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A review by alliepeduto
The Arctic Fury by Greer Macallister
4.0
This is barely short of a 5 star read for me, though honestly I loved it so much I’m tempted to bump it up just because. This is absolutely everything I love about historical fiction; the author created an entirely fictional story, but based it in so much historical fact that it was believable. I could very easily imagine the real life counterparts of each of these women, even if a women-led expedition to the Arctic never happened.
This book also happened to combine some of my more obscure historical interests into a single novel, and I really appreciated that aspect. I watched a horror anthology on AMC called The Terror a few years back, and while it’s another fictional take on the real life Franklin expedition, I highly recommend watching as it captures the same feeling of isolation and hostility that comes with being so far from civilization. I also happen to be a long time student of Oregon Trail history, so much so that I physically walked a part of the remaining trail a few months ago. The fact that the author could take two completely separate historical events but match up the timelines so seamlessly is incredible to me.
Ultimately, the key between the two historical events highlighted in the novel is survival against all odds. I think reading this put my 2020 experience into a much needed perspective, and as a result I want to go back and read more of this author’s work. Also, I love reading cold weather books in a warm home!
This book also happened to combine some of my more obscure historical interests into a single novel, and I really appreciated that aspect. I watched a horror anthology on AMC called The Terror a few years back, and while it’s another fictional take on the real life Franklin expedition, I highly recommend watching as it captures the same feeling of isolation and hostility that comes with being so far from civilization. I also happen to be a long time student of Oregon Trail history, so much so that I physically walked a part of the remaining trail a few months ago. The fact that the author could take two completely separate historical events but match up the timelines so seamlessly is incredible to me.
Ultimately, the key between the two historical events highlighted in the novel is survival against all odds. I think reading this put my 2020 experience into a much needed perspective, and as a result I want to go back and read more of this author’s work. Also, I love reading cold weather books in a warm home!