Re-read: Icerigger

Re-Read: 'Icerigger' by Alan Dean Foster

3 / 5 Stars

I posted a review of Icerigger (published by Ballantine / Del Rey in 1974) in April of 2012, and gave it a score of Three Stars. Recently I sat down with the novel for a re-read.

 
‘Icerigger’ is about a group of Terrans who crash-land on Tran-Ky-Ky, an ice world peopled by a race of humanoid felines called the ‘tran.’ For protagonist Ethan Fortune and his fellow humans, Tran-Ky-Ky is not a very hospitable place, but luckily, before they die of exposure, the survivors are befriended by tran from the city-state of Sofold. While grateful for the hospitality of the Sofold tran, Fortune learns that trouble is on the horizon: the city-state soon will be confronted by an army of rapacious barbarians known simply as the Horde. 

 

Historically, Sofold has acquiesced to the superior military might of the Horde and allowed the barbarians to sack the city of Wannome, yielding goods and females and the occasional murder, reasoning that it's better to live on your knees than die on your feet. But the young tran warrior Hunnar, a rising actor in Sofold's political landscape, is determined to resist the Horde.

Somewhat reluctantly, the party of Terrans decide to aid the Sofoldians in their do-or-die resistance to the Horde. Not having brought advanced weaponry along with them, it seems the Terrans are limited in their degree of assistance. But assist they must, if ever they hope to return to the Federation…..

In my 2012 review I stated that ‘Icerigger’ is “….a very capable sf adventure novel with ‘old school’ flavor. The icy world of Tran-ky-ky, and its cold-adapted feline race, are interesting creations, and Foster imbues his human and tran characters with varied personalities. Ethan Fortune and Skua September regularly find their wits and improvisational skills taxed by desperate combats and narrow escapes.”  This remains true upon re-read.

The novel does have its awkward moments. Dialogue never is Foster's strong suit, and in 'Icerigger' the reader has to confront these sorts of exchanges:

 

 "Brilliant !" Colette du Kane's voice was as easily deduced in the dark as her shape.

 

"And it will probably be rough," he concluded lamely.

 

"Two Einsteinian deductions in a row. Father, I don't think we've a thing to worry about. Not with a genius of this peasant's caliber along. Next he'll astound us with the knowledge that these two megalocephalic proteinoids mean us no good."

 

But let's be mindful that in 1974, Ballantine science fiction editor Judy-Lynn Del Rey was willing to overlook less than stellar prose in her efforts to promote traditional sci-fi narratives at a time when New Wave contrivances were front and center.

Summing up, upon a re-read 'Icerigger' retains its Three-Star rating and remains a worthwhile entrant in the sci-fi action genre, as it was in the early 1970s. If that's your cup of tea, then having this book on your shelf is recommended.