The Gnome King reviewed Ice ghosts by Paul Watson
Review of 'Ice ghosts' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
One of the things that separates us humans from the animals is our stubbornness. That stubbornness is at the heart of this 150 yr old mystery. The British Navy sent ship after ship into the Artic to hunt for a shortcut to the Pacific, a brand new trade route. The problem was all that ice, the ships that went there could end up stuck in the ice for years or as with the Franklin expedition they might not come back at all. Makes me think what was the point, if they found a route it would only be useable briefly every few years. The stubbornness is there again with those who dedicate their life to find the wrecks or at least some small clue as to their whereabouts.
Another thing that separates us from the animals is our arrogance. Again and again those in charge of sending out the expedition …
One of the things that separates us humans from the animals is our stubbornness. That stubbornness is at the heart of this 150 yr old mystery. The British Navy sent ship after ship into the Artic to hunt for a shortcut to the Pacific, a brand new trade route. The problem was all that ice, the ships that went there could end up stuck in the ice for years or as with the Franklin expedition they might not come back at all. Makes me think what was the point, if they found a route it would only be useable briefly every few years. The stubbornness is there again with those who dedicate their life to find the wrecks or at least some small clue as to their whereabouts.
Another thing that separates us from the animals is our arrogance. Again and again those in charge of sending out the expedition would ignore advice/warnings/assistance of those they considered beneath them. If only they had taken the Inuit seriously then all of this mystery could have been wrapped years go.
The writing in this book is spot on, it feels like a fictional historical mystery, which is a good thing as it makes it easy for the reader to get wrapped up in the story and it's amazing characters. It is written chronologically from Franklin wanting to lead the expedition to it becoming doomed, then it continues with the hunt and how the science and technology developed to assist with that hunt, right up to the discovery of the ships.
The research seems to be spot on from what my google searches showed me and the icing on the cakes was the amazing maps at the beginning of the book, especially the map showing the locations of various finds.
If there is any kind of treasure hunter in you then pick up this book and have a read.
Blog review is here> felcherman.wordpress.com/2018/05/26/ice-ghosts-the-epic-hunt-for-the-lost-franklin-expedition-by-paul-watson/
