Ice’s End

Description

“Ice’s End is a compelling read, offering a chilling look at a bleak future starved of resources that feels frighteningly plausible.”
—Mike Lucibella, former editor of the Antarctic Sun

“P. Finian Reilly is a fresh new voice in sci-fi—Ice’s End is a deeply researched historical novel from the age of Antarctic exploration and an imaginative view of our harsh climate future on the harshest continent on Earth. From glacier mining to water credits to secret missions, Reilly twists today’s climate crisis into a future environmental thriller. Through it all, he maintains suspense, humor, and plenty of heart. Ice’s End is a propulsive read that responds to our times.”
—Adrian Horton, arts writer for Guardian US

“P. Finian Reilly’s Ice’s End plunges readers into Antarctica’s icy secrets, ones that may hold the key to the survival of a planet whose drinking water supply has nearly run dry. Its propulsive plot brings the cautionary tales of early Antarctic exploration into a futuristic world whose power-hungry entrepreneurs have learned too little from the past. A page-turner from the get-go, with a sense of urgency that resonates in a warming world.”
—Gwen Florio, award-winning author of the Lola Wicks and Nora Best mysteries and Silent Hearts

A deadly place. A dying planet. A secret frozen in time.

Set in a starkly plausible near future, “Ice’s End” is a literary climate fiction novel that explores water scarcity, corporate overreach, and ecological legacy through a dual-timeline narrative. In 2123, Roscoe Slake is sent to Antarctica to intern for Spigot, a regional water company operating under the influence of StarCross Corporation. His assignment in the archives seems like a bureaucratic dead end—until he uncovers the logbooks of the 19th-century Ross Antarctic Expedition.

What the expedition discovered beneath the ice could hold the key to Earth’s survival—or its collapse.

Blending speculative fiction with historical mystery, “Ice’s End” examines what happens when environmental desperation meets unchecked power. With themes of survival, memory, and moral reckoning, the novel will resonate with readers of “Blackfish City” and “The Overstory” alike.