The Surfacing by Cormac James

We start with the colour of mud and mustard – streams running through the white-out of the icy universe in which we encounter The Impetus for the first time. The Admiralty ship is on a voyage of discovery, searching for Franklin’s lost 1895 expedition. With a plan to navigate the last uncharted Northwest Passage in the Canadian Arctic, Franklin’s expedition was beset with death and difficulty before becoming ice-bound. He and his crew of more than 100 men were never heard from again.

Cormac James’ The Surfacing fictionalises the real-life search for Franklin’s missing expedition. Influenced by a hefty finder's reward, many people took on the challenge and in James’ novel, we find Morgan, second-in-command, dealing with a wayward captain and impossible task. On board we discover that stowed away is Morgan’s pregnant lover, about to give birth to their son. Too late to return to port and civilisation, the baby will be born in a world of men and of extreme peril; from this arena James’ novel charts the pressure bearing down on Morgan. The ice, the weather, a mother and baby are closing in on the crew and the atmosphere is one of both claustrophobia and, in the end, of hope. ‘The sun’ says Morgan ‘every day gets closer.’ [Sacha Waldron]