Maite R. Ochotorena
An ice desert
Thriller
Synopsis
Discover a gripping eco-thriller that explores human ambition and its environmental impact.
The body of geologist Björg Stutgard has been found at the Norwegian scientific base Nytt Håp in Antarctica. His naked body was laid in the snow, with a gaping wound running from his sternum to his pubis. In addition, the word "Kripos" was crudely scrawled across his abdomen.
In San Sebastián, Mikel Ibarra, a former criminal investigator, works as a guide for the scientists at the Norwegian base and as a diver for a company he co-owns, which is trying to patent a submersible suit capable of reaching abyssal depths.
His life takes a dramatic turn when Erika Oblyakov, an agent with Kripos—the Norwegian criminal investigation agency—contacts him to offer him a position investigating Stutgard's murder. With The Messenger of the Forest, where nature reclaimed its rightful place, Maite R. Ochotorena inaugurated the ecothriller genre. Now, with A Desert of Ice, she guides us to the depths of the ocean and the cold, violent landscapes of Antarctica, with a clear message of denunciation about how human ambition can destroy the future of our planet.
An addictive novel. Much more than a thriller.
Darkness is not the only thing that dwells in the frozen night.
How this novel and its protagonist, Mikel Ibarra, came about
After writing "The Messenger of the Forest", I still had things left to say. What's happening to the oceans, to the ice, to our world, remains at the forefront of my thoughts: the melting glaciers, the loss of habitat in the Arctic for so many species, humanity's ambition precisely in these natural sanctuaries, and how there are hardly any corners left that we haven't reached through our practices in the name of progress or as a consequence of it.
It was a documentary by the Bardem brothers, "Sanctuary," that prompted me to write something about Antarctica.
Mikel Ibarra stems from my own fear of death, of losing everything, of leaving before my time, and from my love of life, and how important it is for me to defend it. This novel deals with life as something very fragile that deserves to be protected. We should pay more attention to it, value it, be aware of how precious it is: a miracle in the midst of a hostile universe.
Mikel, along with Erika, embodies that defense of life, that resistance to losing everything, and at the same time that vulnerability, the anger, the helplessness, when your opportunities are taken away and what is undoubtedly a gift is trampled on.
Lo que dicen los lectores...
LB
«Me ha gustado mucho el modo en que la autora ha sabido entrelazar un thriller apasionante con la crítica social y medioambiental.»
Anónimo
«No conocía a esta autora y me ha sorprendido gratamente. Ecología, misterio, novela negra, psicología… una mezcla bien hilada y fascinante de leer. Gracias, he pasado un tiempo increíble sumergida el las páginas de este libro.»
Lucho
«Una novela muy bien escrita. De lo mejorcito que he leído en los últimos años. Te mantiene en vilo desde que empieza hasta que acaba, Sientes el intenso frío de la Antártida. Tiemblas de miedo al leerla.»