Michael Wilde is a journalist that has seen his world collapse. His girlfriend Kristen is in a coma after a tragic accident for which Michael feels at least in part, responsible. His editor, Joe Gillespie offers him an assignment in Point Adelie, a research station at the South Pole. Michael recognizes that as tragic as his life seems to be, this assignment represents a once in a lifetime opportunity and a significant coup over his rival at Eco-Travel Magazine.

After a harrowing trip to the research station, Michael begins to adapt to life in an unforgiving climate where the sun never sets though it does little to warm the body. He takes every photo opportunity to heart and is delighted when Darryl Hirsch, a scientist studying so called ice fish which live deep in Antarctic waters, asks him to accompany him on a deep water dive.

The dive is even more exciting than Michael could have imagined. While Darryl is attending to his fish, Michael is pursuing chances to document what he is seeing with his underwater camera. He encounters what he believes is a woman trapped in a block of ice. At first he thinks his mind is playing tricks on him, and they must return to the surface so there is no time for a closer inspection. He does convince the scientists in charge that he was not hallucinating, and they agree on a second dive to hopefully retrieve the block of ice with its imprisoned “sleeping beauty.”

Author Masello develops a second story which takes place in the mid nineteenth century. In this tale, British soldiers are preparing for war in Crimea. Lieutenant Sinclair Copley, together with his friends Rutherford and Le Maitre, are part of the 17th Lancers on their way to the Crimea to fight the Russians. All three hold a romantic notion of war. The reality of just getting to the Crimea in a sailing ship overloaded with men and horses hits them hard. Soon all three men have been seriously wounded and taken to makeshift hospitals where the sanitation is negligible. Nurses and doctors are at a premium. Sinclair almost believes himself to be dreaming when he sees Eleanor Ames, a young lady he had met back in England. They soon form an attachment but both are gravely affected by the rigors or war, both mentally and physically. Eventually the two stories merge with predictably upsetting consequences.

Plot takes precedence over character development as the action races to the conclusion. The setting provides a venue for additional reader edification. The utter extremely cold conditions at Point Adelie forces one to pause and wonder how life could exist in such a place. The stark difference from what the average American encounters in his daily life is mind boggling. Yet the beings that have learn to adapt to such a life are remarkable, not just the species that exist there in the wild, but the researchers as well.

While the plot is straightforward and predictable, with the added suspension of disbelief that is required through the science fiction connection it is possible to imagine oneself in an analogous situation and consider other possible human reactions. The world Masello is imagining is not that far from reality, and frightening in its closeness. Blood and Ice is highly recommended.

--Andy Plonka