Beyond Cape Horn: Travels in the Antarctic

by Charles Neider

Writer and Antarctic explorer Neider tells of his third trip to the frozen continent, describing the international stations there and the goals they are working toward. Neider also tours the Antarctic landscape, observing the geography and wildlife and evoking it in detail. Devoting scrutiny to the international treaties that protect the continent politically and environmentally, Neider reveals how important those treaties are. Also included in this work are interviews with Antarctic pioneers Sir Charles Wright, Sir Vivian Fuchs, and Laurence Gould.

Paperback

First published January 1, 1980

About the author

Charles Neider was an American writer, known for editing the Autobiography of Mark Twain and authoring literary impressions of Antarctica.

Reviews

[Francisco Azevedo · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was a solid story, if one were to write a synopsis, and the world was fairly interesting even if its unique characteristics hovered between trope and gimmick. It felt like a mish-mash of old and new fantasy tropes.
A shame it wasn't very fun to read.
Knowing how the story would end - something that was telegraphed by a prophecy in the first pages - made the proceedings seem much less important than they could have been. As a reader, I was unwaveringly led to a foregone conclusion, no matter how dramatic the twists and events were made to seem.
There were glimpses of gritty realism and relatable character moments and dialogue, which seemed almost out of place. Maybe it was a symptom of having three authors. Actually, this may be the best description of what it was like to read the book: there were moments where I connected with a story or a character, but they were so rare it only made me yearn for what could have been.