I’m looking for book recommendations that capture the arctic or nautical vibe, especially with a focus on gritty survival, horror, and moral gray areas.
Some examples of the tone I’m after:
- The Terror (Season 2)
- The Pale Beyond (video game)
- Frostpunk
I’m really into stories with:
- Harsh environments (cold, isolated, sea-based)
- Horror elements (psychological, supernatural, or just bleak realism)
- Themes of doing what you have to do to survive
- Paranoia, betrayal, and emotional or mental breakdowns under pressure
by Oppor_Tuna_Tea
5 Comments
“Into The Drowning Deep” by Mira Grant since you’re open to supernatural elements
Maybe also “What the Woods Took” by Courtney Gould for paranoia and psychological / supernatural horror elements. That one takes place in the woods on the wilderness, it gets cold but doesn’t freeze
*Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage* by Alfred Lansing.
Jack London wrote a short story called, “To Build a Fire”. If I recall, it is about a miner during the Alaska gold rush. As the man journeys through the harsh, frozen wilderness, the temperature plunges to around −75 °F (−59 °C). He falls through ice, soaking his feet and lower legs, and stuggles to survive. It’ a powerful story. If you like it, go on and read his classics, “The Call of the Wild” and “White Fang” – also based in the Alaska during the gold rush.
A Woman in the Polar Night by Christiane Ritter
Maybe *Ice Hunt* by James Rollins (set in an abandoned arctic submarine outpost), *Dendera* by Yuya Sato (set on a wintry mountain), *Camp Zero* by Michelle Sterling Min (set in a future settlement in frozen Northern Canada after climate disaster)