a killer mammoth, leads the survivors over the glacial tundra on a desperate eastward odyssey to the save their clan. Through attacks of savage animals and encounters with strangers not unlike themselves, they must brave the hardships of a foreign landscape and learn to live in an exotic new world of mystery and danger. Toward the land where the sun rises they must travel.Beyond The Sea Of Ice, toward a new day for their clan--and an awesome future for the American.
Reviews
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The Good. The characters are very realistic. I found myself getting upset at Torka for being a jerk and somewhat upset at Lonit for not thinking better of herself. I also enjoyed who Umak, the Spirit Master, acted towards others. This is a good sign. Badly made characters don't get such reactions from me. Only good character design could get such reactions.
The Bad. I could tell what was about to happen chapters ahead of the events. I knew what was going to happen to Galeena and his tribe. I knew what was going to happen to the Ghost Band when they showed up in the last few chapters. I even saw what was going to happen to the relationship between Torka and the Mammoth.
The Ugly. Much of the culture, traditions and customs of the people in the book is guess work, based on modern hunter-gatherers, the idea of Man The Hunter and ideas based on evidence found in fossils and American artifacts. The end result is a simple, cruel, hard picture of life in the Ice Age, a life that might NOT have been as cruel and as harsh as the people in the 1980s may have thought. This book came out in the late 80s and many of the ideas were, and are still, up in the air.
For example, Alaska was populated well before the glaciers retreated, leaving a pathway to the Great Plains of North America. The First Americans would have been there, living near the Corridor of Storms, for hundreds of years before Torka even showed up. It also means many of the scenes are horrible and, while being fictional, they made me put down the book a couple of times in disgust. Many times I felt like I was watching a mixture of all the bad parts of Survivor, Fear Factor and the Playboy Channel all in one. Like the author was trying to gain viewers and increase ratings for a television show. In the end Beyond The Sea Of Ice barely gets three out of five.
The Bad. I could tell what was about to happen chapters ahead of the events. I knew what was going to happen to Galeena and his tribe. I knew what was going to happen to the Ghost Band when they showed up in the last few chapters. I even saw what was going to happen to the relationship between Torka and the Mammoth.
The Ugly. Much of the culture, traditions and customs of the people in the book is guess work, based on modern hunter-gatherers, the idea of Man The Hunter and ideas based on evidence found in fossils and American artifacts. The end result is a simple, cruel, hard picture of life in the Ice Age, a life that might NOT have been as cruel and as harsh as the people in the 1980s may have thought. This book came out in the late 80s and many of the ideas were, and are still, up in the air.
For example, Alaska was populated well before the glaciers retreated, leaving a pathway to the Great Plains of North America. The First Americans would have been there, living near the Corridor of Storms, for hundreds of years before Torka even showed up. It also means many of the scenes are horrible and, while being fictional, they made me put down the book a couple of times in disgust. Many times I felt like I was watching a mixture of all the bad parts of Survivor, Fear Factor and the Playboy Channel all in one. Like the author was trying to gain viewers and increase ratings for a television show. In the end Beyond The Sea Of Ice barely gets three out of five.
reviewed by maxwell on November 26, 2006 11:36 PM
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This is just one in a series of books covering generations of families. When I finsished the series I felt like I had lost part of my own family. I hope Mr. Sarabande continues the series.
reviewed by runabout on November 27, 2006 5:28 AM
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William Sarabande keeps your attention through all his books I have read. I purchased this book to replace one I loaned out.Ooops. The are some really strange twists in his books, they are not written for easily shocked. I found the books all packed full of adventure and very excellently written. There is alot imagination. These are not written for children.There are alot of situations in the book that easily could have occured and superstisions that are weird but really interesting. They are the hardest books to put down that I have ever read.
reviewed by smiling on November 28, 2006 8:49 AM
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Start with Beyond the Sea of Ice and you will want to read the whole series. Well...the first four are excellent, but after that they are a waste of time. Believe me, this is a great series. Not quite as great as the Clan of the Cave Bear series or Aztec, but still gripping and informative.
reviewed by librarian on November 28, 2006 8:52 AM
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I definately love the book and I've also read the other two that follow...Corridor of Ice and Forbidden Land. Each one of them is just as exciting. You feel as if you were there with Torka and Lonit through each journey. I've just finished ordering the rest of the entire series from Amazon.com. I cannot wait until they arrive!! If you like to read about the early Americans...you will definately enjoy this series.
reviewed by glenn11 on November 28, 2006 2:05 PM