Steven R. McEvoy
Sep 13, 2026
Great debut novel!
I was intrigued by this title from the first time I saw the cover. Everywhere I turned on social media it was popping up. And each time I saw it there was a desire to read it. Over the last decade I have averaged about a book a day. I read across a wide range of genres. This is one of the better debut novels I have read. In my top 10 debut novels for certain. And likely top 5 over last few years. The subtitle and tag line of the book is: “An Antarctic Conspiracy Thriller Some places are buried for a reason” But they appear in opposite order on cover or title page. Both speak well to the volume. I am always intrigued by books with chapter titles, and always read them first if the volume has them. The chapters in the volume are: Prologue 1. Glitch 2. The List 3. Armenia 4. Perfect Record 5. The Wall 6. Norwegian Wood 7. Katabatic 8. Blue Dark 9. Five Names 10. Byrd 11. Watchers 12. Uphill Water 13. Threshold 14. The Hot Sauce Rule 15. Zora 16. Forty-Seven Stars 17. Breach 18. The List 19. Forty-Eight Hours 20. The Last Reading 21. Acknowledged 22. Borrowed Altitude Epilogue: Gerald Early in the volume we are provided this information: “The cabin wasn’t really a cabin. It was the cargo hold of a military transport with seats bolted in as an afterthought, and it smelled of cold metal and jet fuel and air breathed too many times by people pretending not to be nervous. Twenty–odd passengers, most of them old hands: scientists, contractors, a knot of matching fleece with a science–foundation logo. And five brand new ones, the youngest on the manifest, thrown together by the accident of the same flight south. Leo had read the manifest twice, because it was there to be read: two research grants – undergraduates who’d out–applied nine hundred and eighty–nine others – a training placement, a support contract, and one line the paperwork called a diplomatic exchange. The manifest said six. The fleece–knot held five. The sixth, wherever she was, was not advertising. Six countries between them once you counted her, though nobody had yet. And every one of them had spent the last six months clearing the same fourteen–page medical packet – bloodwork, dental clearance, a trace of the heart, a psychologist’s careful questions – that the programme made you survive before it would let you anywhere near a place this eager to kill you.” The youths are: Leo Vasquez - satellite-imagery researcher from New Mexico. Maya Chen Okafor - grew up at McMurdo Station in Antarctica. Darius Osei - chemistry trainee from London. Priya Nair - research assistant from Chennai. Callum Reed - Australian participant, athletic and outspoken. Ingrid Solberg - Norwegian exchange attaché. And we slowly learn more and more about them as the story proceeds. Yet within a short time they become a team and though there are some conflicts, a bit of bullying, and even maybe some betrayal, they find they are a team and come together when it matters. This line appeared in the story more than once. “Learn the difference between impossible and inconvenient, Darius. Most of what people call the first is the second wearing a bigger coat.” And variations on it a few other times. It is an important phrase in the book, and I believe life. When reading it the first time I shared it with my wife, the second time I encountered it I shared it with my youngest child. This phrase is really sticking with me and I have added it to my ‘quotes’ collection. This is a story about loss, about longing, and about seeing what others do not. It is a quest for truth, even if most of the world wants that truth hidden. And it is a story that will really stay with the reader. I could hardly put this volume down. I read it in 4 sittings over 2 days, and stayed up way, way, way too late on a work night reading. This is an excellent story! The characters are very well written. The pace is great. And to be honest it leaves you desperate for more. So I can only home this is the first of a long series. This would be a great read for those who love thrillers, action, drama, or just great reads.
