Polar Night

by Clive McAlpin

Stranded on the ice, the cold will be the least of their worries…

A stand-alone novel of survival on the Antarctic sea ice

Britt is an eco-warrior fleeing public disgrace on social media. Jun is a damaged former navigator seeking a new world of solitude. Abbie is a teenager sent to the ends of the earth by her parents. When their tourist ship is unexpectedly frozen into the Antarctic sea ice as the month-long polar night begins, it seems all they must do is settle in and wait for rescue.

But when events force them onto the ice, they must journey across shifting floes and evade the terrifying unknown enemies who stalk them: enemies who seem invulnerable to cold, exhaustion and fear.
Will they survive long enough to uncover the truth?

Genres: Horror

354 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 11, 2022

Reviews

[Catriona Lovett · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Aurora Borealis Above, an Undying Enemy Below

This thriller took off immediately and I never really caught my breath. It's an exciting, original story; a science fiction horror novel with a giant helping of survival porn ala mode. It's got polar exploration, marine animal rescue, environmental disaster, romance, and a coming of age story wrapped up neatly in a fabulous reading experience.

Though Clive McAlpin's storyline is like an unstoppable, soul-shivering avalanche, the main characters kept me riveted. Britt, so maligned and unappreciated, is the kind of heroine who keeps her head down, has zero swagger, yet is still the one everyone ultimately expects to lead them out of catastrophe. In her, young Abbie has a terrific role model for surviving this overwhelming ordeal, but she brings some unexpected skills of her own. And Jun, with his mutilated limb and scarred heart, always feels inadequate as he steps forward to save others, again and again.

However, the bone-freezing cold of Antarctica is the most impactful actor in the story. In its natural state, it's a looming death sentence. With accelerated climate change, no one knows what previously inert hazards will be uncovered as the ice thaws. These adventurers found a shocking threat we should pray is only imagined by the author.

In a few instances, it would have been helpful to include translations of the foreign phrases used in the book, but I was able to figure them out using online resources and context. Frankly, looking things up made my reading even more interesting.

I'm grateful for the free advanced review copy of Polar Night courtesy of the author, Hawksburn Press, and BookSirens. My endorsement is from the heart, however, not out of any obligation. This is a great read!

[Tawny Molina · Rating 5 out of 5]

So I am going to begin by saying that there is nothing quite like a good monster story. Particularly one that looks at how monstrous people can be as well as whatever is going bump in the night. Polar Night creates a frightening environment because of both the strange eldritch horrors that await the cast of characters, and how those around them are handling the conflict.

Polar Night has a large cast of characters, though given the horrific nature of the story you do not get to attached to most of them. The ones you do, well it has been some time since I have loved a book that put characters through so much torture. Particularly ones I enjoy. Sadly, even my favorite character suffered an unfortunate loss, leaving me mildly annoyed but still unable to put the story down. This is always a sign of an excellent writer.

The story of Polar Night is fantastic. And while not every question is answered, this fits well with the story, as we don’t always get answers we want, anyway. Sometimes it’s fun to wonder what exactly something was. And you do wonder what the horrors the characters deal with really are.

Polar Night is a fantastic novel that I suggest you pick up. I will be reading it again some time soon I am sure.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Linda Abbott · Rating 5 out of 5]

A trip to the Antarctica, during the winter, what can go wrong? Britt and Abbie are both are on this doomed voyage. After a week, the ship gets stuck in ice, then it gets frozen into the sea itself. Being out of radio reception/broken radio, they are unable to call for help. After being stranded for a few days, they are attacked. Who or what could possibly attack them when they are stuck in the frozen sea?

Snuggle up in a nice warm blanket, and have some nice hot cocoa while you read this book!

The author really brought the characters alive. You really feel like you really know Britt and Abbie as real people!

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Icy-Cobwebs-Crossing-SpaceTime · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adored everything about this novel. I love Antarctica-fact and Fiction-about as much as Space and here is Implacable Horror, Gore, Ice and Snow and unbearable Cold, plus Lovecraftian Cosmic Terror and 1980 Soviet Antarctic Exploration and "oh-what-did-the-Soviets-excavate?" and impossible Implacable creatures and space/time manipulation, plus great character evolution and LGBT+ rep in a gentle, subtle, honest and heartbreaking fashion. I love it.
[Reading this Antarctic novel in the third week of the Russian Aggression into Ukraine made the interweaving of 1980 Soviet politics and its brutality particularly vivid.

[Janet · Rating 2 out of 5]

This story was great in regards to the plot, the action, and the characters; however, the editing is in great need of revising. There are glaring errors that are so simple to correct, the use of wrong words, misspelled words, and punctuation out of place. I really loved the story and felt connected to the characters but this seriously needs to be re-edited, the author should either take the time to correct these mistakes or pay someone to do so. Great story but horribly edited!

[Steve · Rating 3 out of 5]

This Book Lives Up to Its Amazon Hype — It is a SciFi Survival Thriller. Just not a very good one …

This “thriller” gets off to a pretty slow and boring start, and it gave me serious considerations to chucking the book and finding a better story to read.

But, if The Readers hang in there, the plot soon gets better (well, if you consider 1/5 of the way through the story “soon”).

Unfortunately, even then, the writing is a bit jumbled and leaves The Reader’s minds spinning, trying to figure out what The Author is trying to say. And, his Chapter Titles are similarly confusing … there’s a character named ‘Jun’, and another ‘April’ — and since The Author SOMETIMES embeds date spans in his Chapter Titles, and at other times a character’s name — The Reader doesn’t know if ‘10 April’ means chapter 10 during April, or is focusing on the April character (and similarly with ‘Jun(e)’) … ugh!

Finally, The Author has a problem with what I call 10-million-dollar words — it’s as if he felt a need every couple of pages, to find an obscure word to describe some every day event. Subsequently, The Reader needs to resort to a dictionary, just to try and understand what The Author is trying to say. Books should not be like this, and while learning a new word or two is nice — it’s not a good strategy when The Author simply has a superiority complex, wanting to show off his brain power … this just doesn’t help the rest of us.

Overall, I’d have to say the last 3/4 of this book was better than its first 25% … it was not well laid-out, though, and was sometimes difficult to keep the characters straight, let alone their motivations for being in the situation The Author has created.

[Sentinelle23 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Note 4,5/5.

🌌💜💙❄A mysterious and very original thriller !

Seen from the airport, the city of Ushuaia seemed so small, as if delicately placed between two mountains.

Britt was lost in thought as she surveyed the surrounding landscape.

She was going to embark on a boat incognito for another trip, this time to Antarctica...

-------------
A mysterious, captivating, original, believable, slightly esoteric thriller, with touching, varied and interesting characters.

I particularly liked the enthusiastic and funny young character of Abbie, as well as the humble and discreet character of Britt.

We can project ourselves personally without any problem in this intriguing timeless story.
However, I had a little trouble reading the author's technical and subtle writing.
Certain expressions or certain words were untranslatable.
I hope one day to be able to read a translation of this thriller...

A must read for fans of the genre.
🌌💜💙❄

[jeremy dierst · Rating 4 out of 5]

For reading this author for the first time, it was not a bad start out of the gate. The scene description and research really put the reader in the moment and location. The storyline moves along at a pretty good pace and is easy to follow. The character development and backstories are just enough for the reader to attach to but not be overwhelmed with useless information. I look forward to reading more from this author.

I received an advanced review copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Leigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

A genuine page turner with relatable and sympathetic characters, a foreboding atmosphere and otherworldly horrors. The writing brings Antarctica to life so that it acts as a cold, beautiful and unforgiving character in its own right. Throw in some commentary on the perils of social media and climate change and you have a story that keeps you reading late into the night, and lying awake in existential terror long after that!

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the perfect time to read this...trapped in a sweltering heat wave. I've always been drawn to anything set in polar regions, both fiction and non-fiction. Not only is Polar Night a fantastic monster/sci-fi thriller, but it is also jam-packed with Antarctic scientific information. I learned all sorts of new vocabulary describing different types of ice...who knew? This book was a perfect escape for me with a plot that kept me turning the pages instead of doing anything else.

[the-thrill-seeking-chick]

This book was not bad but too many characters ruined it for me.
I don’t read only one book. I read lots of books at a time and it’s hard to keep up with so many characters.
So I had to Dnf.

I liked the character Abbie’s emails to her friend.
This book definitely is an adventure ride if anyone wants one.

[Michael J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think the story was well written and it was very entertaining. However, on a personal note I don't enjoy when multiple characters are presented in the first person; but that's just me. It's a slow start but engaging, I recommend. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Myra McCulloch · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thriller of the sci-fi kind. Well written and entertaining
Nail biting, bit scary and a page turner.

Thank you for the opportunity to read your book

[Mai · Rating 3 out of 5]

3++. Not at all what I expected - beyond technically being set in Antartica. Not quite my cup of tea, but well written and held my interest!

[Sam Harper · Rating 4 out of 5]

Slow burner, but well worth the wait when the story gets going.

[Barbara C Meadors · Rating 4 out of 5]

Red Ice

Good story, kept your interest. Very bloody and a bit too scary. Story leaves a few things unexplained. Just what is the force that leaves behind all the blood and death?