After getting caught for his dishonest tales of adventure, Guy decides to embark on a spur of the moment journey to the Arctic Floe. There he recruits Simeonie, a local Inuit and well respected guide. It’s the wrong time of year to be travelling out to the Floe, but Guy is adamant. And so begins the fateful journey and the eventual demise of Guy’s lifeline — Simeonie.
Stranded on an ice floe with very little provisions, Guy struggles to survive. He is unprepared and ill equipped to endure the wilderness where the Land of the Midnight Sun blurs the lines between day and night.
As Guy struggles with sleep deprivation, he also begins to hallucinate — imagining that the creatures of the Arctic can communicate with him. Can Guy survive long enough to be rescued? And will his survival mean that he returns to civilization unscathed?
Compass is Murray Lee’s debut novel. While it may not resonate with some, I found Compass to be one of the “sleepers” that creep up on you and hook you in.
The characters are well developed and there is enough banter to get a feel for the dry sense of humor that occurs among them. I for one enjoyed the character of Simeonie. I could just envision his deadpan expressions, which made me snicker the whole time he existed in the story. I didn’t particularly care for Guy as I did not like his arrogant and self-serving attitude. But hey, if you can love or hate a character in a novel, that’s a good thing.
The plot flows at a slower pace that what I’m accustomed to. But that’s probably the result of building a foreboding environment and developing a sense of doom.
Compass is definitely a novel for those readers that enjoy general fiction with a spash of cultural interest and adventure. Four stars.
I received a physical ARC from Publerati through Bookish First. The review herein is completely my own and contains my honest thoughts and opinions.
Stranded on an ice floe with very little provisions, Guy struggles to survive. He is unprepared and ill equipped to endure the wilderness where the Land of the Midnight Sun blurs the lines between day and night.
As Guy struggles with sleep deprivation, he also begins to hallucinate — imagining that the creatures of the Arctic can communicate with him. Can Guy survive long enough to be rescued? And will his survival mean that he returns to civilization unscathed?
Compass is Murray Lee’s debut novel. While it may not resonate with some, I found Compass to be one of the “sleepers” that creep up on you and hook you in.
The characters are well developed and there is enough banter to get a feel for the dry sense of humor that occurs among them. I for one enjoyed the character of Simeonie. I could just envision his deadpan expressions, which made me snicker the whole time he existed in the story. I didn’t particularly care for Guy as I did not like his arrogant and self-serving attitude. But hey, if you can love or hate a character in a novel, that’s a good thing.
The plot flows at a slower pace that what I’m accustomed to. But that’s probably the result of building a foreboding environment and developing a sense of doom.
Compass is definitely a novel for those readers that enjoy general fiction with a spash of cultural interest and adventure. Four stars.
I received a physical ARC from Publerati through Bookish First. The review herein is completely my own and contains my honest thoughts and opinions.