Time of the Great Freeze

In the year 2600, Earth has been in an ice age for the past couple of hundred years. Jim Barnes is a teenage resident of New York City, which is actually several miles under the ice. Learning that the ice is starting to recede, Jim is part of a small group that has made radio contact with London. For unknown reasons, London sounds less than overjoyed at the thought of visitors from New York.

The group is forced to quickly turn their talk of an expedition to London into reality. In the space of a few hours, they are arrested, tried, convicted of treason and exiled to the surface (with appropriate supplies). It seems that hundreds of years of no contact with any other cities have made New Yorkers (or, at least, their rulers) very show more mistrustful of foreigners.

The expedition is helped by a pair of solar-powered jet sleds. Along the way, the group runs into several groups of wandering nomads, some of whom are more civilized than others. Having spent their lives underground, eating synthetic protein, they have a hard time eating raw meat from a freshly killed animal. Jim "convinces" a sea captain to take them across the open water of the Atlantic (the only way they can get to London) by using his knowledge of judo to defeat the captain in hand-to-hand combat.

Eventually, they are met by a delegation from London, who have come to meet them. New York's rulers don't have a monopoly on distrust and paranoia. Does the entire group make it to London? Can both groups start to regain trust in outsiders?

This story might seem rather simplistic, but remember when it was published, long before Young Adult fiction became popular. It is still worth reading for young people, or those who are new to science fiction. show less

I am a fan of Robert Silverberg but I have to admit I had never even heard of this book. I found it in a $1 used book bin at a local bookstore and immediately purchased it despite it's age and well worn condition.

I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it. It's very simply written (probably middle school level reading) but it doesn't skimp on the adventure. It doesn't delve deeply into politics (though politics play a part) so it's not offensive to anyone. It's mostly just a nice science fiction adventure that tells the story of a small group of men who meet a series of adventures while trying to travel from the Eastern US to London in a frozen future world.

I recommend this book to any Silverberg fan but especially to middle school kids show more who are interested in science fiction. show less

I'm putting this on my list as "read" but a re-reading would definitely be in order. I've been racking my brain for awhile, wondering just what science fiction novel my 4th grade teacher read to us in school. I remember I liked it. It was about a time in the future when there was another ice age and everyone lived underground underneath New York City. Then some people came out to go on a journey and that's where my memory stops. Looking through books that fit this description (and were written in the 60's/70's) and were geared toward young adults (though not necessarily children) I found this book and I believe this is it.

My 4th grade teacher read us some very good books!

primarily for young teen readers, but easy reading for others