I do believe that this may be the first eco-thriller I have ever read? Katie Hale absolutely piles on the tension in this exploration of the self-destructive tendencies of 21st century human psyche. 

Set primarily in near-future Antarctica, and flashing back through the events of her life, we meet Ivy Cunningham: ice-cold and complex. Journalist, activist, researcher - she’s been invited on a millionaire’s polar exploration ship to visit a new tech concept which may be a last-ditch opportunity to save the habitat and stave off irrevocable climate collapse. 

This book gave me the shivers, in many ways. In contrast to the audiobook I currently have on the go (that review coming soon) this book is ice cold in ambience and characterisation. Ivy is infuriating, both now and in her looks back at her life, even when we come to better understand her motivations. She’s self-serving and inconstant, and an entirely unreliable narrator.

The book is also a pretty unflinching look at some of the potential imminent consequences of our failure to deal with the climate crisis effectively as a society. Each chapter raises the spectre of loss, large and small; and while it’s fiction, it’s all the more impactful for not being a far reach from our current circumstances. 

The central thread of mystery to be solved gives the book a solid structure and progression, but for me the real success here is the instability that is portrayed via character. and consequence. This book stands as stark ecological warning, harsh societal deconstruction, and I am fully unsettled. Bravo, Katie Hale. 

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