The Ice Lion

This cli-fi novel from a notable archaeologist and anthropologist explores a frozen future where archaic species struggle to survive an apocalyptic Ice Age

One thousand years in the future, the zyme, a thick blanket of luminous green slime, covers the oceans. Glaciers three-miles-high rise over the continents. The old stories say that when the Jemen, godlike beings from the past, realized their efforts to halt global warming had gone terribly wrong, they made a desperate gamble to save life on earth and recreated species that had survived the worst of the earth’s Ice Ages.

Sixteen-summers-old Lynx and his best friend Quiller are members of the Sealion People–archaic humans known as Denisovans. They live in a world growing colder, a world filled with monstrous predators that hunt them for food. When they flee to a new land, they meet a strange old man who impossibly seems to be the last of the Jemen. He tells Lynx the only way he can save his world is by sacrificing himself to the last true god, a quantum computer named Quancee.

Editorial Reviews

Praise for Kathleen O’Neal Gear

“O’Neal Gear brings a historian’s flair for details to the dig site and manages to keep her present-day story from becoming overshadowed by ancient Egyptian myth with convincingly flawed young protagonists and numerous red herrings surrounding Cleo’s murder.” –Publishers Weekly

“As Egyptian and Roman ghosts and demons haunt the narrative from the first page, readers will not be quite sure what is true and what the characters are imagining. History-lovers will enjoy Hal’s incredible journey.” –Booklist

“I loved this book. It not only was a fantastic story with well-developed characters, an engrossing backdrop and enough suspense to keep the reader turning page after page, but it also gives the reader an education about ancient Roman Egypt.” –Black Gate Magazine
– From the Publisher

04/12/2021

With this engrossing series launch, Gear (Cries from the Lost Island) conjures a vivid postapocalyptic world. It’s been almost 1,000 years since glowing green zyme covered the oceans and Earth iced over. Now the world is divided between the Sealion people and the Rust people, enemy factions spurred on in their enmity by the Dog Soldiers. Friends Quiller and Lynx are Sealion people. After lions attack and kill Lynx’s wife but leave Lynx mysteriously untouched, Quiller must save the hapless Lynx from being exiled for his cowardice. She does so by convincing their community that Nightbreaker, a legendary giant lion, must have chosen Lynx for some special purpose. Instead of exile, Lynx is ordered on a quest to find Nightbreaker and learn why he was spared. Quiller promises to join him, only to be assigned to a scouting party instead, leaving her torn between her desire to protect Lynx and her duty to her children, who will be threatened if she disobeys. Meanwhile, Lynx encounters elderly Dr. John Arakie, who, impossibly, seems to be a survivor of pre-zyme society, and his quest takes a turn as he learns the truth of how his homeland came to be. This mesmerizing adventure through a world destroyed by climate change is sure to have readers hooked. Agent: Matt Bialer, Sanford J. Greenburger Assoc. (June)
– Publishers Weekly

2021-05-19
Prehistoric young warrior Quiller must choose between helping her best friend, Lynx, survive his spirit quest in the glacial wilderness or saving her newly formed family from the Rust People.

When lions attack Lynx’s camp, leaving only him alive, Quiller must convince the Sealion People elders that Lynx is not a coward who abandoned his people–for which the punishment is death. Nightbreaker, the lions’ giant and unusually intelligent pride leader, seems to have protected Lynx during the attack, so Quiller argues that he must be a spirit helper with a quest for Lynx. Maybe he’s even the mysterious old man who appeared during and after the attack, in a different form. Her ploy works, and the elders abandon Lynx on the Ice Giants, huge glaciers, to seek Nightbreaker’s guidance or die trying. Lynx has never been good at hunting or battle, so Quiller promises to defy the elders and help him. Before she can, she finds four children in an enemy village ravaged by disease and predators. After adopting the Rust People children, she must choose between finding Lynx or protecting her new family. Meanwhile, despite almost dying several times, Lynx finds the mysterious old man Dr. John Arakie. He shows Lynx there’s truth to the old stories about gods leaving Earth and disappearing underground when the ice came but needs Lynx to become part of the story for humanity to survive. Gear brings her vast knowledge of prehistoric cultures to this climate-fiction tale with beautiful and engaging worldbuilding. However, there are many seemingly contradictory and confusing details that may make it hard for readers to find their footing early on. Just enough hints and promises of revelation are doled out–often in exposition thinly disguised as “there’s an old story that says…”– to make readers hang on for answers. However, the big reveal after the slow and meandering buildup isn’t much of a surprise and only adds more unanswered questions–all to set up a sequel.

A loose, beautiful tapestry of a tale that would be more satisfying if woven tighter.
– Kirkus Reviews