Freezing Point

When I first saw Freezing Point, at Thrillerfest in NYC - 2008, my first reaction was "Nooooo, I wanted to write a book that took place on an iceberg!" Of course, once I moved past that issue, I had to see how well Karen Dionne did with the concept she no doubt plucked from my mind with psychic powers. I am happy to say that Karen nailed it. She's got a free floating iceberg for one of the major locations in the book. An antarctic research station. Two separate crews of quirky scientists. Boatloads of cool science. Some very cool action scenes. AND a hoard of rats that cause mayhem in bloody ways, but in much more stealthy and sinister ways...ways that could effect life on earth. They're not plotting this mind you. They're not super genius rats (though we do learn about rats' super survival skills...perhaps more than I wanted to know!) but they unknowingly unleash some true nastiness. I believe this is Karen's first novel, and if that's the case she pulled off a rarity--she hit it out of the park on the first swing. Looking forward to her next book and maybe will get to say hello at this year's Thrillerfest! -- Jeremy Robinson, author of Pulse (A Chess Team Adventure), Kronos and Antarktos Rising

I have enjoyed reading Freezing Point this past week. It is an intriguing tale of two different groups of people who find themselves in opposing roles but still connected to each other in the cold Antarctic. The one group collects icebergs to melt into water for the needs of the population in different parts of the world. The other is a group of scientists that includes the diabetic wife of their leader together with two environmentalists who are not currently activists, yet are very much in tune with the planet. All seems to be well until the diabetic woman gets pregnant and is keeping it from her husband or she will be shipped back home where she can have the care she needs. But her studies are important enough that she doesn't want anyone to know. She spends her days with horrible morning sickness that she hides by finding a cave where she goes to puke every morning. Then they discover some neighbors, a pack of rats that are multiplying at a fast pace and have changed their habits to survive in this cold place. They start to hunt in packs and can kill most anything in just minutes. Then to add to the chaos, all of a sudden, people start to get sick with weird symptoms that start to be displayed by some in the scientific community. The mystery graduates to an even higher level when dead people start to pop up. In the meantime, the group on the biggest iceberg known to that date is trying to melt it with a new wave created for this purpose. Everything is going fine until the best men in the group start to have memory problems and act radically in many ways. Then the man that is second in charge of the multi-million dollar project is found dead on the iceberg. The pressure for a return on investors' money is great in the company especially after months without an iceberg from which to get water. For this reason the head of the company (and brother-in-law to the dead man) keep the manner of his death secret, which in turns starts a rumor that the dead man died as a result of the new waves they are using to melt the iceberg. This further incites the environmentalists against them. This book will keep you in suspense every minute, making it hard to put down. The characters are believable normal people put into a frustrating and unusual situation in the coldest place on earth. Nonetheless, in the mist of harrowing experiences, the survivors manage to discover a secret that can change human life forever. The author did a great job of representing the life and surroundings of the Antarctic and the nearby countries. The only thing I would like to add is that it is not an every day occurrence that policemen in my country, Chile carry an automatic weapon. Neither do they use them to keep peace amongst the people. They used them in Punta Arenas to keep peace with our neighboring countries and to make sure all recognize that we claim sovereignty over a piece of the Antarctic. I recommend this book for all lovers of mystery and suspense, but it is not for

Not being a fan of cold places, I've still enjoyed thrillers set in that environment, so when I saw this one, the premise appealed to me. This story is one that kept my attention right to the end. I found the writing well done with not too many "rules" broken. I won't go into the plot here, but let's just say the icky bugs, in this case rats, were completely out of left field for me. I never would've guessed they were the deep menace waiting for the heroes, as mentioned on the back cover. Then adding the mock insulin thing was quite imaginative. I also liked the ending and was surprised at how some of the characters turned out. For a first novel, Ms. Dione's publishers finally got it right and printed a book that was actually well written, for a change. Highly recommended.

The reviewers here have already touched on the storyline, so I'll sidestep that and any plot spoilers. However... As one reviewer noted, "fresh water has become an increasingly scarce luxury." Too often in popular fiction, particularly in science/techno thrillers, literary style is a scarce luxury. The science or technology, although informative, is patched in, written with all the panache of a user's manual for a TV cable box -- nonfiction masquerading as fiction. Not so here. Karen Dionne writes with exceptional grace and intelligence. FREEZING POINT is a pure pleasure to read. Pure as, well, bottled glacial water. Then again, forget the above. FREEZING POINT is an avalanche of thrills. Slap on your scarf and snowshoes. Where's the mittens? Turn up the thermostat, and turn the pages!

Freezing Point is an intelligent thriller, but it's really more than a thriller. It's part (current) science fiction, part horror, and an all-around great read. Easily one of the best books I've read in a very long time. I've heard Karen Dionne described as the next Michael Crichton, but I think she's better than that. I'd recommend this book to anyone who enjoys their fiction served fast and full of tension. It's a unique book that has the ability to scare the hell out of you, while teaching you a thing or two. 5 stars, without a doubt. I can't wait to read this author's next book!