Heller's Tale: an Antarctic Novella

by David Pablo Cohn

Two miles up, in the heart of an ice desert a thousand miles wide, it's now or never. Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station is more like a moon base than anything on earth, but buried deep in the ice beneath it is an even more distant and foreboding place. Andrew Heller has been never short on stories of inadvisable adventure, and tonight he has one last chance to come home with the story of a lifetime - or die trying.
"An amazing bit of GOOD South Pole fiction. If you've been there, or even THOUGHT about being there, you'll recognize a thing or two, a few of the places, perhaps some of the characters..."
- Bill Spindler, South Pole Historian, www.southpolestation.com


About the David Pablo Cohn first served with the US Antarctic Program at the South Pole Station in 2010. His fiction has drawn broad praise from armchair adventurers and seasoned Antarctic veterans alike for its gripping detailed and accurate depictions of life "on the Ice."

Genres: Thriller, Fiction, Adventure

149 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 9, 2016

About the author

David Pablo Cohn draws his stories from first-hand experience working at Silicon Valley startups, at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, on Antarctic icebreakers and as an international election observer in rural Africa. He holds a Ph.D in Computer Science and is a certificated flight instructor specializing in antique aircraft. His novella, Heller’s Tale, appeared in 2016, earning praise for its gripping and detailed depiction of life “on the Ice.” His non-fiction has been published in such diverse venues as Flight Training Magazine, The Paris Review Daily, and The Journal of Artificial Intelligence Research.

Reviews

[Daniel Milford · Rating 2 out of 5]

Det er sjelden jeg leser noe så kjedelig. Research godt over snittet, til og med kurant skrevet, men hovedpersonen er generisk, han gjør ingenting og det skjer ham ingenting.

[Clark Hallman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heller’s Tale by David Pablo Cohn (2016): This 127-page Kindle Edition (novella) was a pleasant surprise. During a scientific visit in Antarctica, one member of the group falls through a break in the ice, and becomes trapped in a frozen maze under the surface. He finds himself alone in a subterranean frozen environment without food or the equipment needed to obtain help from above or to survive in his frozen tomb. He also must endure debilitating injuries during his desperate struggle to survive as he explores possible methods of contacting his colleagues above and ways to escape before he scums to the incredible cold. He also encounters some very interesting discoveries during his disparate struggle to survive in the ice tunnels. I found this novella to be fascinating and gripping.

[Harker US Library · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heller’s Tale is a novella that follows Andrew Heller, a welder working at the South Pole, as an intended adventure with his friends goes, well, south. The details of the setting are based off Cohn’s own experience working in Antarctica and give a fantastical feeling to the story, particularly for those of us who have never actually been to Antarctica. Multiple timelines are also used to great effect by interspersing events so that they continuously build up the plot, instead of by chronology. The novella format keeps the story from dragging, while still allowing for complexity. I would recommend Heller’s Tale to anyone looking for an immersive, setting-driven story. - Amelia H. '19