EMPIRE OF ICE AND STONE The Disastrous and Heroic Voyage of the Karluk

Will Damron sweeps listeners onto the Arctic ice with the shipwrecked crew of the Canadian KARLUK. The beautiful and cruel freezing-cold world has slim margins for survival. The emotional roller-coaster ride that Damron expertly recounts ranges from a joyful Christmas feast and high-spirited Olympic games on the ice to the grueling hardship of sled treks to find land. Starvation is a constant threat. The astonishing fecklessness of expedition leader Vilhjalmur Stefansson, who abandons the crew early on, is clearly heard. Damron's subtle pacing manages the tension perfectly as toes are lost to frostbite and people die. But the gritty captain, Bob Bartlett, and Inuit hunter Kataktovik travel hundreds of miles to Alaska to orchestrate a rescue. A.B. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine [Published: MARCH 2023]