"Ice & Iron" by Wilson Tucker

A cheap vintage paperback I found. (Anything titled "____ and Iron" or "____ and the Cross" is usually a safe bet for my tastes.) Here is a nice speculative science fiction story. [Ballantine Science Fiction, 1974, 186 pages] It takes place in an alternate present day (as seen from the 70s, that is) yet touches upon many different time periods, including an even more far-flung future. The chapters alternate between Iron chapters and Ice chapters. The Ice chapters take place in the present day, and are longer, and the focus of the story. The Iron chapters each take place in another time, and tend to be short insights to peoples lives from the distant future. Kept things interesting, and gave a wider scope to this short novel. I'd even call it too short. 

A researcher by the name of Fisher Highsmith is the protagonist. His team is investigating cases of strange objects falling from the sky, which seem to be from a different time period. These at first include mud bricks, and some bodies. This fascinates Fisher, as he knows that the objects are not native to the place and time that they are found. Sixteen bodies have been found, that seem to be of a stone-age people. Some unique knives and weapons known as quarterguns are eventually found as well, completely alien to any of the experts in the field. In fact they are, but it's not the stone age from our past.

Climate change, mainly a new resurgence of the ice age, is a main focus of this novel. During the novel's 'present day', almost the entire North America is covered by a growing glacier. Many cities have been lost to the freeze as it creeps over the continent. This reinforces that the objects are from another time period. Another body is found, (this one alive) simply called Seventeen. He is found with frostbite taking his arm, which they amputate to save his life. It is not easy for the team to communicate with him. He comes into play later in the novel. 

The quarterguns are central to the story. Fisher experiments with the found piece of alien design, to find out that it 'erases' whatever it is fired at. In fact, it 'banishes' them rather, to another time period, thousands of years in the past. This, Fisher concludes, is where the objects are coming from. A battle in the future in which quarterguns are used. Annmarie, his polylibrarian (and crush) does a little research and finds many different occurrences of things falling from the sky without explanation, dating as far back as to the 1800s. 

Fisher takes a map and draws up what he sees as the future, geological change thousands of years to come. He concludes much from what he has collected. He deducts that the objects come from, not the past, but some post-apocalyptic future where previous civilization has diminished. I'd say he catches on and guesses right a bit too fast, and on the button. The novel is very short in that department; a lot more 'speculation' could have been fit into this story if the author went that far. But this is a Science Fiction novel, can't blame the author for wanting to move the story along quickly.

In said far-flung future, the glacier has receded enough that people are migrating back to the area. The ones who own the quarterguns are a matriarchal warrior society, very Amazonian. These women are at war with the men of the time, among who are the seventeen bodies. The matriarchy are ruled by a nine year old, who will be crowned true Queen in seven years. Some remnant of human language exists, as Fisher finds out, when he interviews one of the women who had fallen into the snowfields. She is known as Eighteen, and is actually the invader in the alternate future. The men are living in a tribal society on their own and certainly on the defensive and ill prepared.

Seventeen and Eighteen, kept in the same room, begin to fight. Eighteen takes an AED to Seventeen's head, killing him. During all this, a fierce snowstorm was sweeping over the area. A rescue party is caught in the middle of it, and reports to Fisher that many things are falling from the sky- in fact a battle (involving the quarterguns) was being waged thousands of years in the future, at the same time the present day humans are battling out the storm. Toward the end of the novel, many things targeted by the quarterguns in the future. A canoe, fish, and water come down, fulfilling Fisher's prediction that a lake would form there thousands of years to come. After the commotion of the battle, the facility is shut down, as the researchers are sent to other locations. 

The alternate future post apocalypse world is merely glimpsed into- a lot of cool stuff, more depth could be added if you ask me. I would have liked to see more of that future-past, but it was kept so mysterious and in very short chapters following several characters.

All said, I enjoyed Ice & Iron and it's an easy read, if a bit rushed. A more in-depth view could certainly have been possible; there's a lot of potential all wrapped up into a very brief package.

Scratched that one off the list quickly. Onto the next one!

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