The North Water

I am particularly drawn to stories about early adventures at sea. 

Life on a whaling ship was difficult and bred all manner of contemptible acts by the crew. When the journey was ill-fated, like the one in this book, it pointed the spotlight directly on the tainted core of ship life. 

This book introduced the greedy side of the 1800s whaling industry and told the story surrounding the doomed whaling ship and the ship’s drug-addicted surgeon. It presented the raw side of humanity and what lengths desperate men resort to in order to survive. It was shades of whaling seamen… show more.

A claustrophobic 19th-century voyage into the heart of darkness on a whaling ship bound for the Arctic. On board is a killer, a disgraced doctor with a laudanum addiction, and a captain complicit with a planned insurance fraud. A classic struggle between Good and Evil ensues. I read another of MacGuire’s books immediately after I finished this one; I was that impressed.   

A 19th-century whaling ship sets sail for the Arctic with a killer aboard in this dark, sharp, and highly original novel. In Henry Drax, we have one of the most twisted antagonists in historical fiction. First-class writing and exemplary research, this is an authentic trip into the heart of darkness. A novel free of sentimentality.