*Nichols,
Peter. Voyage to the North Star. Carroll & Graf. November
1999. c.352p. ISBN: 0-7867-0664-3. $24.00. Fiction.
This immensely satisfying first novel from memoirist Nichols
(Sea Change: Alone Across the Atlantic in a Wooden
Boat) begins in 1932 with wacky big-game hunter Carl
Schenck gung ho to kill “prodigious” animals in the grand manner
of Teddy Roosevelt—even if he has to mount an Arctic safari to do so—and
ends with a perilous struggle for survival in the far north. In between, Schenck,
a man who seemingly can buy anything and anyone he wants, prepares for the expedition
that will pit him against Will Boden, a former sea captain who has lost everything
dear to him—boat, wife, and reputation—and hungers only for a second
chance. Nichols spins a powerful story crammed with historical details and biting
social commentary, awe-inspiring for its knowledge of ships and the sea, deft
in its depiction of eccentric figures and harrowing events, and exhilarating
for the quality of writing and the story’s moral depth. A gripping novel
of blood lust, human folly, and desperate hope in the tradition of Melville,
Conrad, and Jack London; highly recommended for both public and academic libraries.