The Ice Master: The Doomed 1913 Voyage of the Karluk FROM OUR EDITORS
The Barnes & Noble Review from Discover Great New Writers
For readers who found Shackleton's tale Endurance the least bit interesting, have we got a book for you! Jennifer Niven's masterful debut is the harrowing true story of yet another doomed expedition of yesteryear -- but the locale is the Arctic, and the history more tragic. Anxious to reach the polar ice cap first, noted explorer Vilhjalmur Stefansson launched "the grandest and most elaborate Arctic expedition in history, the most comprehensive scientific attack on the Arctic of all time." But the scientists and crew of his ill-fated ship were not provided with training in Arctic survival nor with any of the polar clothing earlier promised.
In June 1913, HMCS Karluk set sail from Victoria, British Columbia; less than six weeks later, the boat was trapped by ice and clearly would not move again until the spring thaw. Stefansson (no hero he) chose a dozen of the best sled dogs and set off "to go hunting," accompanied by his personal secretary, the expedition photographer, and an anthropologist. The ship's captain understood at once that "they had been abandoned." And only days after Stefansson's departure, "a fierce gale carried the ship deep into the heart of the Arctic Ocean." Niven's riveting, hair-raising account is all the more real because she has assembled this astonishing work from the journals kept by the abandoned scientists and crew. Niven's assiduous research and her unprecedented access to the last living survivor as well as to the descendants of other survivors, lend an immediacy and credibility to The Ice Master that are, in a word, extraordinary.
(Winter 2001 Selection)
FROM THE PUBLISHER
"Into Thin Air meets Titanic in this truly chilling adventure" (Glamour) — now available in paperback.
The Karluk set out in 1913 in search of an undiscovered continent, with the largest scientific staff ever sent into the Arctic. Soon after, winter had begun, they were blown off course by polar storms, the ship became imprisoned in ice, and the expedition was abandoned by its leader. Hundreds of miles from civilization, the castaways had no choice but to find solid ground as they struggled against starvation, snow blindness, disease, exposure — and each other. After almost twelve months battling the elements, twelve survivors were rescued, thanks to the heroic efforts of their captain, Bartlett, the Ice Master, who traveled by foot across the ice and through Siberia to find help.
Drawing on the diaries of those who were rescued and those who perished, Jennifer Niven re-creates with astonishing accuracy the ill-fated journey and the crew's desperate attempts to find a way home.
One of Entertainment Weekly's 10 Best Books of the Year.
Jennifer Niven is an award-winning screenwriter, and formerly an associate producer at ABC Television. The Ice Master is her first book. She lives in Los Angeles.
SYNOPSIS
The riveting story of the 1913 expedition of twenty-five people who sailed out of British Columbia in search of an undiscovered Arctic continent. But tragedy struck in January 1914 when an ice cap tore a hole in the vessel's hull, shipwrecking all on board.
FROM THE CRITICS
Entertainment Weekly
Gripping . . . The Ice Master, both a celebration and a terrifying summation of the ferocity of nature, is a riveting read. But cozy up to this one with a quilt.
Washington Post Book World
Absorbing . . . Niven is meticulous in describing her characters' personal traits.
Publishers Weekly
The 1913 Canadian Arctic Expedition was perhaps the worst-planned arctic exploration in history. The captain declared the ship unfit for the voyage upon seeing it, and the crew consisted of young sailors who had no arctic experience, and scientists who would be better off teaching in a classroom than searching for an undiscovered arctic continent. Niven's first book, unlike the voyage, is well-researched--and it's thorough. Screenwriter Niven captivates with her reconstruction of the doomed crew's efforts to survive the harshness of the polar winter, disease, hunger and their own clashing personalities. She expertly captures the feelings of the crew about their situation and about each other, and meticulously recounts the daily activities of the 25 crew members (11 survived), during their long stay as castaways on a small arctic Island. The story does read slowly at points, especially near the beginning of the book. The pace picks up as the book progresses, with the most exciting part being the heroic account of the captain's 700-mile trek from the crew's camp to Siberia in search of a ship that he could use to rescue his men. (Nov.) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.
AudioFile
Abandoned by their expedition leader, cast adrift from their crushed vessel, the crew of the Canadian ship KARLUK fights to survive in the Arctic while the ship's captain looks for help. Jennifer Niven's research and writing of this terrifying story are impeccable. Drawing from diaries, news accounts, and published interviews, she retraces the entire expedition, which began in 1913 and ended two years later. Unfortunately, her skills as a narrator fall far short of her historical skills. Niven's soft, whispery voice, carrying strong overtones of a Southern belle, is decidedly unmatched to the horrifying stories of death, starvation, illness, and perseverance that she tells. Haunting musical interludes and chapter separators help, but not enough. R.P.L. © AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine
Valberg - Entertaiment Weekly
A gripping account of the ill-fated voyage that left the hull of a Canadian expedition ship imprisoned by ice for five months...Thanks to Niven's meticulous research, gleaned from shipmates' diaries, government archives, and an interview with the only Karluk survivor still living, we become passionately interested int eh fate of its luckless crew....both a celebration and a terrigying summation of the ferocity of nature...a riveting read.
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