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Isvik
Rough notes, discovered on the body of a glaciologist whose plane had gone down in the waters of the South Atlantic, launch an expedition bent on recovering an ancient ship whose ghostly image the glaciologist had seen.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1991
37 people are currently reading
112 people want to read
About the author
Hammond Innes
105 books107 followersRalph Hammond Innes was an English novelist who wrote over 30 novels, as well as children's and travel books.He was awarded a C.B.E. (Commander, Order of the British Empire) in 1978. The World Mystery Convention honoured Innes with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Bouchercon XXIV awards in Omaha, Nebraska, Oct, 1993.
Innes was born in Horsham, Sussex, and educated at the Cranbrook School in Kent. He left in 1931 to work as a journalist, initially with the Financial Times (at the time called the Financial News). The Doppelganger, his first novel, was published in 1937. In WWII he served in the Royal Artillery, eventually rising to the rank of Major. During the war, a number of his books were published, including Wreckers Must Breathe (1940), The Trojan Horse (1941) and Attack Alarm (1941); the last of which was based on his experiences as an anti-aircraft gunner during the Battle of Britain at RAF Kenley. After being discharged in 1946, he worked full-time as a writer, achieving a number of early successes.
His novels are notable for a fine attention to accurate detail in descriptions of places, such as in Air Bridge (1951), set partially at RAF Gatow, RAF Membury after its closure and RAF Wunstorf during the Berlin Airlift.
Innes went on to produce books in a regular sequence, with six months of travel and research followed by six months of writing. Many of his works featured events at sea. His output decreased in the 1960s, but was still substantial. He became interested in ecological themes. He continued writing until just before his death. His last novel was Delta Connection (1996).
Unusually for the thriller genre, Innes' protagonists were often not "heroes" in the typical sense, but ordinary men suddenly thrust into extreme situations by circumstance. Often, this involved being placed in a hostile environment (the Arctic, the open sea, deserts), or unwittingly becoming involved in a larger conflict or conspiracy. The protagonist generally is forced to rely on his own wits and making best use of limited resources, rather than the weapons and gadgetry commonly used by thriller writers.
Four of his early novels were made into films: Snowbound (1948)from The Lonely Skier (1947), Hell Below Zero (1954) from The White South (1949), Campbell's Kingdom (1957), and The Wreck of the Mary Deare (1959). His 1973 novel Golden Soak was adapted into a six-part television series in 1979.
Innes was born in Horsham, Sussex, and educated at the Cranbrook School in Kent. He left in 1931 to work as a journalist, initially with the Financial Times (at the time called the Financial News). The Doppelganger, his first novel, was published in 1937. In WWII he served in the Royal Artillery, eventually rising to the rank of Major. During the war, a number of his books were published, including Wreckers Must Breathe (1940), The Trojan Horse (1941) and Attack Alarm (1941); the last of which was based on his experiences as an anti-aircraft gunner during the Battle of Britain at RAF Kenley. After being discharged in 1946, he worked full-time as a writer, achieving a number of early successes.
His novels are notable for a fine attention to accurate detail in descriptions of places, such as in Air Bridge (1951), set partially at RAF Gatow, RAF Membury after its closure and RAF Wunstorf during the Berlin Airlift.
Innes went on to produce books in a regular sequence, with six months of travel and research followed by six months of writing. Many of his works featured events at sea. His output decreased in the 1960s, but was still substantial. He became interested in ecological themes. He continued writing until just before his death. His last novel was Delta Connection (1996).
Unusually for the thriller genre, Innes' protagonists were often not "heroes" in the typical sense, but ordinary men suddenly thrust into extreme situations by circumstance. Often, this involved being placed in a hostile environment (the Arctic, the open sea, deserts), or unwittingly becoming involved in a larger conflict or conspiracy. The protagonist generally is forced to rely on his own wits and making best use of limited resources, rather than the weapons and gadgetry commonly used by thriller writers.
Four of his early novels were made into films: Snowbound (1948)from The Lonely Skier (1947), Hell Below Zero (1954) from The White South (1949), Campbell's Kingdom (1957), and The Wreck of the Mary Deare (1959). His 1973 novel Golden Soak was adapted into a six-part television series in 1979.
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
June 24, 2024
It's not that Isvik is formulaic. It's not. But it is also a somewhat tired story. One of Innes' later works, Isvik almost seems to be the product of someone who is writing out of habit. Some of his old thrills are still there: the trip through the Andes and the voyage to the Weddell Sea. But the interaction among the characters is stale. And that is one thing early Innes used to be good at. For an adventure novelist, he nonetheless invested in character revelations that were meaningful in novels such as The Wreck of the Mary Deare, The Strange Land, The Strode Venturer, Solomons Seal, and Levkas Man. Here, things are superficial. Were that it balanced with a fast paced plot, you might forgive Innes. But he falls down on that score, too, as Isvik tends to slowly plod through events at times. Still, it's better than 90 percent of adventure fare out there. Just disappointing in comparison with Innes' earlier works.
And a note about the nautical detail in this novel. I do admire Innes for continually providing such overwhelming authenticity to his sea novels through the intricate descriptions of life at sea, especially aboard sailing vessels. Not since Herman Melville have I encountered quite this degree of nautical phrases, terms, and practices. But he does so without alienating the reader who might not be familiar with all the terminology. (It helps, by the way, to have a Kindle in this day and age to read books like this. For most of my reading life, I would read in bed and keep a portable dictionary right above my head for just such instances of technical phrases and terms that so dominates an Innes book. But a Kindle makes that information available at the touch of a finger, now. Much easier to access.)
And a note about the nautical detail in this novel. I do admire Innes for continually providing such overwhelming authenticity to his sea novels through the intricate descriptions of life at sea, especially aboard sailing vessels. Not since Herman Melville have I encountered quite this degree of nautical phrases, terms, and practices. But he does so without alienating the reader who might not be familiar with all the terminology. (It helps, by the way, to have a Kindle in this day and age to read books like this. For most of my reading life, I would read in bed and keep a portable dictionary right above my head for just such instances of technical phrases and terms that so dominates an Innes book. But a Kindle makes that information available at the touch of a finger, now. Much easier to access.)
February 19, 2023
This is a real page turner.
An old wooden ship is trapped in the Antarctic ice. It set sail from Argentina to the Falkland Islands two years after the war between the UK and Argentina was over. Why was this, what was the plan, and how did it end up embedded in the ice in Antarctica?
The only problem I have with this book is that almost all of the people have serious character flaws. There are many antagonists and only one protagonist. I don't like and can't relate to any of the characters as likeable or normal human beings.
The main antagonist is called Iain Ward who speaks many languages, has pots of money, and has a claw instead of a hand. He's the financier of the trip of the Isvik from Punta Arenas in Chile to the icy wastes of the Antarctic. We know nothing of this character's background other than he tries to dominate every situation he finds himself in. He claims at various times to be a pools winer, road haulier, and an old Etonian, so you're never quite sure what he is. There's no explanation at the end of the book as he suddenly leaves the boat in the middle of the ocean via helicopter.
The narrator is Peter Kettil who is an expert on sails and wood preservation. Peter relates everyone else's conversations really well but doesn't say that much himself. Other characters are Australian married deckhands, a Norwegian engineer, plus three South Americans of unknown parentage who may or may not be brothers / sisters / cousins. One of these South Americans is the wife of a British glaciologist who saw the boat they're searching for in the ice before his plane crashed and he was killed.
There's a lot of unknowns floating around in the background of most of the story and this causes some distractions as I read, hence I can only give this book 4 stars.
An old wooden ship is trapped in the Antarctic ice. It set sail from Argentina to the Falkland Islands two years after the war between the UK and Argentina was over. Why was this, what was the plan, and how did it end up embedded in the ice in Antarctica?
The only problem I have with this book is that almost all of the people have serious character flaws. There are many antagonists and only one protagonist. I don't like and can't relate to any of the characters as likeable or normal human beings.
The main antagonist is called Iain Ward who speaks many languages, has pots of money, and has a claw instead of a hand. He's the financier of the trip of the Isvik from Punta Arenas in Chile to the icy wastes of the Antarctic. We know nothing of this character's background other than he tries to dominate every situation he finds himself in. He claims at various times to be a pools winer, road haulier, and an old Etonian, so you're never quite sure what he is. There's no explanation at the end of the book as he suddenly leaves the boat in the middle of the ocean via helicopter.
The narrator is Peter Kettil who is an expert on sails and wood preservation. Peter relates everyone else's conversations really well but doesn't say that much himself. Other characters are Australian married deckhands, a Norwegian engineer, plus three South Americans of unknown parentage who may or may not be brothers / sisters / cousins. One of these South Americans is the wife of a British glaciologist who saw the boat they're searching for in the ice before his plane crashed and he was killed.
There's a lot of unknowns floating around in the background of most of the story and this causes some distractions as I read, hence I can only give this book 4 stars.
February 10, 2013
Isvik by Hammond Innes is an action novel which follows the main character Pete, who is an ordinary man from East Anglia who has a great deal of knowledge about boats, as he agrees to participate in a quest to recover a legendary ship abandoned in the Antarctic. The mission is backed by a mysterious Scotsman named Iain Ward and as the mission progresses mysteries revolving around the ship and the team appear to surface.
Although there was plenty of action throughout the story and the premise was really interesting, I found the beginning seemed to drag quite a bit. I thought that the relationships between some of the major characters was not clearly explained and I found myself really confused in a few places. I was also quite confused by the characters' motivations for a lot of their actions, including why some of them embarked on the mission in the first place and that some of the major events that happened early on in the novel seemed to have very little consequences later in the novel. I also found it quite difficult to warm to most of the characters.
The novel did pick up a lot towards the end as things were explained a bit more clearly and the plot became more interesting. However it took me a while to get to that point because I didn't feel particularly pulled in at the beginning and didn't have a lot of motivation to keep reading. I didn't think this novel was bad at all and I think it's fine if you just want a paperback for a bit of light reading, perhaps on holiday, but it's unlikely that I'll be reading it again in a hurry.
Although there was plenty of action throughout the story and the premise was really interesting, I found the beginning seemed to drag quite a bit. I thought that the relationships between some of the major characters was not clearly explained and I found myself really confused in a few places. I was also quite confused by the characters' motivations for a lot of their actions, including why some of them embarked on the mission in the first place and that some of the major events that happened early on in the novel seemed to have very little consequences later in the novel. I also found it quite difficult to warm to most of the characters.
The novel did pick up a lot towards the end as things were explained a bit more clearly and the plot became more interesting. However it took me a while to get to that point because I didn't feel particularly pulled in at the beginning and didn't have a lot of motivation to keep reading. I didn't think this novel was bad at all and I think it's fine if you just want a paperback for a bit of light reading, perhaps on holiday, but it's unlikely that I'll be reading it again in a hurry.
April 30, 2014
I’m not sure what prompted me to read this book as it’s not a subject or genre to which I’m normally drawn. I didn't particularly care for the book but not because of anything to do with the book itself or the author as much as it was just not my cup of tea.
I don’t normally restate a synopsis of the books I read as that is readily found summarized here on Good Reads however there isn't a synopsis here so I’ll just give a short one.
A wood preservation specialist joins an expedition to the Antarctic to recover an ancient ship spotted and recorded by a glaciologist moments before his plane crashes and he dies. The dead man’s widow, a mysterious Scotsman and the rest of the crew run into many problems, none so pressing as locating the ship or even proving that the ship exists in the first place. Secrets and ghastly truths are revealed as the journey progresses and concludes in the depths of the frozen Atlantic.
I don’t normally restate a synopsis of the books I read as that is readily found summarized here on Good Reads however there isn't a synopsis here so I’ll just give a short one.
A wood preservation specialist joins an expedition to the Antarctic to recover an ancient ship spotted and recorded by a glaciologist moments before his plane crashes and he dies. The dead man’s widow, a mysterious Scotsman and the rest of the crew run into many problems, none so pressing as locating the ship or even proving that the ship exists in the first place. Secrets and ghastly truths are revealed as the journey progresses and concludes in the depths of the frozen Atlantic.
December 6, 2023
A thriller with a fairly ordinary anti-hero as narrator, placed in the extraordinary circumstances of the Antarctic in the aftermath of the 1982 Falklands War. The details of sailing reminded me of the early spy novel The Riddle of the Sands. Indeed, in many ways this is also a spy novel, but quite what Iain Ward is or who he is spying for is only hinted at rather than revealed. That character is one of the devices that drives the plot and maintains the tension as a quest unfolds whose purpose only becomes clear in the final pages. Some of the aspects of the story seem a little contrived, but I still found it an enjoyable and engrossing read.
May 13, 2023
DNF. 44%. Not what I was expecting... The plot, twists and motivations make absolutely zero sense and by the time I got the the ridiculous incest stuff I was done.
Here's a good spoiler-filled summary that'll save you from the frustration of reading this odd creature:
https://astrofella.wordpress.com/2016...
Here's a good spoiler-filled summary that'll save you from the frustration of reading this odd creature:
https://astrofella.wordpress.com/2016...
April 3, 2012
I've never read a Hammond Innes book until I picked this one up second-hand. I really enjoyed it.
A scientist has caught a glimpse of a sailing ship trapped in the Antarctic ice. There is some doubt as to whether he really saw something or was deluded, but several people have reasons to want it to be true and to try and locate the ship. The main character, Peter Kettil, is involved because he is a timber treatment expert who knows about sailing.
The Isvik is the ship that sets off to find whatever the scientist saw. With a mismatched crew with opposing intentions, the journey is made for trouble. And when they reach journey's end they find something much worse than they expected.
The tale moves quickly from Norfolk through South America and on to the Weddell Sea. There are plenty of incidents and the characters face a range of dangers and problems.
I found it a quick and easy read and throughout I wanted to know what came next.
A scientist has caught a glimpse of a sailing ship trapped in the Antarctic ice. There is some doubt as to whether he really saw something or was deluded, but several people have reasons to want it to be true and to try and locate the ship. The main character, Peter Kettil, is involved because he is a timber treatment expert who knows about sailing.
The Isvik is the ship that sets off to find whatever the scientist saw. With a mismatched crew with opposing intentions, the journey is made for trouble. And when they reach journey's end they find something much worse than they expected.
The tale moves quickly from Norfolk through South America and on to the Weddell Sea. There are plenty of incidents and the characters face a range of dangers and problems.
I found it a quick and easy read and throughout I wanted to know what came next.
October 27, 2008
A compelling read, with plenty of surprises. The ending was a little abrupt, though, I felt like at least another chapter could have been added to make it clear what happened to those last few loose ends. But extremely well written, and highly enjoyable.
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November 5, 2010Good book
October 17, 2013
Gripping tale.
August 9, 2015
Search for an icebound sailing ship in the Antarctic.
June 19, 2018
Mr Innes is an old favourite of mine. Not many write better sea stories than him, nor create more interesting characters.
May 14, 2023
I recently read Isvik by Hammond Innes, and I have to say that I did not enjoy the book. The plot building was slow, the character development was weak, and the details were overly descriptive and tedious. I only read the book at my husband’s request who have been working offshore for more than a decade. He loves the stories of Hammon Innes which are mostly based on arctic exploration.
The story is about a young geologist named Tony, who is sent to Norway to find the source of a mysterious black substance that has been polluting the ocean. Along the way, he meets a local woman named Karin, who helps him in his quest to uncover the truth.
The plot building was very slow, and it took almost half the book to get to the main conflict. Once the conflict was introduced, it was resolved rather quickly and in a predictable manner. Even though the main point of the story is supposed to be the journey on Isvik. It takes literally 55% of the book to get to that point.
The character development was weak, and I found it hard to connect with the main character, Tony. We don't get to know him very well, and he seems rather one-dimensional. Karin, on the other hand, was a bit more interesting, but still lacked depth.
The speciality of the book lies in the descriptions of the Norwegian landscape and culture. Innes does an excellent job of bringing the setting to life, and the details are quite interesting. But, unfortunately, the overly descriptive nature of the book made it tedious to read at times.
One quote that stood out to me was, "For this was the land of the midnight sun, and the night was only a brief intermission between days." This quote captures the essence of Norway and its unique environment.
Overall, I did not enjoy the book Isvik. The slow plot building, weak character development, and overly descriptive details made it difficult to get through. However, my husband, who has been working offshore for more than a decade, is a great fan of Hammond Innes' adventure stories, and he enjoyed it very much.
The story is about a young geologist named Tony, who is sent to Norway to find the source of a mysterious black substance that has been polluting the ocean. Along the way, he meets a local woman named Karin, who helps him in his quest to uncover the truth.
The plot building was very slow, and it took almost half the book to get to the main conflict. Once the conflict was introduced, it was resolved rather quickly and in a predictable manner. Even though the main point of the story is supposed to be the journey on Isvik. It takes literally 55% of the book to get to that point.
The character development was weak, and I found it hard to connect with the main character, Tony. We don't get to know him very well, and he seems rather one-dimensional. Karin, on the other hand, was a bit more interesting, but still lacked depth.
The speciality of the book lies in the descriptions of the Norwegian landscape and culture. Innes does an excellent job of bringing the setting to life, and the details are quite interesting. But, unfortunately, the overly descriptive nature of the book made it tedious to read at times.
One quote that stood out to me was, "For this was the land of the midnight sun, and the night was only a brief intermission between days." This quote captures the essence of Norway and its unique environment.
Overall, I did not enjoy the book Isvik. The slow plot building, weak character development, and overly descriptive details made it difficult to get through. However, my husband, who has been working offshore for more than a decade, is a great fan of Hammond Innes' adventure stories, and he enjoyed it very much.
December 30, 2022
Pretty good read...
Years ago I read the "Wreck of the Mary Deare" and enjoyed it. It was different than I expected but it was a very good story that kept my attention. Based on that book I tried "Isvik" without the same success.
This story is very detailed with sailing terms and abbreviations which were basically unintelligible to me. I know bow from stern and port from starboard but that's it. There were also constant referrals to Force 3, Force 5, Force 7 winds (for examples and there were others) and I finally had to look up what each term really meant.
Looking past all of the above, it was a good story with solid characters and mostly kept my interest but the difficulties with the sailing info. and the basic differences between the "Queens English" and American English made this a harder than normal read.
Years ago I read the "Wreck of the Mary Deare" and enjoyed it. It was different than I expected but it was a very good story that kept my attention. Based on that book I tried "Isvik" without the same success.
This story is very detailed with sailing terms and abbreviations which were basically unintelligible to me. I know bow from stern and port from starboard but that's it. There were also constant referrals to Force 3, Force 5, Force 7 winds (for examples and there were others) and I finally had to look up what each term really meant.
Looking past all of the above, it was a good story with solid characters and mostly kept my interest but the difficulties with the sailing info. and the basic differences between the "Queens English" and American English made this a harder than normal read.
April 21, 2022
I grew up reading the novels of Hammond Innes late at night (and Nevil Shute and Victor Canning and C. S. Forester), so to find one that I hadn't read at a library book sale was a great experience. Set mainly in the far southern seas and the approaches to Antarctica, it is a very food adventure novel featuring the sea, storms, murder, and the hunt for a lost frigate.
July 18, 2019
This was a good book, a bit dated but good. The plot takes a bit to get going and the last third of the novel is a little slow. It does have a satisfying conclusion and it was worth the time spent. A decent read.
January 1, 2020
Excellent characterisation; complex and intriguing story which can be difficult to follow. Innes writes with depth and descriptive prowess, but some of the complex sailing terminology will no doubt scare people away.
July 31, 2021
What a journey!!
Well written,difficult to put book down! Interesting travels and descriptions of S.A.
The trek to ice shelf was daring and scary!
Must read for those that Hearn to trave! But for whatever reasons unable to do so!
Well written,difficult to put book down! Interesting travels and descriptions of S.A.
The trek to ice shelf was daring and scary!
Must read for those that Hearn to trave! But for whatever reasons unable to do so!
March 4, 2018
I love this type of adventure story, quite complex but very credible set in the post Falklands war era.
November 12, 2019
Thought there were a very gaps in the plot towards the end...
August 23, 2020
This book is set in South America....getting ready for an Antarctic expedition. Slow start, but lits of intrigue. Slightly dated...
February 6, 2025
Couldn't get into this at all. It is about an expedition to the Antarctic to find a ghost ship, but it just didn't hold my interest, and the expedition hadn't even started yet. Not my cup of tea.
November 12, 2020
Isvik is a strange novel with many fine qualities and many disappointments.
The plot is original, it's the early 90's and an expedition is planned to search for a wooden ship spotted from a plane minutes before it crashes in Antarctica. The widowed wife of one of the plane's passengers is the driving force behind the journey to find this mysterious ship entombed in the ice.
The novel is written from the perspective of Pete Kettil, a rather bland young man who is one of the least interesting characters. The really engaging protagonist is the Glaswegian millionaire backer of the project, Iain Ward, who Innes really fleshes out nicely as a strong willed and eccentric rogue.
The pacing is a bit off with the middle of the book a little slow despite some nice globe trotting featuring amongst other places London, Mexico City, Peru and southern Chile.
The final voyage, on the titled Isvik is, like all Innes books is well researched and exciting but I'm not convinced that the story is plausible enough or engaging enough to totally satisfy the reader. There are also some truly outdated and inappropriate views which might prove distracting.
All in, for fans of sea voyages and Innes' work, a good read, but sadly this should have been much better than it turned out.
Innes' next novel, Target Antarctica continues the story and introduces some new characters.
The plot is original, it's the early 90's and an expedition is planned to search for a wooden ship spotted from a plane minutes before it crashes in Antarctica. The widowed wife of one of the plane's passengers is the driving force behind the journey to find this mysterious ship entombed in the ice.
The novel is written from the perspective of Pete Kettil, a rather bland young man who is one of the least interesting characters. The really engaging protagonist is the Glaswegian millionaire backer of the project, Iain Ward, who Innes really fleshes out nicely as a strong willed and eccentric rogue.
The pacing is a bit off with the middle of the book a little slow despite some nice globe trotting featuring amongst other places London, Mexico City, Peru and southern Chile.
The final voyage, on the titled Isvik is, like all Innes books is well researched and exciting but I'm not convinced that the story is plausible enough or engaging enough to totally satisfy the reader. There are also some truly outdated and inappropriate views which might prove distracting.
All in, for fans of sea voyages and Innes' work, a good read, but sadly this should have been much better than it turned out.
Innes' next novel, Target Antarctica continues the story and introduces some new characters.
August 4, 2022
Hammond Innes delivers
Nice to read a “new” Hammond Innes, great to be able to get them for Kindle. I love his distinctive style and rhythm. Just can’t quite give this one 5 stars.
Nice to read a “new” Hammond Innes, great to be able to get them for Kindle. I love his distinctive style and rhythm. Just can’t quite give this one 5 stars.
November 8, 2025
This is not an easy read. There’s quite a lot of terminology having to do with sailing ships that can keep you busy looking up words, which ruins the sense of forward motion in the tale.
Most characters are not likeable. The protagonist isn’t emotionally compelling. He’s fine, just not anything more than that, which is not much to bear the weight of a novel.
Still, this is an interesting enough story. The setting is more interesting than the characters. Two stars for what’s good, but if a friend asked if they should read it, I’d tell them they could do better.
Most characters are not likeable. The protagonist isn’t emotionally compelling. He’s fine, just not anything more than that, which is not much to bear the weight of a novel.
Still, this is an interesting enough story. The setting is more interesting than the characters. Two stars for what’s good, but if a friend asked if they should read it, I’d tell them they could do better.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews