The Ice Orphan - (The Rewilding Report) by Kathleen O'Neal Gear (Hardcover)

About the Book

"It's been 925 summers since the Jemen introduced zyme, a bioluminescent algae, into the world's ocean and unwittingly triggered an Ice Age that has consumed most of the planet. All but a handful of Jemen flew to the stars, but before they left, they recreated several extinct species that had thrived in the last Ice Age. After almost a thousand summers, the archaic hominins that struggle along the edges of massive glaciers are dwindling. All they have to save them is a dying quantum computer called Quancee and her student, a Denisovan man named Lynx. When the last Jemen, Vice Admiral Jorgenson, tells Lynx he's going to dismantle Quancee and use her parts to create a new computer, Lynx is stunned. He can't let Jorgenson kill Quancee! Meanwhile, in the lodges of the Sealion People, a sick boy on the verge of manhood hears voices. One is an old woman who sings to him. When Jawbone goes on his first quest to find a spirit helper, the old woman finds him"--

Book Synopsis

This third book in a cli-fi series from a nationally-recognized anthropologist explores a frozen future where archaic species struggle to survive an apocalyptic ice age.

It's been 925 summers since the Jemen introduced zyme, a bioluminescent algae, into the world's ocean and unwittingly triggered an ice age that has consumed most of the planet. All but a handful of Jemen flew to the stars, but before they left, they recreated several extinct species that had thrived in the last ice age. After almost a thousand summers, the archaic hominins that struggle along the edges of massive glaciers are dwindling. All they have to save them is a dying quantum computer called Quancee and her student, a Denisovan man named Lynx.

When the last Jemen, Vice Admiral Jorgenson, tells Lynx he's going to dismantle Quancee and use her parts to create a new computer, Lynx is stunned. But while Lynx battles to save Quancee, the quantum computer has other priorities. Before she dies, she has to save a special boy who cannot save himself.

Meanwhile, in the lodges of the Sealion People, a sick boy on the verge of manhood hears voices, including an old woman who sings to him. When Jawbone goes on his first quest to find a spirit helper, that same old woman finds him, and his life will never be the same.

Review Quotes

Praise for The Ice Lion

"With this engrossing series launch, Gear conjures a vivid postapocalyptic world.... This mesmerizing adventure through a world destroyed by climate change is sure to have readers hooked." --Publishers Weekly

"Gear brings her vast knowledge of prehistoric cultures to this climate-fiction tale with beautiful and engaging worldbuilding.... A loose, beautiful tapestry of a tale." --Kirkus Reviews

"Written by both a master storyteller and scientist, it's a chilling tale of a different climate change." --Amazing Stories

"The icy setting, with its mountains and ocean, provide a cold backdrop to the warmth of the peoples, whose lives are going to be inescapably altered when paths cross and the past is excavated." --Whiskey with my Book

About the Author

Kathleen O'Neal Gear is a nationally award-winning archaeologist who has been honored by the United States Congress. She is also a New York Times bestselling author with 48 books and over 200 non-fiction articles in print.