Antarctica

That being said, this is an enjoyable but very uneven book. The view of Antartic life is wonderful, both the Polar culture and that of McMurdo. The scene of those two places is well drawn, interesting, and involving. I really came to enjoy several of the characters, even though most of them are--lets be honest--pretty sparsely drawn or even two-dimensional. But still, Wade, X, and especially Spiff and Viktor were enjoyable folks to read about. Their adventures, little and big, made fun reading, and of course the setting is simply awesome. I think Robinson does an especially good job bringing home to you the vastness, cold, and emptiness of Antarctica (I had a friend who went there for several seasons doing graduate research).

Unfortunately, I have two big problems with this book: the action is very uneven, and one of main characters--Val--I found stupendously annoying. One at a time.

First, the action. I honestly believe that *everyone* will find this book uneven, and will love some of it, and hate other parts. The dicey bit is, were all going to love and hate different things. For example, a large portion of the book is taken up with an adventure trek (much like todays adventure climbs up Everest) along the same path that Amundsen, the first man to make it to the South Pole, took. I found almost all of this stupendously dull. Frankly, I couldnt care less. There is an especially long section where Val, the guide for the trekkers, is leading them on a long march across the Antarctic plateau, and it goes on for nearly 25 pages. Walking. A little dialogue, a lot of internal monologue (the guides) and a whole lot of walking. 25 pages. Forgive me, but for me, thats stupifying. Indeed, on re-reading, I skip the whole thing.

But perhaps for you, it would be the best part of the novel, and the things that I love--such as the sub-culture of the folks who are at the Pole--would bore you to tears. Its hard to say. But Im fairly confident that *some* of it will be interesting, and some of it dull. Youve been duly warned.

With regard to Val, I will say little. She is a main character, and its always a tough ride when you dislike a main character. Let me just say this: she keeps saying (and thinking and showing by her behavior) that she is "toast," i.e. done being a guide in Antarctica. Well, I got it the first time; I really didnt need to be told another half dozen or more times. I also found her approach to relationships pretty irritating, her view of men simplistic and absurd, and her physical attributes (how many women does one meet who are 64"? Ive met exactly, um, none) to be almost unbelievable. But who knows; you might like her. In fact, there are probably plenty of folks who do.

So there you have it. I like this book enough to re-read it, but its uneveness really gets to me. Its like going to a 2.5 star movie; you just *know* that it *could* have been so much better that you cant decide if youre more frustrated, or entertained.