Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Realm of Ice and Sky:
Safety was NOT a priority.
Quick synopsis:
The story of three different airship expeditions to the North Pole.
Fact for Non-History People:
The North Pole averages -40 degrees in the winter. It’s the same in Fahrenheit and Celsius so don’t at me.
Fact for History Nerds:
Explorer S.A. Andree and two crewmembers tried to reach the North Pole in a balloon (emphatically NOT an airship) in 1897. It went as well as you would expect.
My Take on Realm of Ice and Sky:
An airship in the Arctic? What could go wrong? The answer is so, so much. Quite frankly, not nearly as much as I expected, though. As an avid reader of anything about the Arctic, I knew I would enjoy Buddy Levy’s latest, Realm of Ice and Sky. Adventure and survival stories are Levy’s sweet spot, and I was not disappointed.
Levy tells the story of three different Arctic campaigns aimed at the North Pole. My only wish is that I knew nothing about all three before I started reading. I was aware of the Italia disaster and Roald Amundsen’s trip to the pole. However, I knew nothing about their predecessor, Walter Wellman. The three stories are captivating, and they work best when sitting in front of a fire otherwise you may catch a chill.
Levy is one of those authors I can recommend to anyone. Yes, this is non-fiction and history, but Levy is the master of just telling the dang story and getting on with it. While I would have loved a book twice the size, Levy knows not everyone needs to know the listing of the stores taken on each expedition. The people and their survival is all that matters. The story tells itself. Levy is just the (very well qualified) tour guide.
(This book was provided as an advance copy by Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press.)
Verdict:
Simply amazing. Buy it here!
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