The Blue Ice vs The Botanist: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Thriller
The Blue Ice
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Ten years after George Farnell's disappearance, two lines of poetry and a lump of mineral ore are found. It's enough to send mineral expert Bill Gansert to Norway. But word of his findings has leaked out and Gansert…
The Botanist
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The Botanist is a dry gin made by the Bruichladdich Distillery in Islay, Scotland. It is one of two gins made on the island and is known for its hand-foraged botanicals. The name of the gin was inspired by two local…
Side by side
The verdict
- Readers rate The Botanist highest: The Botanist 4.3 · The Blue Ice 3.8.
- The Blue Ice is the quickest read — about 4 hours vs 9 for The Botanist.
- The Blue Ice has the widest readership — 449 ratings behind its score.
How to choose
Scores by source
| The Blue Ice | The Botanist | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | 3.8 (449) | — |
| Hardcover | 4.0 (3) | — |
| Apple Books | — | 4.5 (67) |
Reception
| The Blue Ice | The Botanist | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 449 | 67 |
| Editions | 30 | — |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Want to read | 179 | — |
| Reading it now | 59 | — |
| Written reviews | 31 | — |
| Wikipedia attention | 46 | 1758 |
| Pages | 246 | 487 |
Questions readers ask
Which is rated higher: The Blue Ice or The Botanist?
The Botanist has the higher combined reader rating across sources (The Botanist 4.3/5, The Blue Ice 3.8/5).
Which is shorter to read: The Blue Ice or The Botanist?
The Blue Ice is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: The Blue Ice (246 pages, ≈ 4 h 33 m); The Botanist (487 pages, ≈ 9 h 01 m).
Which is harder to read: The Blue Ice or The Botanist?
Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — The Blue Ice: Challenging; The Botanist: Moderate.