Ice Ghosts cover art

Ice Ghosts

The Epic Hunt for the Lost Franklin Expedition

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Ice Ghosts

By: Paul Watson
Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner
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About this listen

Ice Ghosts weaves together the epic story of the Lost Franklin Expedition of 1845 - whose two ships and crew of 129 were lost to the Arctic ice - with the modern tale of the scientists, divers, and local Inuit behind the incredible discovery of the flagship's wreck in 2014.

Paul Watson, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who was on the icebreaker that led the discovery expedition, tells a fast-paced historical adventure story: Sir John Franklin and the crew of the HMS Erebus and Terror setting off in search of the fabled Northwest Passage, the hazards they encountered, the reasons they were forced to abandon ship hundreds of miles from the nearest outpost of Western civilization, and the decades of searching that turned up only rumors of cannibalism and a few scattered papers and bones - until a combination of faith in Inuit lore and the latest science yielded a discovery for the ages.

©2017 Paul Watson (P)2017 Blackstone Audio, Inc.
Arctic & Antarctica Expeditions & Discoveries Expedition Polar Region Transportation Discovery
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What listeners say about Ice Ghosts

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    4 out of 5 stars

interesting, tails off towards the end

The reading is mostly good, beyond the odd mispronunciation - surprisingly of British words; as far as I can tell he reads the Inuit names well, which is nice.

The story itself starts off fairly gripping, if a little florid at times. You occasionally get an odd mix of American exceptionalism with British Imperialism when talking about these 'brave men' who obviously did some pretty foolhardy, arrogant things. Yet the treatment of the Inuit who encountered Franklin's men and preserved their memories seems fairly sensitive.

I would have liked more detail about the archaeological finds and what they told us about these people's last days. We're told they likely turned to cannibalism, for example, but not how we know. I kept expecting to get deeper into that towards the end, but the text is really more concerned with the searchers than what the searches turned up. we learn a lot about the man who collected and preserved the Inuit oral tradition, but not very much about what the elders said. even if it's unconfirmed, I would have liked to hear those stories more than the chapter on the history of archaeological scuba diving.

Also, rounders is not a type of cricket, lol.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Erebus and terror

love the subject matter really interesting book liked the way the book went up to modern times and really enjoyed it!

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    5 out of 5 stars
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epic struggle and mystery

i was told a brief story by my dad and i have now listened to this story 7 times start to finish. safe to say im tad obsessed.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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outstanding book

I've read a few books on the lost Franklin Expedition and the subsequent searches for it, and have to say that this is the best one yet. superbly researched and concise where it matters, this is an enthralling piece of work. highly recommended for those interested in the iron men in wooden ships.

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    3 out of 5 stars

good but could do with some fat being trimmed

very engaging and interesting, but suffers at points from going off on tangents that don't feel particularly relevant to the story of Franklin or the hunt for his ships.

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Loved it

Enjoyed every minute. Gave a good history of the expedition but also Inuit history and Canadian politics. Really really enjoyed it

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Heartbreaking, wonderful history.

Loved every single second of this book. Wonderful, heartbreaking, joyous, amazing, courageous , I could go on and on for ever. History at its utmost best. I cried when HMS Terror and Erebus were found.
If you have even the smallest interest in arctic exploration or naval history this is the book for you. You will never regret it.

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a hidden gem

so much detail and such an engaging reader. this is a remarkable book. highly recommended

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Fantastically written

I found this so interesting and the way the different stages of the story were interwoven was very clever

Best yet, it was free!

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Worth a listen

Better than expected. Highly detailed and at times a bit off the plot, but overall much better than expected. This was offered as a free listen, glad I stuck it out

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