The Elder Ice

by David Hambling

Ex-boxer Harry Stubbs is on the trail of a mysterious and deadly legacy in 1924 London. A polar explorer has died, leaving many debts and hints of a priceless find. His informants seem to be talking in riddles, and Harry soon finds he isn't the only one on the trail -- and what he's looking for is as lethal as it is valuable. The key to the enigma lies in an ancient Arabian book, leading to something stranger and more horrifying than Harry could ever imagine.

• ISBN10: 1291969861
• ISBN13: 9781291969863
• Publish Date: 8 August 2014
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 29 April 2015
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Lulu Press Inc
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 127
• Language: English

Reviews

[Melanie]

3.5 stars

My review and an extended sample of the audiobook are posted at Hotlistens.com.

The author contacted me about reviewing this book. I haven’t read many books like this one, as I don’t read a lot historical stories, but I do love a good mystery, so I thought I would give this one a try. My understanding is that this has a Lovecraft aura to it. As I’ve never read Lovecraft, I can’t comment on it, but seems to be a common theme from others who’ve read this work. There is also the Cthulhu mythology in the story.

Harry Stubbs is former military and boxer, turned collections agent. Here, Harry is asked to investigate the now deceased Ernest Shackleton. He is to find out what or if Shackleton found anything when he was exploring Antarctica. Stubbs gets more than he bargains for with this investigation. He is chased by assassins and more, when he was expecting just digging up information without much, if any, danger.

This is a short story, coming in at less than three hours. But it is a full and complete story, taking place in the 1920s. As I’ve said, I don’t read much historical stories, but you can really feel the research that the author did with this story. Mostly, I noticed his research into Antarctic explorations (and that of the Arctic as well), boxing and even the occult of the times. I really fell into the story and the history that went along with it. It made me want to read more about the early explorers of Antarctica.

Harry Stubbs is also a great and fully developed every-man type of character. I really liked Harry. I felt he really wanted to do a good job for his employer and better his station in life, as a guy without a huge amount of education. He wants to see this investigation thing become a bigger part of his role, instead of just being muscle to collect on debts.

If you like stories with science fiction and investigations, set in the past, this is a great story for you to try.

Narration
This is my first time with Brian J. Gill narrating a story. I thought he did a good job with the accents and different voices of the characters. He really brought Harry to life in this story. I would listen to him narrate more stories.

**I'd like to thank the author for providing me with a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.