BOOK DESCRIPTION
Alone and stranded in the Arctic wasteland, would you risk your life to save a stranger or try to get home?
Paul is a father-to-be; traumatised by his past, he's terrified of becoming a father after his own beat him until he was unilaterally deaf. While working as a freelance cameraman in the Arctic, he's caught in a blizzard, separated from his crew, and falls into a chasm. Alone, and waiting for death to come, personal demons plague his mind.
When a young native girl falls into the chasm with him, Paul must learn how to accept responsibility and what it takes to give your life for a child.
Behind FERAL SNOW:
I began writing FERAL SNOW with the idea of writing a commercial thriller. Slowly, over time, it morphed into something more though. Paul’s layers began to unravel and his true colours came to the surface. His history of abuse became so much more important than I had first intended. I fell in love with all of the characters and I’ll admit I had a tear in my eye while writing the ending.
Omg, this is a breath taking, intense thriller about the bond that develops between two strangers and their struggle for survival after they find themselves trapped in a chasm deep below the surface of the arctic wasteland. How they learn to rely on each other as they battle freezing temperatures, hypothermia, lack of food and drink,rapidly decreasing energy levels and spirits as they try to figure out a way to escape their freezing prison. At the beginning of their ordeal, the two diverse individuals had personalities that were polar opposites, the adult character Paul started off as apparently a rather weak individual,a bit of a coward who had ran away to the arctic as a way to escape from his responsibilities. But as his tragic back story was revealed it became apparent that there was reasons behind his behaviour and character traits. It was fascinating to witness how Paul's character and personality grew and evolved as the story unfolded and he faced numerous life threatening situations and decisions.
I really really loved the young girl Nanny, I thought she was a fantastic character,a fiery, gutsy, outspoken individual who had grown up in a loving home and who's childhood was the polar opposite to Paul's. She was spirited and knew how to take care of herself having grown up in the isolated wilderness and been taught how to hunt by her father. But does she have enough strength and willpower to keep Paul's spirits up and will they both survive the ultimate battle against the elements and the wilderness?
The setting for this book was a character in its own right with its own personal character traits. The contrast between the beauty of the northern lights, the ghostly silence and muffled atmosphere after a heavy snowfall, the colours caused by the sun rays reflecting off the walls of ice and the dangers that come with the freezing temperatures, wildlife and the various other threats that are prevalent to that environment.
Wow....Just wow, this is a extremely well written,fast paced, roller coaster ride that hardly gives the reader a opportunity to breath as you,Paul and Nanny are launched from one life threatening situation to another. It's a intense, thrilling page turner that is packed full of danger, had me glued to my kindle and frantically turning the pages. The secondary characters were a mixed bag of diverse, realistic individuals who each had their own unique personalities and the story that covers a wide range of emotions and issues had a heart breaking conclusion. I would love to watch a film adaptation of this outstanding debut that is worth far more than five stars and very very highly recommended. This is definitely going to be one of my favourite reads of this year.
Author’s Bio:
Mark Lowes is a former teacher, current early childhood educator, and future dad. He lives in Cardiff, Wales, UK, and is sometimes found lamenting over how awful his football team is. While he's not working with deaf children and their families, he's writing dark and twisty fiction.
His writing, so he's told, is a mix between Chuck Palahniuk Josh Malerman and Ernest Hemingway (although Mark retains, all this praise is too much too high). He loves edge-of-your-seat fiction, novels that make you think deeper about the world but will also terrify you and live the world through the protagonist, experiencing every detail. He’s a fan of description, somewhat a lost art nowadays, and has a soft spot for a dark, unreliable narrator.
You can find him on Twitter @StrugglingMJ where he would be excited to hear your views.
Mark is the winner of Litopia's Pop-Up Submissions and of a pitch contest at the Cardiff Book Festival.
Publication Date: 1st October, 2020
Format: Both e-book (£2.99) and print (£8.99), available on Amazon:
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