I loved Paull's The Bees and here she delivers another well-articulated and generally well-plotted story with depth and surprises. The characters, especially the two men at its heart, are developed with layers, and the shifts in time between 'now' and the past are handled deftly. The eco message is clear but not delivered with sermon-like earnestness and becomes an integrated part of the story.

I very much liked the way Paull's travel into the crux of the story is also our journey into the centre of the ice-cave, into the heart of the relationship between Sean and Tom, and - in some ways - that between Sean and himself.

My niggles are that things unravel slightly towards the end: I found the last revelations about our protagonist at odds with everything else we've learned about him, and the final ending a bit of a cop-out.... Small caveats aside, this is an exciting read that manages to be both a great yarn and also something more thoughtful and serious.

Review copy courtesy of Harper Collins 4th Estate, many thanks.

I am always attracted to novels set in the wilderness and the way it pares human behaviour down to its rawest and least civilised level. In fact I’ve read a couple this year set in the Arctic, but not the Arctic described here. A few years in the future, the sea ice has retreated so far that a new shipping route has opened up and everyone wants to grab a share. Big business is rubbing up with ecologists and the atmosphere is tense.

We follow the course of an inquest into the death of an environmental activist in an accident on the ice. He was partner in a business venture which appeared to combine conservation with commerce, but as the story unfolds we come to realise that all was not as it seemed. A taut thriller, packed with interesting characters all passionately interested in the area and with longstanding emotional relationships with each other, underpinned by plenty of fascinating detail about the Arctic and how it might evolve and be influenced by mankind in the very near future. I was enthralled and would recommend highly.

No review - did not finish, sorry. A shame as The Bees was a recent favourite.

Another brilliant book by Laline Paull. Obviously very well researched and brilliantly written. The details of previous expeditions fit in with the rest of the story and bring everything together. Global warming and treating the environment with respect is something that needs to be talked about and this book deals with the subject in a very interesting and informative way.

An interesting story and possibly a warning to us all as to what could happen if we choose to ignore global warming and turn a blind eye to the continuous erosion of the polar ice caps. Two childhood friends Sean Cawson and Tom Harding have the opportunity and it would now seem the means to dictate future trends by the successful acquisition of a strategic land mass within the northern polar region: The Artic....."super-objective of Midgard: an inspiring venue in which to promote the reconciliation of business and environmental ethics." At the start of this story ( and 3 years since his disappearance), a body is discovered in the ice, soon identified as Tom Harding....What happened between the two Oxford graduate friends? How could a business venture so carefully construed turn into disaster under the auspices of two intelligent and far-sighted men; one who wanted to save the world and one who really wanted his name in lights and the benefits and comfort of untold wealth?

A large part to "The Ice" is given over to an inquest by The Coroner into the manner and cause of Paul's death. To establish the facts, and ensure that the death was an accident and not in any way contributed to by other members of the Midgard consortium. The outcome will have lasting repercussions and lead Sean to question the ethics of his venture and to finally realize the hidden agenda of those who supported him both financially and emotionally. A big thanks to the good people at netgalley for supplying me with a gratis copy of this enjoyable read, in exchange for an honest review, and that is what I have written.

Set in the not too distant future, where the polar ice caps have melted and there is a scramble amongst the developed nations to exploit the natural minerals and wild life, this is a story of two men, Tom Harding, an environmentalist and Sean Cawson, a business man who have a shared love of the Artic, but have different views on how best to handle changes wrought by climate changes.
This is a book that makes you pause and question beliefs about Ecology and exploitation of natural resources, think murder mystery with ecological undercurrents. Each chapter is prefaced with notes and observations from previous Artic explorations that add greatly to the atmosphere and the sense of wonder and bewilderment as to why people embrace the risks and joys of Artic exploration. The woodcut illustrations are beautiful but not always relevant to the chapter being read, but that is a small quibble.
There are not many likeable characters in this story and there is a high level of skullduggery , especially relating to devious governments and the question of spies, that is very relevant to life today. Sean has been duped and his struggle to make amends is commendable .
This story serves as a warning as to the damage we are inflicting upon these fragile areas of our world and I liked its message.
I have left this review on Goodreads and thank you for my advance copy in return for my honest opinion .

Set in the not too distant future, The Ice tells of two different men-Tom and Sean. They were friends, drawn together by their love of the Arctic. Tom went on to become involved with conservation while Sean joined the world of big business. When Sean becomes part of a consortium that opens a high class retreat in the Arctic he invites Tom to see what he is doing to try and rekindle their relationship and reconnect, but in a tragic accident Tom is killed.

Three years later a giant iceberg calving event releases Tom's body and an inquest in held. This forces Sean to examine his life and loves and to decide where he really stands.

I loved the descriptions of the ice and the notes from various polar expeditions. I found Sean really obnoxious at the start but gradually I began to realise there was more to him than the money grabbing selfish individual we see at the start.

This book started slowly but built up as it went along. Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me the chance to read and review this book.

I feel that this is a book of the times, tackling environmental change and dangers. The threat of the melting of the polar ice runs alongside the story. There are flashbacks as the investigation continues which give an extra dimension to the telling of the story. The last 10% is full of twists to a shocking conclusion (which the reader is beginning to wonder about) and the human element is satisfying as the end approaches.
This is a different story, tackling issues of today, I recommend it

This is a outstanding read set in the Arctic and London in the near future. The sea ice at the poles has melted with business, military and tourism swooping in to take advantage. The focus of the novel is the thirty year relationship between Tom Harding and Sean Cawson forged by their obsession with the Arctic in Oxford. Tom is the popular environmental campaigner and Sean is looking to make his name, becoming wealthier and yearning for a knighthood. They come together to purchase the Norwegian Midgard Lodge owned by the Pedersons to turn it into an exclusive retreat for the well off, with the aim of reaching out to climate sceptics and converting them to the environmental cause. 3 years ago, Tom died in an accident at Midgard whilst Sean comes out alive. This led to a whispering campaign against Sean in the media and the public, he has been shadowed by the whiff of suspicion through the years and the knighthood has remained out of his reach. Whilst he is CEO of Midgard, he has never been able to go back, delegating its management.

The calving of the Midgard glacier yields Tom's dead body, filmed by a cruise ship passenger. Sean is not the first to be informed of this, and he is shell shocked by the news. He is further disorientated when he finds himself shunned by his ex-wife Gail, daughter Rosie, Tom's family and the grieving Dr Ruth Mott, academic and Tom's girlfriend. He finds little comfort from Martine, and is recommended to hire the lawyer Sawbridge for the inquest. The hearing appears to be a foregone conclusion, when events in Midgard spiral out of control and Sean finds himself reeling after a shock and an unexpected betrayal. He begins to see himself as he is and cannot stand being himself. Despite being drugged, battered and bloodied, he seeks atonement and is not afraid to speak the truth about what happened to Tom.

Interspersed throughout the novel are extracts from journals from 19th and early 20th century Arctic explorers such as Knud Rasmussen, Ejnar Mikkelson, Peter Freuchen, and Robert E Peary whose hostility to the black explorer, Matthew Henson, never waned at the effrontery of Henson beating him to the pole. There is remarkable insights into the Arctic landscape and its fragility, Inuit folklore and myth, animals and food. There are wonderful descriptions of Tanya Tagaq, a throat singer, who with an orchestra take the audience on an unrivalled experience. I have to relate the unusual use of frozen human excrement as a chisel to escape life threatening circumstances!

The author does a tremendous job at conveying the disaster that the Arctic has become, held hostage by greed, political intrigue, and business needs trumping those of the environment. The character of Sean is developed well, a man who has been undone by the death of his closest friend, Tom. The way his life unravels and he comes to face unpleasant truths is done so skilfully by the author. The biggest and central character in the novel is the majestic Arctic, and the threats it faces from a number of quarters. Fantastic read and cannot recommend it highly enough. Thanks to HarperCollins 4th Estate for an ARC.

This book could benefit from a better start or some editing but once I got about 30% in the story picked up and became very intriguing.

Some of the excerpts were misplaced between chapters but others were perfectly placed. Either way they were interesting to read.

Once the story took off the tension skyrocketed and I was sucked in. Enjoyed the ending and overall plot.

This book features two of my favourite topics, the Arctic and polar bears, so along with a very gripping story I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The author has clearly done a lot of research as demonstrated by the listed sources and acknowledgements at the back of the book.
The subject matter of the effects of global warming and exploitation of the Arctic resources by both nations, individuals and businesses is very topical, even though the novel is set in the not too distant future.
The tension gradually builds throughout the book as we first see Tom Harding's body rediscovered after being missing for three years, due to the collapse of an Arctic cave which he had been exploring with his friend and business partner Sean Cawson, who survived the accident.
More and more information is released throughout the book as to the personal and business circumstances of Sean, Tom and other characters we are introduced to. I found Jo Kingsmith a particularly well drawn character, increasingly menacing, and his motives questionable the more I read about him.
The book climaxes with the outcome of the inquest into Tom's death, and the effects it has on the lives of the people involved.
The book was particularly enhanced by the woodcut drawings at the start of each chapter.
Overall an excellent read and well deserving of 5 stars, I will look for more books from this author.
Many thanks to Netgalley, and 4th Estate/Harper Collins for an advance copy.

I loved The Bees so was in a positive and receptive frame of mind for Paull's second novel. It's an entirely different genre, so anyone expecting the same magical whimsy of her debut won't find it here, though she works well with themes of the harshness and beauty of nature.
I was happiest in The Ice with those sections of the book set in the Arctic, the mood here is darker and the language eloquent. I felt a little impatient with the 'real world' segments: the political manoeuvrings of the unlikeable (for me anyway) Sean and the somewhat overly detailed descriptions of a weapons expo or an inquest room. I wanted to get back to the majesty and danger and beauty of the ice, which I suppose is exactly what the author was trying to convey. I suppose her treatment of the Arctic made England seem tedious in contrast, and I found myself skimming in places.
I loved the chapter inserts with extracts from real exploration diaries and so on; and I didn't find the environmental lesson was too preachy, as someone had suggested I might.
The last section of The Ice was as twisty and epic in scale as any thriller fan could wish and I found myself changing allegiances by the page as the drama raced to a conclusion. The message, profound and disturbing, came across effectively without jeopardising the elements of entertainment I prize in any fiction. I look forward to Paull's next outing eagerly.

This was a brilliant engrossing read. All the non fiction excerpts at the end of each chapter were fascinating and made me wish to read more of those authors' writings. The illustrations were also. a lovely addition.