'Cold Earth' - Sarah Moss

[bookgazing]

I am always convinced I don’t really care for ghost stories, but then: ‘Ooo, ghosts involved in the world wars’; ‘Ghosts in the Arctic!’; ‘Vampires turned into ghosts – now that is just cool’. I seem to be lying to myself, although I’ve absolutely no idea why. At least my lies don’t seem to be getting between me and a good story as I’ve just finished another interesting book about people affected by ghosts; ‘Cold Earth’ by Sarah Moss.

Last year I read ‘Dark Matter’ by Michelle Paver a novel about a scientific expedition to the Arctic that is plagued by misfortune and ghosts. ‘Dark Matter’ was a hit around the blogging world and I may have liked it a teeny bit (Jack and Gus <3 *mopes*). Readers looking for something similar might want to try picking up ‘Cold Earth’ as it revolves around a contemporary scientific expedition that becomes stranded in an area of Greenland which is possibly plagued by ghosts. Six students journey to Greenland on an archaeological visit to excavate a Norse site. Just as they arrive at their camp, a new virus has begun to claim a few lives in their home countries but concern is not yet high enough to prevent them travelling. This added SF twist later (predictably) provides a means for the book to further isolate its characters and knock up its plots tension so even if ghosts aren’t your thing, as it appears they so clearly are mine, perhaps the introduction of an SF conceit into a fantasy novel about scientific methods will pique your SFFnal curiosity.

( Spoilers about ghosts and death )

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