Icefall Zero

by Brian John

"Brian John weaves his icy web of intrigue set in the vast tundra arctic wastes of Greenland, where the Cold War like permafrost lurks unseen yet ever present…" "Most enjoyable! Brian John gives a new meaning to Cold War.." "A brutal, blokeish novel set in the unforgiving frozen expanses of Greenland. The attention to detail is brilliant..." "A wonderful, intriguing, spellbinding book." "The denouement in the final scene was priceless."   This is a chiller thriller set in the majestic fjord landscape of East Greenland in 1962, during the Cold War, when both sides played it dirty and where "collateral damage" was deemed quite acceptable -- at least by those who made the decisions. ========== The members of a scientific expedition get caught up in a series of grotesque experiments, orchestrated from a remote mountain called Himmelbjerg. The local Greenlanders are upset because they are excluded from their normal hunting areas. As the death toll mounts, the explorers realise that an implacable enemy will not allow any of them to survive. At that point they decide to stop cooperating, and get angry............ The central character is Joe Horton, botanist, harmonica player, and ex-Marine discharged from the service under mysterious circumstances. Among his specialisms (when not collecting plant specimens) are Arctic survival, armed combat and sabotage. This is a fast-moving novel set in a magnificent yet deadly polar environment. It is also an inspiring story of comradeship and survival against overwhelming odds. It is also an allegory, for it deals with the historic power struggle between east and west, and as the story rushes towards its climax we witness the Twilight of the Gods. The Background The ideas underpinning this story date back to 1962, when the author led a university expedition to East Greenland. Some of the events in the narrative are based on real events, and the landscape is real too -- with the exception of some changed place names. This is a truly exotic location for a story. It's not a landscape dominated by snow and ice, but by vibrant colours. What one experiences as a visitor are the sights and sounds of a largely ice-free region referred to as The Arctic Riviera -- with an unexpectedly warm, dry summer climate and abundant wildlife. Something Spooky When the author was digging for information needed to give the novel its authenticity, he came across a faded and declassified US document published by the Environmental Protection Research Division in October 1961. It showed that the East Greenland coast was being taken very seriously by the US military, and that they wanted to know EVERYTHING about it........ And so, presumably, did the Soviet Union. The scenario portrayed in this story is eerily close to the real-life situation of the day. Not much changes -- and in the midst of a climate crisis the global powers are all showing renewed interest in Greenland. Fact and Fantasy Brian John Ever since my time in Greenland in 1962, I've been mulling over the theme for this novel. So here it is. Why now? Well, most people know little about the Cold War. There are still international tensions, and lessons to be learned. And the global conspiracy at the heart of the novel is close enough to the truth to make us all uncomfortable. As for the key characters in the story, they are not based on my colleagues from 1962! Well, maybe just a little bit...... This is not a straight-line narrative with a single hero and a group of bit players.

290 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 18, 2020

About the author

Brian John (born 1940) is the author of the historical-fiction series Angel Mountain Saga (8 volumes).

Brian was born in Carmarthen, Wales. He studied at Haverfordwest Grammar School and at Jesus College, Oxford, where he read Geography from 1959 to 1962 and went on to obtain a D Phil for a study of the Ice Age in Wales. He worked as a field scientist in Antarctica and spent eleven years as a Geography Lecturer in Durham University. He has travelled widely in the Arctic, Antarctic and Scandinavia. Since 1977 he has made his living as a writer and publisher.

Brian is also actively involved in environmental and community organizations; in 1980 he founded the West Wales Eco Centre in Newport and is one of the leaders of the community group "GM Free Cymru." He is the author of a number of articles and more than 80 books, including university texts, walking guides, coffee table glossies, and books of popular science. His Glaciers and Landscape (written with David Sugden), a university textbook, remained in print as a geomorphology classic for almost 30 years. He also writes on topics of local interest related to Wales: tourist guides, books of local jokes, walkers’ handbooks, and titles on local folklore and traditions.

In recent years Brian has done radio and TV work, and was featured in the BBC TV programme called "The Man from Angel Mountain". His children's book entitled "The Strange Affair of the Ethiopian Treasure Chest"was voted by children as the Gold Award winner in the 2012 Wishing Shelf Book Awards. His most recent novel is "Acts of God", published in November 2014. It is Cold War "chiller" set in East Greenland.