Geoffrey Jenkins (1920–2001)

Bruce Wetherby, a WW2 vet and environmental scientist, comes from a long line of explorers. For generations, the Wetherbys have owned a map that purports to show the location of the legendary Thompson Island in Antarctica—an island that can drive men mad in their quest to find it. Wetherby and his right-hand man, Sailhardy, fall into the clutches of one such man, Frederick Upton. Upton’s monomania is such that even his own daughter has been co-opted into his schemes. Will they all get out of Antarctica alive, and will Upton’s scheme be foiled?

I read this book on the strength of an automatic LibraryThing recommendation (I’d shelved Hunter-Killer by the same author). The edition I saw had a floatplane on the cover, and I was excited to read about floatplanes. Unfortunately, there was not enough floatplane for my liking. I did like that Upton’s daughter, Helen, was an extremely proficient helicopter pilot, though.

Overall, this was an uneven book. I liked Wetherby’s narrative voice, and I did find the struggle between him and the bad guys interesting (not to mention simply the challenges of being in the Antarctic), but the tone shifted wildly whenever Upton started talking. It was like he had wandered in from another book. He was so melodramatic that I expected to see bite marks in the corners of the pages from where he was chewing on the scenery. He was tiresome.

What was NOT tiresome, though, was the totally adorable baby seal that made an appearance toward the end. I nearly squealed out loud on the bus at that part. SOOOO CUTE.

So yes, I can’t say I really recommend this book, unless you have a high tolerance for melodramatic villains.… (meer)