Lots of people had warned me away from this book, but after reading it, I couldn't understand why. As far as I'm concerned it's got just about everything I'd want... starting with a creepy, mystery. Then there's the forbidden romance intertwined with everything, and finally an absolutely wonderful adventure story.

Like Johnston's earlier novel, The Colony of Unrequited Dreams, this book interposes fictional characters with real people from history. So not only do you get an absolutely readable book, you also get to learn a lot about the history of polar exploration.