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The Blue Ice
George Farnell's legacy came to light ten years after his disappearance. Two lines of poetry and a lump of mineral ore were all he left. Yet they were enough to send mineral expert, Bill Gansert, to Norway. But word of Farnell's findings had already leaked out -- and Gansert found himself caught in a maze of ambition and treachery with roots lying deep in years of German occupation.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1948
52 people are currently reading
171 people want to read
About the author
Hammond Innes
104 books107 followersRalph Hammond Innes was an English novelist who wrote over 30 novels, as well as children's and travel books.He was awarded a C.B.E. (Commander, Order of the British Empire) in 1978. The World Mystery Convention honoured Innes with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Bouchercon XXIV awards in Omaha, Nebraska, Oct, 1993.
Innes was born in Horsham, Sussex, and educated at the Cranbrook School in Kent. He left in 1931 to work as a journalist, initially with the Financial Times (at the time called the Financial News). The Doppelganger, his first novel, was published in 1937. In WWII he served in the Royal Artillery, eventually rising to the rank of Major. During the war, a number of his books were published, including Wreckers Must Breathe (1940), The Trojan Horse (1941) and Attack Alarm (1941); the last of which was based on his experiences as an anti-aircraft gunner during the Battle of Britain at RAF Kenley. After being discharged in 1946, he worked full-time as a writer, achieving a number of early successes.
His novels are notable for a fine attention to accurate detail in descriptions of places, such as in Air Bridge (1951), set partially at RAF Gatow, RAF Membury after its closure and RAF Wunstorf during the Berlin Airlift.
Innes went on to produce books in a regular sequence, with six months of travel and research followed by six months of writing. Many of his works featured events at sea. His output decreased in the 1960s, but was still substantial. He became interested in ecological themes. He continued writing until just before his death. His last novel was Delta Connection (1996).
Unusually for the thriller genre, Innes' protagonists were often not "heroes" in the typical sense, but ordinary men suddenly thrust into extreme situations by circumstance. Often, this involved being placed in a hostile environment (the Arctic, the open sea, deserts), or unwittingly becoming involved in a larger conflict or conspiracy. The protagonist generally is forced to rely on his own wits and making best use of limited resources, rather than the weapons and gadgetry commonly used by thriller writers.
Four of his early novels were made into films: Snowbound (1948)from The Lonely Skier (1947), Hell Below Zero (1954) from The White South (1949), Campbell's Kingdom (1957), and The Wreck of the Mary Deare (1959). His 1973 novel Golden Soak was adapted into a six-part television series in 1979.
Innes was born in Horsham, Sussex, and educated at the Cranbrook School in Kent. He left in 1931 to work as a journalist, initially with the Financial Times (at the time called the Financial News). The Doppelganger, his first novel, was published in 1937. In WWII he served in the Royal Artillery, eventually rising to the rank of Major. During the war, a number of his books were published, including Wreckers Must Breathe (1940), The Trojan Horse (1941) and Attack Alarm (1941); the last of which was based on his experiences as an anti-aircraft gunner during the Battle of Britain at RAF Kenley. After being discharged in 1946, he worked full-time as a writer, achieving a number of early successes.
His novels are notable for a fine attention to accurate detail in descriptions of places, such as in Air Bridge (1951), set partially at RAF Gatow, RAF Membury after its closure and RAF Wunstorf during the Berlin Airlift.
Innes went on to produce books in a regular sequence, with six months of travel and research followed by six months of writing. Many of his works featured events at sea. His output decreased in the 1960s, but was still substantial. He became interested in ecological themes. He continued writing until just before his death. His last novel was Delta Connection (1996).
Unusually for the thriller genre, Innes' protagonists were often not "heroes" in the typical sense, but ordinary men suddenly thrust into extreme situations by circumstance. Often, this involved being placed in a hostile environment (the Arctic, the open sea, deserts), or unwittingly becoming involved in a larger conflict or conspiracy. The protagonist generally is forced to rely on his own wits and making best use of limited resources, rather than the weapons and gadgetry commonly used by thriller writers.
Four of his early novels were made into films: Snowbound (1948)from The Lonely Skier (1947), Hell Below Zero (1954) from The White South (1949), Campbell's Kingdom (1957), and The Wreck of the Mary Deare (1959). His 1973 novel Golden Soak was adapted into a six-part television series in 1979.
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
November 5, 2017
In Blue Ice (1948) by Hammond Innes "Big" Bill Gansert has given up his job as ProductionManager with Base Metals and Industries (B.M.I.). He all set to board his personally redesigned and outfitted sailing yacht (the Diviner has been fitted with an ex-naval engine) and set his course for the warm waters of the Mediterranean. But before he and his crew can sail, his former boss comes to him with a mystery to solve and an offer he just can't refuse. A message has reached Sir Clinton Mann--a message that seems to come from the grave.
A chunk of rock with a valuable sample of thorite has been found in a shipment of whale meat sent from Norway. The packaging is ruined from traveling with the meat, but enough of the handwriting was salvaged to be proved to have come from George Farnell, one of the most knowledgeable metallurgists in the field. There's just one problem. Farnell was supposed to have died a fortnight ago.
Farnell is a complicated man--single-minded in his pursuit of metals before the war, he had felt no compunction at forging the name of his partner to gain funds for his research. Caught and convicted he managed to escape imprisonment, fled to Norway and joined the Norwegian forces under the name of Bernt Olsen, earning hero's honors in the war. Recently, Olsen's body had been found after a snowstorm on the Jostedal, Europe's largest glacier and papers on the body revealed the connection between Olsen and Farnell. How did this man send a package if he was already dead?
If the scraps of legible writing are true and the thorite sample represents a tiny portion of the treasure trove Farnell had found in the glacier area of Norway, then somebody could get rich quick. Gansert had worked with Farnell and knew that the man knew his metals and knew those mountains like the back of his hand. He can't resist trying to piece together Farnell's last days and have a shot at finding the thorite himself--not for his own gain, but because he loves the thrill of discovery. He and his crew head to Norway to solve the mystery--but they aren't the only ones interested in Farnell and what he discovered. It will all end on the glacial mountains themselves with a high-speed ski chase and a last-ditch effort to catch a speeding train.
Innes writes a fairly compelling adventure story. It is a treasure hunt filled with treachery, missing men, tough double-crossing fishermen, nefarious moneyed mangers, and a hint of romance. We get adventure on the high seas (on the journey to Norway) and danger in the mountains when Gansert goes searching for Farnell's secrets. Innes also provides terrific descriptions of the dangerous, brooding landscape. He delivers more good storytelling in an action-packed genre. The second half of the novel moves more quickly and packs more action than the second half and the ending is satisfying, if a bit abrupt.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting. Thanks.
A chunk of rock with a valuable sample of thorite has been found in a shipment of whale meat sent from Norway. The packaging is ruined from traveling with the meat, but enough of the handwriting was salvaged to be proved to have come from George Farnell, one of the most knowledgeable metallurgists in the field. There's just one problem. Farnell was supposed to have died a fortnight ago.
Farnell is a complicated man--single-minded in his pursuit of metals before the war, he had felt no compunction at forging the name of his partner to gain funds for his research. Caught and convicted he managed to escape imprisonment, fled to Norway and joined the Norwegian forces under the name of Bernt Olsen, earning hero's honors in the war. Recently, Olsen's body had been found after a snowstorm on the Jostedal, Europe's largest glacier and papers on the body revealed the connection between Olsen and Farnell. How did this man send a package if he was already dead?
If the scraps of legible writing are true and the thorite sample represents a tiny portion of the treasure trove Farnell had found in the glacier area of Norway, then somebody could get rich quick. Gansert had worked with Farnell and knew that the man knew his metals and knew those mountains like the back of his hand. He can't resist trying to piece together Farnell's last days and have a shot at finding the thorite himself--not for his own gain, but because he loves the thrill of discovery. He and his crew head to Norway to solve the mystery--but they aren't the only ones interested in Farnell and what he discovered. It will all end on the glacial mountains themselves with a high-speed ski chase and a last-ditch effort to catch a speeding train.
Innes writes a fairly compelling adventure story. It is a treasure hunt filled with treachery, missing men, tough double-crossing fishermen, nefarious moneyed mangers, and a hint of romance. We get adventure on the high seas (on the journey to Norway) and danger in the mountains when Gansert goes searching for Farnell's secrets. Innes also provides terrific descriptions of the dangerous, brooding landscape. He delivers more good storytelling in an action-packed genre. The second half of the novel moves more quickly and packs more action than the second half and the ending is satisfying, if a bit abrupt.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting. Thanks.
February 16, 2021
It starts slowly, especially if (like me) you’re unfamiliar with sailing nomenclature, but after a few chapters this becomes a compelling race against time across the mountains and fjords of Norway.
It just got better and better as it went, I looked forward to reading it each day.
It just got better and better as it went, I looked forward to reading it each day.
October 31, 2018
Hammond Innes' books are like travelogues and adventures combined. He may take you to the Arctic Circle to sub-Saharan Africa to the Canadian Rockies, and you will get a flavorful experience of the lands and the people while embroiled in killings, natural disasters, and lots of excitement - except for this one. The Blue Ice is surprisingly boring with minimal action until the very end. After a long sea voyage to western Norway in search of a mysterious Norwegian WW II underground member named George Farnell or Bernt Olsen, who may have the secret to a rich mineral reserve near a glacier in the interior, the searchers fight each other as well as various interlopers who want the secret. Not as exciting as it sounds. But there certainly is a wealth of detail about sailing, navigation, and the conditions in the North Sea. The story line is convoluted as some of the dialogue is in Norwegian and one of the characters is a cockney who switches between a cockney accent and English. The cockney is written phonetically so "I" is written as "Oi" and so forth. All of this detracts from the plot and frustrates the reader who just wants to know what is going on instead of trying to translate the dialogue. For a better Hammand Innes experience try Campbell's Kingdom or Maddon's Rock - these were terrific adventures.
December 22, 2019
Having just finished a couple of Innes' early World War II novels, The Trojan Horse and Wreckers Must Breathe, what is most striking about The Blue Ice, Innes' fourth postwar novel, is how much of a leap the author has made as a writer between 1940-41 and 1948. Just before The Blue Ice, Innes had also published The Lonely Skier, perhaps best considered as his breakthrough novel. At any rate, in both books, the storytelling is not only tight, the pace and reveals of the plot are intense. It's clear that Innes has hit his stride and figured out an adventure/thriller formula that works. He would follow it for the most part for the rest of his life.
Here, the story is of Bill Gansert, whisked away from his job and intended early semi-retirement, to go on a mission to find George Farnell, who has disappeared into the frozen glaciers and mountains of Norway. This is largely Farnell's story, told indirectly by Gansert. And once again, Innes is borrowing from the pattern that established this technique in Conrad's Lord Jim, the ur-text of modern adventure fiction. Also present: the intimate coterie of fellow adventurers who gradually crack and reveal their cowardice, bravery, greed, lust, sadism, and madness. Gansert is literally at the center of a maelstrom of powerful personalities and lit up emotions intent on revenge or redemption.
Here, the story is of Bill Gansert, whisked away from his job and intended early semi-retirement, to go on a mission to find George Farnell, who has disappeared into the frozen glaciers and mountains of Norway. This is largely Farnell's story, told indirectly by Gansert. And once again, Innes is borrowing from the pattern that established this technique in Conrad's Lord Jim, the ur-text of modern adventure fiction. Also present: the intimate coterie of fellow adventurers who gradually crack and reveal their cowardice, bravery, greed, lust, sadism, and madness. Gansert is literally at the center of a maelstrom of powerful personalities and lit up emotions intent on revenge or redemption.
May 13, 2018
Ho, hum.... It's not very demanding, full of incident, and features a large cast of characters. These are shallow waters though and there's something slightly hasty and unresolved (in a bad way) about the ending. To be fair, I thought this was a Boys' Own version of 'The Third Man' until I discovered this preceded that film and novella. I suspect Graham Greene was influenced by this rather than the other way around. However, I don't begrudge Greene taking some of the basic ideas of Innes' book and doing something far more interesting. A little less chasing, a little more depth, and a bit more care might have made this something more than the average adventure story it is. And do people really make their life's work out of finding metals? What exactly did Farnell want to do with his discovery if not just make money? There's something sadly hollow about the whole thing.
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May 27, 2024The Blue Ice is another terrific thriller from Hammond Innes. Originally published in 1948, the story follows mineral expert Bill Gansert travelling to Norway looking into the disappearance of George Farnell ten years previously.
At time a little bit unbelievable it is still a ripping yarn. Enjoyable for anyone who enjoys Alistair Maclean, Helen MacInnes, etc will enjoy this one. One of Innes best. Although, as always, given the narration is in first person you know he is not going to die!
At time a little bit unbelievable it is still a ripping yarn. Enjoyable for anyone who enjoys Alistair Maclean, Helen MacInnes, etc will enjoy this one. One of Innes best. Although, as always, given the narration is in first person you know he is not going to die!
May 4, 2011
A solid thriller from an author I rate close to Alistair McLean and Douglass Reeman. The plot is not really surprising, but it has a classic elegance of the 1940-1950 noir style with several shady characters chasing a McGuffin across a North Sea storm, a nausea inducing whaling station, the fjords and iced mountains of Norway. There's even the mandatory femme fatale, one I kept picturing as Veronika Lake in one of her less brooding roles. One harrowing skiing epic reminded me of Hammond Innes first book - The Lonely Skier. Straightforward prose, vivid imagery and tight control of plot puts this book in my recommended reading category.
October 10, 2016
Good story but the part on the boat took way too long for me.
October 17, 2025
With Hammond Innes novels, the trip to a destination is often more important than what happens once you get there--particularly if the trip is on a boat. "The Blue Ice" takes its characters to the mountains of Norway, where a valuable ore called thorite may have been discovered. But the characters don't actually get to the mountain until Chapter 7 of a 10 chapter book.
Most of the book is taken up by the boat-trip from England to Norway and along the Norwegian coast. The captain of the boat, Bill Gansert, is searching for the source of a sample of thorite that his former employer, Base Metals & Industries (B.M. & I.), received under mysterious circumstances. The source of the sample ore, one George Farrell, died on the Jostedal Glacier in Norway. Gansert's job is to find out what Farrell discovered before he died.
As I don't have much interest in thorite it was difficult for me to become too invested in Bill Gansert or his mission. That he doesn't really care about what happened to Farrell, he just wants to find the source of the ore in a Norwegian mountain somewhere so that B.M. & I. can exploit it, doesn't do much to arouse sympathy in me for Gansert. That Farrell himself is described by Gansert as an "ex-convict, swindler, forger, deserter [and] murderer" but still "a great man" because he subordinated everything in his life to finding precious metals doesn't help to endear me to either Gansert or Farrell.
Having said all that, Innes weaves an exciting story. Various dubious characters find themselves aboard Gansert's boat in the course of his journey. Innes builds suspense well as the mystery of George Farrell starts to become unraveled. Of course, there's a woman along for the ride, Jill, to provide some romantic interest. She can pilot a boat, but she is mostly relegated to cooking meals in the galley and binding up the wounds that the men around her receive in the course of the adventure. She's in love with George Farrell, although it's hard to see why as he really only has eyes for ore.
When we do finally get to the mountain climbing part of the story Innes does a fine job of describing the grueling trek through the the snow and ice. Some times they have to climb on skis, side-stepping up a peak. Seaman Gansert's agony during the mountain climb is almost painful to read. But when he finally finds some relief--in a cabin up in the mountains--things get a little ridiculous as it seems like every major character in the book converges on that tiny little cabin.
Fortunately we finish up with a climactic ski-chase that reads like something out of a James Bond novel. "The Blue Ice" was published in 1948. I suspect that Ian Fleming was paying attention to Hammond Innes when he started the James Bond series in 1953.
Most of the book is taken up by the boat-trip from England to Norway and along the Norwegian coast. The captain of the boat, Bill Gansert, is searching for the source of a sample of thorite that his former employer, Base Metals & Industries (B.M. & I.), received under mysterious circumstances. The source of the sample ore, one George Farrell, died on the Jostedal Glacier in Norway. Gansert's job is to find out what Farrell discovered before he died.
As I don't have much interest in thorite it was difficult for me to become too invested in Bill Gansert or his mission. That he doesn't really care about what happened to Farrell, he just wants to find the source of the ore in a Norwegian mountain somewhere so that B.M. & I. can exploit it, doesn't do much to arouse sympathy in me for Gansert. That Farrell himself is described by Gansert as an "ex-convict, swindler, forger, deserter [and] murderer" but still "a great man" because he subordinated everything in his life to finding precious metals doesn't help to endear me to either Gansert or Farrell.
Having said all that, Innes weaves an exciting story. Various dubious characters find themselves aboard Gansert's boat in the course of his journey. Innes builds suspense well as the mystery of George Farrell starts to become unraveled. Of course, there's a woman along for the ride, Jill, to provide some romantic interest. She can pilot a boat, but she is mostly relegated to cooking meals in the galley and binding up the wounds that the men around her receive in the course of the adventure. She's in love with George Farrell, although it's hard to see why as he really only has eyes for ore.
When we do finally get to the mountain climbing part of the story Innes does a fine job of describing the grueling trek through the the snow and ice. Some times they have to climb on skis, side-stepping up a peak. Seaman Gansert's agony during the mountain climb is almost painful to read. But when he finally finds some relief--in a cabin up in the mountains--things get a little ridiculous as it seems like every major character in the book converges on that tiny little cabin.
Fortunately we finish up with a climactic ski-chase that reads like something out of a James Bond novel. "The Blue Ice" was published in 1948. I suspect that Ian Fleming was paying attention to Hammond Innes when he started the James Bond series in 1953.
August 20, 2024
Another post war classic from “Our Greatest Living Storyteller” as the Fontana paperback blurb dubs Hammond Innes.
This tale concerns the adventures of George Farnell, an expert and driven mineralogist who has managed to send a tantalising sample of rock to Britain from Norway (naturally concealed in a consignment of whale meat) before disappearing off the face of the earth. Bill Gansert, no stranger to exploiting valuable minerals, is about to sail his large yacht to the Mediterranean as well earned rest from his wartime exploits opening a nickel mine in Canada. Former boss, Sir Clinton Mann of Base Metals and Industries persuades Bill to change his plans and try to find his former colleague, Farnell, in order to determine whether the find is significant and worth exploring. Bill is intrigued, having worked with Farnell in Southern Rhodesia and sets off to Norway accompanied by several sinister people who suddenly appear on the scene and have an unhealthy interest in mineral exploitation on their own behalf. These include a young woman who has an emotional attachment to Farnell as well as a couple of Norwegian businessmen who have a mutual antipathy resulting from their experiences under recent German occupation.
There follows a tense voyage to an extremely unpleasant whaling station - thank God for Greenpeace. If only there were another, more plentiful and valuable natural source of oil available to the Norwegians! - where another potential threat in the shape of a whaling captain called Lovass who has an eye for the main chance and little compunction in using violence to achieve his aims.
As no one knows where Farnell found the rock there follows a race to find him - if he is still alive. There are any amount of scenes of tense men standing off from each other and talking in riddles as well as an epic ski chase across the frozen mountains before the dramatic denouement by the Bergen to Oslo railway at Finse.
This tale concerns the adventures of George Farnell, an expert and driven mineralogist who has managed to send a tantalising sample of rock to Britain from Norway (naturally concealed in a consignment of whale meat) before disappearing off the face of the earth. Bill Gansert, no stranger to exploiting valuable minerals, is about to sail his large yacht to the Mediterranean as well earned rest from his wartime exploits opening a nickel mine in Canada. Former boss, Sir Clinton Mann of Base Metals and Industries persuades Bill to change his plans and try to find his former colleague, Farnell, in order to determine whether the find is significant and worth exploring. Bill is intrigued, having worked with Farnell in Southern Rhodesia and sets off to Norway accompanied by several sinister people who suddenly appear on the scene and have an unhealthy interest in mineral exploitation on their own behalf. These include a young woman who has an emotional attachment to Farnell as well as a couple of Norwegian businessmen who have a mutual antipathy resulting from their experiences under recent German occupation.
There follows a tense voyage to an extremely unpleasant whaling station - thank God for Greenpeace. If only there were another, more plentiful and valuable natural source of oil available to the Norwegians! - where another potential threat in the shape of a whaling captain called Lovass who has an eye for the main chance and little compunction in using violence to achieve his aims.
As no one knows where Farnell found the rock there follows a race to find him - if he is still alive. There are any amount of scenes of tense men standing off from each other and talking in riddles as well as an epic ski chase across the frozen mountains before the dramatic denouement by the Bergen to Oslo railway at Finse.
September 24, 2019
The Master’s Touch
I’ve always read for adventure, to live with the characters and join them on their quest, share their ups and their downs, be a part of whatever it is they’re doing. As a guide to adventure, Hammond Innes has never let me down. This book, Blue Ice, is another in the series of adventures Innes has shared with his readers. In many cases, if not most or even every, he has himself undertaken similar adventures, if only to trace the tracks of his characters. The result is an authenticity and an immediacy to his writing; and a heightened experience for the reader, casual or otherwise. Blue Ice is one in a series of wonderful adventures, with all the twists and turns, the opening of new and wonderful vistas, that any reader could hope for.
I’ve always read for adventure, to live with the characters and join them on their quest, share their ups and their downs, be a part of whatever it is they’re doing. As a guide to adventure, Hammond Innes has never let me down. This book, Blue Ice, is another in the series of adventures Innes has shared with his readers. In many cases, if not most or even every, he has himself undertaken similar adventures, if only to trace the tracks of his characters. The result is an authenticity and an immediacy to his writing; and a heightened experience for the reader, casual or otherwise. Blue Ice is one in a series of wonderful adventures, with all the twists and turns, the opening of new and wonderful vistas, that any reader could hope for.
January 7, 2020
Innes was scrupulous in visiting every location he wrote about. Extensive travels in Norway in the late 40s yielded two novels: this, and ‘The White South’ (up soon on the reading list). ‘The Blue Ice’ starts intriguingly enough and develops into an effective chase thriller. Innes delivers one of his stock-in-trade man vs the elements set pieces in the last third, then seems to have spent his creative energies. The finale lurches from talkiness to melodrama. Still, the quality of the descriptive writing is above and beyond this type of adventure thriller, and the novel hits the marks more often that not.
May 1, 2019
Ski chases, daring train stunts, midnight grave exhumation, this book has it all! A fun, adventure thriller. What made this stand out against others was probably the attention to detail about Norway and its landscapes.
August 26, 2019
Like many of Hammond Innes books, this has a superb story line that keeps you hooked all the way through. The descriptions of the surroundings are so vivid adding atmosphere. One of my favourites of his.
January 21, 2021
Interesting plot, but the facts introduced in the first four chapters are all that is needed to predict the rest of the story. No further exhilarating information about either characters or the plot is given throughout the book.
March 16, 2024
A metallurgist sails to Norway to investigate the death of a metals mining specialist. Who to trust and where was the dead man hunting become the major problems. Short work, much action. Very typical of Innes' writing
November 23, 2019
Interesting learning about sailing and whaling in Norway. Would be a great way to see some of the country. The chase through the mountains got a bit long.
August 16, 2023
Super read
Liked the story and the way it was depicted. Very entertaining.
I would like to read more of this author.
Liked the story and the way it was depicted. Very entertaining.
I would like to read more of this author.
April 14, 2025
3.5⭐ A version of Lonely Skier but set in Norway, more exciting and picturesque. A worthy adventure story.
February 3, 2017
This book was originally published in 1948 with the story being set in the 1950s. So, today, it reads a bit like historical fiction with plenty of action and a little romance thread woven in. George Farnell, a mineralogist, disappeared 10 years ago. Now a lump of thorite and a poem in a whale meat shipment from Norway has turned up, along with news that a war hero’s body was discovered on the largest Norwegian glacier. Bill Gansert, another mineral expert, reluctantly heads to Norway to investigate the possibility of a rich thorite deposit. He’s joined by a sturdy ship crew, including his sidekick Dick Everard. Jill Summers joins the team at the last minute along with two questionable characters with murky pasts, Mr. Dahler and Mr. Jorgensen.
First, let’s address Mr. Dick Everard. I’m listening to this audiobook and every time they said his name, I had to giggle a little bit. The description of this book makes it sound like an action-packed suspense novel but then we have Everard. I wondered if the book was going to take a turn into a completely different genre, but it didn’t. No worries! This book truly is an adventure novel full of Norwegian ski escapades, whale meat, aliases, war stories, and sailing. Dick Everard truly is just a trusty sidekick and he has nothing to do with the minor romance in the novel.
Jill Summers turned out to be quite the gem in this book. At first, her being the only female character for 3/4 of the book, I expected her to be coddled by the men and placed in a minimal role as ‘love interest’. I was delightfully surprised when she had a significant role in the book. She grew up sailing, skiing, and speaking Norwegian so she gets to do everything the men do in this book. I found this awesome, especially since this was originally published in 1948.
There’s a bit of a mystery surrounding George Farnell, the mineralogist that disappeared so many years ago. Both Bill and Jill knew him and have their own ideas about his disappearance. Now a body matching his description, but under a different name, has turned up on a glacier. The thorite sample smuggled out of Norway adds a financial incentive, and this later leads to some steep competition for finding the source of that mineral sample.
The story starts off a little slow, but once Jill joins the group along with Mr. Dahler, who she knew when she was a child, things really pick up. Once the crew reaches Norway, there’s bits of Norwegian sprinkled throughout the story, which I really liked as it added to the ambiance. Perhaps it’s a bit of a taboo today, but I also found the tour of the whale factory to be interesting. It’s a suspenseful mystery that ends in a harrowing chase over a glacier. The story was so good I didn’t even mind the romance.
Narration: Jerry Farden did a really good job with this book. He never smirked when he had to say Dick Everard’s name. He did a decent job with the Norwegian accents and the bits of Norwegian. While there were few female characters, Farden’s female voices were believable.
First, let’s address Mr. Dick Everard. I’m listening to this audiobook and every time they said his name, I had to giggle a little bit. The description of this book makes it sound like an action-packed suspense novel but then we have Everard. I wondered if the book was going to take a turn into a completely different genre, but it didn’t. No worries! This book truly is an adventure novel full of Norwegian ski escapades, whale meat, aliases, war stories, and sailing. Dick Everard truly is just a trusty sidekick and he has nothing to do with the minor romance in the novel.
Jill Summers turned out to be quite the gem in this book. At first, her being the only female character for 3/4 of the book, I expected her to be coddled by the men and placed in a minimal role as ‘love interest’. I was delightfully surprised when she had a significant role in the book. She grew up sailing, skiing, and speaking Norwegian so she gets to do everything the men do in this book. I found this awesome, especially since this was originally published in 1948.
There’s a bit of a mystery surrounding George Farnell, the mineralogist that disappeared so many years ago. Both Bill and Jill knew him and have their own ideas about his disappearance. Now a body matching his description, but under a different name, has turned up on a glacier. The thorite sample smuggled out of Norway adds a financial incentive, and this later leads to some steep competition for finding the source of that mineral sample.
The story starts off a little slow, but once Jill joins the group along with Mr. Dahler, who she knew when she was a child, things really pick up. Once the crew reaches Norway, there’s bits of Norwegian sprinkled throughout the story, which I really liked as it added to the ambiance. Perhaps it’s a bit of a taboo today, but I also found the tour of the whale factory to be interesting. It’s a suspenseful mystery that ends in a harrowing chase over a glacier. The story was so good I didn’t even mind the romance.
Narration: Jerry Farden did a really good job with this book. He never smirked when he had to say Dick Everard’s name. He did a decent job with the Norwegian accents and the bits of Norwegian. While there were few female characters, Farden’s female voices were believable.
January 24, 2016
I picked this from my shelf to read, despite the 'adventure' genre not exactly being an area I am massively familiar with, because I read earlier in the week that it was a century since Hammond Innes' birth. I wasn't wholly sure what to expect, and was slightly anxious that, being written in the 1940s, it would feel dated.
But no, it wasn't awkward or dated in the expected manner. This tale of sailing and skiing and industrial espionage and adventure was slightly 'Boys Own' in places and a touch unbelievable, but the writing style was so straightforward and storytelling, it kept me utterly involved - despite my not being particularly interested in the genre. I'm not going to rush to read more Innes, but this was a decent little tale and I've certainly developed an appreciation of his oeuvre.
But no, it wasn't awkward or dated in the expected manner. This tale of sailing and skiing and industrial espionage and adventure was slightly 'Boys Own' in places and a touch unbelievable, but the writing style was so straightforward and storytelling, it kept me utterly involved - despite my not being particularly interested in the genre. I'm not going to rush to read more Innes, but this was a decent little tale and I've certainly developed an appreciation of his oeuvre.
July 17, 2015
I am so glad I picked up this book. The attention to detail is amazing, and it is obvious that the author has experienced what he is writing about. As the setting was so well described and the content so interesting I didnt realise until quite near the end that I was slightly confused as to what was really going on and that there were a couple of characters that I really didnt know very well. However, despite the slightly gory ending of one of the characters at the end, this book kept me reading because I wanted to understand what was going on. The ending I think was quite fast, but that may just be because I kept reading until I had finished!
July 25, 2021
You'll need a good map of Norway to follow this story.
Innes gives us a huge caste of characters to keep track of: George Farnell (Bernt Oldsen), Dick Evard, Wilson, Carter, Bill Gansert, Sir Clinton Mann, Pritchard, Einar Jacobsen, Kults, Williamson, Kurt Jorgensen, Vincent Clegg, Johan Ulvik, Jill Somers, Curtis Wright, Dahler, Mueller, Hans Schreuder, Paal Lovaas, Albert Kiellard, Martha Keillard, Nordchl, Alf Suende, Peer Storjohann, Einar Sanven, Halvorsen, Max Bakke, Gerda, Harald, and Olaaf Steer. I have to write them down to keep track of them.
A great tale in the Innes tradition. I you'll never fail to learn a great deal of geography reading an Innes novel.
Innes gives us a huge caste of characters to keep track of: George Farnell (Bernt Oldsen), Dick Evard, Wilson, Carter, Bill Gansert, Sir Clinton Mann, Pritchard, Einar Jacobsen, Kults, Williamson, Kurt Jorgensen, Vincent Clegg, Johan Ulvik, Jill Somers, Curtis Wright, Dahler, Mueller, Hans Schreuder, Paal Lovaas, Albert Kiellard, Martha Keillard, Nordchl, Alf Suende, Peer Storjohann, Einar Sanven, Halvorsen, Max Bakke, Gerda, Harald, and Olaaf Steer. I have to write them down to keep track of them.
A great tale in the Innes tradition. I you'll never fail to learn a great deal of geography reading an Innes novel.
August 6, 2015
A good book in parts. Chiefly the plot is clear and entices the reader to continue, however the story is slowed by periods of lucidly described scenery when in my case, a faster pace would have been appreciated.
The chief protagonists all have well developed characters and are portrayed in an interesting manner, there aren't too many to keeps tabs on either. The story reaches an exciting conclusion and I was left with the satisfaction of having read a good book.
Having read other tales from the Innes stable, I'd recommend this book to others.
The chief protagonists all have well developed characters and are portrayed in an interesting manner, there aren't too many to keeps tabs on either. The story reaches an exciting conclusion and I was left with the satisfaction of having read a good book.
Having read other tales from the Innes stable, I'd recommend this book to others.
April 13, 2012
One of my favourite writers, I'm never disappointed. He always write a gripping good story, and the reader is never disappointed.
September 25, 2013
Another great adventure novel by Hammond Innes
After I started, I couldn't put it down until finished.
After I started, I couldn't put it down until finished.
December 10, 2014
Books was not for me.
I know there are fans of this author... I just like more action.
I know there are fans of this author... I just like more action.
February 4, 2016
Third star for landscape, exertion descriptions.
January 31, 2016
Written at a time when whaling and starting a massive mine in pristine wilderness were not considered questionable activities for a "good guy". Some lovely writing, but not one of his best.
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