On the surface, Terminal Freeze by Lincoln Child resembles "Who Goes There?" by John W. Campbell writing as Don A. Stuart. Campbell's story of a small team of scientists in the far north who uncover a creature entrapped in the ice thinking the creature has been dead for thousands of years was published in Astounding Magazine back in 1938. Terminal Freeze was published about 7 decades later. In both stories, the scientists are proven wrong - dead wrong. Inside, the details of Terminal Freeze are far different than "Who Goes There", and perhaps even more exciting. The initial concept is a good one, good enough that two movies have been made from the older story (one in 1951, and another, which more closely follows the initial story, in 1982,) and a third movie based on that same story is now in production... and yes, Termial Freeze does read as if it was meant to be a movie...

In fact, having seen the two films made from the older story, I couldn't help but see some flashbacks from the 1982 film while reading Terminal Freeze... how the team of scientists in this novel allowed the same mistakes to happen as happened in the other story... only in this case, blame can be laid squarely in the lap of the film crew, who were sent to cover the discovery of this creature buried in the ice... and that's where a lot of the differences come in.

Lincoln Child had to put his own stamp on the story and include his own twists, which, I'll admit were interesting in their way. Terminal Freeze is a page-turner, written for those of us who enjoy thrillers with some science fictional content. It's not too likely I would have bought this book because of it's resemblence to "Who Goes There" but I am glad I read it...

Recommended for those who like thrillers with some scientific background. This review has simultaneously been posted on Amazon.com, Dragonviews and LibraryThing. ( )

Paleoecologist Evan Marshall is part of a scientific team studying the effects of global warming in Alaska’s Federal Wildlife Zone. Exploring an ice cave, the team discovers a mysterious animal frozen in ice. When their sponsor, a media conglomerate, learns of this, they send a film crew to the Zone to film a documentary about the unthawing of the animal. But once the unthawing begins, the animal disappears. The film’s director suspects the scientists have something to do with it, which they deny. When one of his employees is found slashed to death, the scientists begin to suspect the animal may not have been dead, after all.

Lincoln Child delivers a suspense-filled thriller, setting a host of characters, from military men, to scientists, to a film crew in a remote area, in the middle of a snowstorm with a killing machine wreaking havoc. The usual obsessive persona is present in the form of demanding director, flanked by flunkies catering to his every whim, nonsensical or not. Marshall is an empathetic character, a scientist dealing with a past trauma who has sworn to never again hold a gun in his hand but is forced to. Once the action gets going, the plot becomes fast-paced and tense. ( )

total page turner, great suspense ( )

A scientific expedition in Alaska discovers a huge prehistoric beast frozen beneath a glacier. Soon a documentary film-making team is there, determined to thaw it out. But the beast disappears--then begins to hunt.

Enjoyable enough, but not as good as it should be. ( )

Lincoln Child offers another serviceable thriller in Terminal Freeze. While his basic plot outline can seem repetitive - scientists/workers discover something, terrible things happen, reluctant hero saves the day - it usually works because of his narrative skill. Terminal Freeze is no exception, and readers who enjoy science thrillers will probably enjoy this novel too.

Like Crichton, Child usually chooses subjects with a mostly plausible science basis. Where Crichton typically explored the hard science and interpersonal relationships, Child usually goes straight for the horror/thriller angle. That's by no means a negative aspect. As long as readers know what they're getting in a Lincoln Child novel, there's not likely to be much disappointment. ( )