This is the debut novel of Australian author Robyn Mundy set at Davis station in Antarctica where the author has both wintered and summered. The novel is a contemporary story of Australian photographer Freya who has gone to Antarctica to create a series of images inspired by Frank Hurley’s pictures from an earlier generation, but also to escape a controlling marriage. The novel shifts between Freya’s story and a retelling of the 1912 expedition of Douglas Mawson with excerpts from his diary and the sweet correspondence with his long-suffering fiancé Paquita Delprat. Obviously there are links between the two storylines, although the heated cabin, chocolate-eating, quad-bike riding life of the contemporary characters seemed a far cry from Douglas’ life with the sled-dogs, eating pemmican and trying not to freeze in his Burberrys.

The contemporary story gives insight into life at the station, some vivid descriptions of the beautiful wildness of Antarctica and introduces us to other inhabitants of the station. There is the bubbly weather reporter Kittie, sleazy carpenter Adam Singer and Antarctic veteran Chad.

On the other hand this book felt very vanilla to me and I struggled to engage with the characters. It was slow moving except for the tension later in Mawson’s story when his very survival was hanging by a thread. The romantic elements weren’t particularly convincing or fleshed out. The book was written as the author’s phD in creative writing which possibly explains the somewhat stilted nature of it. 3 stars for me. ( )

Excellent book to read during a heatwave - much about Antarctica, Mawson history, station life, and of course photography of ice landscapes. ( )

Sorry Robyn Mundy, I don't like giving 1 star reviews but this was a book I couldn't finish. I really enjoyed the descriptions of the Antarctic, the photography, and dynamics between team members. I just felt like I could tell where the story was going, it plodded on the way, and I didn't want to keep up. I hope you keep writing as I'm sure people will enjoy this story, it just wasn't for me. ( )

Freya Jorgensen is on her way to Antarctica. She has obtained a grant to produce a photographic expedition of Antarctica, incorporating not only her own pictures that she will take while there, but also the pictures taken by her 'hero' Frank Hurley, a photographer on one of the first expeditions to Antarctica.

But this story is not Freya's alone, as Freya is forced to share her time and her experiences in Antarctica with Chad McGonigal. And it is their story together that allows Freya to explore the intriguing and mysterious landscape of Antarctica while exploring her own nature. Out on the ice, in a harsh and revealing land, Freya is forced to see herself as she truly is, a side of her that has been hidden deep within her.

This story also mixes history with the present. Freya is not the only one to find a true understanding her own nature, and the importance of love reflected in the ice. Douglas Mawson, who explored the Antarctic about a hundred years before Freya steps foot there, also learns the revealing and raw nature of ice.

The story of Douglas and his men, including the photographer Frank Hurly, and his relationship with them and those he has left back home, his fiance Paquita, is interwoven throughout Freya's story highlighting the impact the Antarctic has had on the human spirit and undying belief in love.

The Nature Of ice is a story well worth reading. As it chops and changes from the past to the present, it offers an interesting and touching perspective on friendship, hope and love, and the nature of ice which is as strong and fragile as the enduring nature of the human spirit. Although slow to get into, due to the constant chopping and changing from the past to the present and between present characters, it would not be as deep a story without the connection with the past. However, I think it would have been a bit better had it focused more on the single present character of Freya . ( )