The Franklin Conspiracy: An Astonishing Solution to the Lost Arctic Expedition

by Jeffrey Blair Latta, John Robert Colombo (Introduction)

The Franklin Conspiracy is an absorbing account of the single most enigmatic event in Canadian history. In 1845, two British Royal Navy ships, the Erebus and the Terror, commanded by Sir John Franklin, entered the Canadian Arctic in search of the Northwest Passage. Neither ship returned. A fifteen-year search uncovered evidence of unparalleled disaster, but to this day no one knows exactly how the 129 men of the Franklin Expedition met their deaths.

Although the expedition did not run out of food, there is clear evidence of cannibalism. The ships carried two hundred message cylinders with them, yet failed to leave records. Stranger still, an earlier explorer, Thomas Simpson, was reputedly murdered for the "secret of the Northwest Passage." What was this "secret"?

The Franklin Conspiracy is an exhaustively researched, compellingly reasoned answer to that question. The result is a shocking saga of conspiracy, cover-up, and unbelievable secrets.

Genres: Nonfiction, Adventure, History

284 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2001

Reviews

[Eric Curfman · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very well written book. The author has spent an exorbitantly amount of time on the research of this topic and is very knowledgeable. The reason I didn't rate it higher was, this topic just didn't peak my interest.

[Bettina Burger · Rating 2 out of 5]

In terms of actually convincing anyone of anything, this book does a very poor job. Questions are asked but never answered, random allusions to mysterious giants in the North and radioactive (I think??) "shaman lights" are made, but the author remains almost impressively vague about his central claim, namely that there was a conspiracy and, even more ambitious, that he will provide "an astonishing solution" to it. He simply doesn't. Not once does he actually outright state what he thinks happened, instead leaving it to the reader to make sense of what he's written between the lines.

In terms of entertainment, however, this book is hilarious, precisely because of its flaws. Behind every corner lurks a dark, ominous secret. Mysterious, unexplainable events abound, and they just have to support the author's claim of some supernatural threat haunting the Arctic. How else could you explain all this? Ghosts? Pah. Humbug. (No, seriously, at one point, the author cites a ghostly prediction as to where the Franklin expedition shall be found and then proceeds to invite his readers to laugh with him at the preposterousness of any such things as ghosts. O b v i o u s l y the only rational explanation is a conspiracy).

[ironflange · Rating 1 out of 5]

If I may, I will lift my old review from Amazon to place here. Be assured my opinion hasn't changed one iota.

Arctic X-Files

This book may appeal to fans of the above-mentioned TV show, but history buffs may want to give it a pass. What we get here is a rehashing of the Franklin story, interspersed with snippets of evidence that something supernatural is going on. Unfortunately, these very numerous bits of data are never brought together in any form, leaving it to us to read between the lines to determine what may have happened out on the ice. Fortunately, it's easy to figure out what the author is getting at. Still, he should show us the strength of his conviction and come right out with his hypothesis, instead of asking the frustrated reader to speculate on what is going on.

Each chapter is prefaced by a quote, seldom related to the chapter's content. The maps are poor.

For a more plausible, though stomach-churning, narrative on a possible cause of, or at least a negative contribution to, the Franklin disaster, I suggest "Ice Blink" by Scott Cookman.

[Mae · Rating 1 out of 5]

so much to unpack here but what annoyed me the most was the weird unrelated quotes from poetry at the start of each chapter. what the fuck does the walrus and the carpenter have to do with ANY of this? and what actually IS the conspiracy? -19 points. that is an unbelievable score

[Julia · Rating 2 out of 5]

A very long lead up to a disappointing ending.