The Winter Over

The Winter Over by Matthew Iden
Published by Thomas & Mercer
Ebook
Expected publication 1 February 2017
354 pages
Kindle First

Connect with the author WHAT'S IT'S ABOUT

Each winter the crew at the Shackleton South Pole Research Facility faces nine months of isolation, round-the-clock darkness, and one of the most extreme climates on the planet. For thirty-something mechanical engineer Cass Jennings, Antarctica offers an opportunity to finally escape the guilt of her troubled past and to rebuild her life.

But the death of a colleague triggers a series of mysterious incidents that push Cass and the rest of the forty-four-person crew to the limits of their sanity and endurance. Confined and cut off from the outside world, will they work together or turn against one another? As the tension escalates, Cass must find the strength to survive not only a punishing landscape but also an unrelenting menace determined to destroy the station-and everyone in it.

OPENING

The woman's arms were spread wide, open to the world, as though she were asking for a hug or just starting a snow angel.

WHAT I THOUGHT

The Winter Over ended up being much better than I expected. The book is quite slow at first and I wasn't very enamoured with it for the first 20-25%. I didn't dislike it but I was getting this so-so feeling. And then what happened? Well things went bug-shit crazy and my jaw still hasn't recover from the number of times it bounced off the floor. The tension really builds as things spiral more and more out of control. This happened and things get intense and more stuff happens and the tension builds and builds leaving madness and chaos in its wake. The concept behind the real reason certain people were selected for the winter over is not the most original but is executed really well. The characters are very good in The Winter Over. They are just the right mix of people to get caught up in chaos. I thought the ending was good and events on the base play out really well. The Winter Over is not a brilliant novel but it is a very good one.

I'm thirty-five years old and live in Glasgow in the UK with my partner of ten years. I work in a support team for a call centre. I like reading especially Joyce Carol Oates and Stephen King. I write fiction and poetry. I enjoy watching TV (Grimm, Torchwood, Doctor Who, Lip Service, The L Word etc). I like to play video games and am a fan of survival horror especially the Silent Hill franchise. I like to watch movies especially horror and anything where someone dies. View all posts by pamelascott30