Reviewed by Patricia Simms-Reeve
The sweltering days of Summer will lose their impact while reading The Chilling. The graphic descriptions of Antarctic conditions which threaten the very survival of a group of scientists and academics were so striking that I had to seize a woolly jacket while reading it!
Riley James has captured the cruel conditions so vividly that they feature as large as some of the characters. The long dark nights, even in summer, the blizzards with their fiercely howling gales, the frightening sounds of moving cracking ice and the privations of that isolated existence provide an ideal backdrop to a thriller.
Kit is a scientist with a background in dentistry. She is there for the study of seals’ teeth. Her data will give vital insights into the state and quantity of the ice as the seals often break through it in order to breathe. She emerges as levelheaded, reliable and dedicated to her work. Early on she realises that, not only the physical health of the colony of people stationed there is key, but their emotional and psychological state as well. As time passes and challenges confront them, this gains critical significance.
The specially equipped Southern Star deposited Kit and her colleagues at Macpherson base. Not long after, a fire and heavy smoke is seen some distance away. They realise it is The Petrel, another research vessel.
At this stage, the novel has two plots with the crews of the two ships confronting dramatic situations that call for courage and resourcefulness.
Attempts are made to rescue the stricken crew members and appear to have failed until the determined Kit finds one badly injured survivor. The plight of the remaining crew is a mystery. Through clever investigation they discover his identity. He is Nick Coltheart, a geophysicist. He is an enigmatic character who raises suspicions from many of the Southern Star group. His amnesia complicates this as it is impossible to learn the circumstances surrounding the catastrophe.
There follows a sequence of events that make this such a gripping read. Kit has, by now, mixed feelings towards Nick. He is a charismatic man and the unraveling puzzle adds to an already complex situation.
As the days and then weeks drag by, the ordeal of the struggling Petrel crew becomes more harrowing and it seems, hopeless….
Life at the Base sinks into desperate stakes as sickness, depression and the effects of their daily grind to survive take their toll. The gloom is lifted by small gestures that lighten their lives. There are activities, the bar, and Stay. He is a fibre glass dog, the kind that is common in shops to collect for the blind. Selfies are taken with Stay, in a string of hilarious scenarios.
Speed reading is useful at this stage as it becomes increasingly gripping and the drive to learn the outcome takes over. This makes The Chilling a thrilling and enjoyable treat.
Riley James is a Melbournian, but grew up in Tasmania. This is her first novel. She writes with such convincing clarity that one supposes she has spent weeks, even months in Antarctica. The characters are real and dimensional, particularly Kit and Nick.
This is a splendid example of a group isolated – by location and work, and the resulting changes in their dynamic. Within its pages, she has created a really thrilling and original novel that is difficult to put down.
The Chilling
[2024]
by Riley James
Allen and Unwin
ISBN 978 176147 087 5
$32.99; 336pp