3000 A.D. Years ago, humans colonized Mars, bringing with them specimens of long-extinct Earth life for regeneration on this new frontier. But humankind has disappeared, and the animals have been left behind to fend for themselves. Icebones, daughter of Silverhair, had been the only adult mammoth taken to Mars. As such, she is now the only one of her kind who carries the accumulated knowledge of mammoth history, and it is up to her to teach her fellow mammoths how to survive -- and thrive -- without their human keepers.

In the grand tradition of Watership Down, Stephen Baxter has created a complex society complete with elaborate myths and legends. With Icebones, he brilliantly and dramatically brings the acclaimed Mammoth trilogy to its resounding conclusion.

From Publishers Weekly

Transported to the Sky Steppe of Mars in the final, satisfying book in British author Baxter's highly original Mammoth trilogy (Longtusk; Silverhair), his engaging wooly characters face an abandoned and potentially lethal terraforming experiment left there by humans (aka "the Lost"). Matriarch mammoth Silverhair's daughter, Icebones, awakens from an unnatural slumber to find herself in a land and time far from her native Pleistocene earth. The mammoths here have no knowledge of their ancient culture, such as the teachings of their mighty progenitor, Kilukpuk. Mammoth tradition says the Sky Steppe is "the Island in the sky where... mammoths would one day find a world of their own, free from the predations and cruelty of the Lost, a world of calm and plenty" yet whatever promise Mars once held is fading now as the changes made by human engineers are reversed under the assault of the red planet's uncompromising weather and geology. Icebones's companions, used to depending on the Lost for everything, can't possibly survive alone. Their only hope is to cross half the world to reach the Footfall of Kilukpuk, a rich valley full of all the sweet grass and water the mammoths need. The journey is long and treacherous, but as the beasts' great Cycle says, "The mammoth dies, but mammoths live on." Baxter fills the tale with taut adventure and splendid settings, making it easy to suspend disbelief.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

When humans colonized Mars, they populated the red planet with preserved specimens of once extinct Earth species. In 3000 C.E., humans have disappeared from Mars, but mammoths remain, unsure of how to exist without the humans they have known as keepers and tenders. Only Icebones, daughter of Silverhair and keeper of the lore of her species, bears the knowledge to keep the herds of mammoths alive despite dangers from the unforgiving planet as well as dissension from within the herd. In the tradition of Watership Down and other animal-based fantasies, Baxter brings the great creatures of Earth's prehistory to life. This conclusion to Baxter's "Mammoth Trilogy" (Silverhair, Longtusk) is suitable for both adult and YA readers of prehistoric fantasy.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.