Eighty-five years after a famous but ill-equipped Canadian Arctic expedition of 1913 had sacrificed 16 lives, some artifacts appeared on an Internet auction site. They had originated at a "ghost camp," discovered in 1924, where four of the expedition's 28 men, one woman, and two children had perished. Jennifer Niven has completed the unfulfilled mission of survivor William McKinlay to produce a "more honest and revealing account" of the wreck of the Karluk and its aftermath.

The explorers became split into several dispersed groups living "in the shadow of death." Their simultaneously grim and gruesome experiences are interwoven in this minutely detailed and atmospheric retelling, created by combining and comparing firsthand accounts and other sources. The characters are vividly re-created, from the expedition's self-interested leader, whom McKinlay called "a consummate liar and cheat," to the heroic ship's master, who struggled over 700 miles to organize a rescue. Supplemented by haunting and fascinating photographs, The Ice Master makes for harrowing and compulsive reading. This is a momentous story of the Arctic; of adventure, misadventure, and the heights of human endurance. But it is also a story of human failings and the waste of young lives, as poignant now as it was when it was big news in 1914. --Karen Tiley, Amazon.co.uk


From 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-researchedDand 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. Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From 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-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine


From Booklist
/*Starred Review*/In 1913, famed scientist Vihjalmur Stefansson organized a mission to the Arctic to discover uncharted land. In an attempt to save money, he purchased a less than adequate ship, the Karluk, and skimped on supplies. After only a month, the ship becomes trapped in a giant ice floe, and Stefansson abandons most of the crew and scientists, leaving them to fend for themselves. Led astray by the ice flow and brutal winds, the 25 remaining people are eventually forced to abandon the ship after it is crushed by ice and begins sinking. From this point, their real troubles begin. They camp on the ice but, with spring approaching, are forced to hike along the shifting ice floes to the barely habitable Wrangel Island. Once there, the captain and one Inuit man begin a trek to Siberia in hopes of finding a ship to rescue the stranded men. Meanwhile, the survivors on Wrangel Island face harsh weather, illness, and dissent among their ranks. Drawn from the diaries and firsthand accounts of the scientists and crew, Niven has skillfully written her narrative with a genuine sense of immediacy. Her straightforward prose, along with the excerpts from the men's diaries, reveals the men's characters, both good and bad. The survivors cover the entire spectrum of human nature, from noble self-sacrifice to bitter selfishness. While some men resorted to stealing and lying, others went so far as to risk their lives for the survival of the group. Niven's narration transcends the adventure genre and can ultimately be looked at as a study of how the human character is revealed under extreme duress. An amazingly powerful book. Kristine Huntley
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


Entertainment Weekly
". . . The Ice Master, both a celebration and a terrifying summation of the ferocity of nature, is a riveting read . . ."


Washington Post Book World
"Absorbing . . . Niven is meticulous in describing her characters' personal traits."


Booklist
"A riveting adventure."

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