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singalana's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
A group of tourists witness an iceberg calving and discover a body. The body belongs to a man who disappeared three years ago. The book follows the events that lead to the disappearance and the inquest of what really happened.
Our main character is Sean Cawson, a businessman who, together with other investors, has opened a resort (of sorts) in the Arctic. The man who disappeared was his friend, Tom Harding, also a partner in the Arctic venture.
This is a book about politics, climate change and the race between nations to exploit all that the Arctic has to offer. The chapters are interspersed with accounts of polar expeditions and native legends.
I found the first half of the book rather slow. It picked up in the second half, and even though the story became quite interesting as it unfolded, I would have liked some of that intrigue in the first half of the book as well. I felt either indifference or dislike towards most of the characters. The most interesting part of this book was the native legends and the accounts of expeditions.
Content Warnings
Minor: Abandonment, Death, Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, Car accident, Colonisation, Drug use, Excrement, Gaslighting, and Violence
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