Dead Men [Hardcover]

One hundred years ago, Robert Falcon Scott and four other men left the other members of the Terra Nova expedition to Antarctica and set out to claim the South Pole. When they arrived there on 19 January 1912, they discovered that the Norwegian explorer Roald Admundsen had beaten them to it by a mere matter of days. Neither Scott, Wilson, Bowers, Oates or Evans survived the arduous trek back to their comrades.

A century later in London, a young artist Birdie Bowers, named by her parents in honour of their famous and tragic relative Henry `Birdie' Bowers, is obsessed with finding the tent in which the frozen remains of Scott, Bowers and Wilson were discovered and buried a short time after their deaths. The tent was located just eleven miles from a food depot. Birdie believes that the answer to the mystery of why Scott couldn't reach this safety lies buried in the ice with him. His diary and those of the other men had been rescued but they didn't provide the answers Birdie seeks, just tantalising glimpses of five men descending into their fate.

Adam Caird is the man who has fallen in love with Birdie, a woman he has taken upon himself to rescue and love and so escort to the other side of the world. Neither of them were looking for love and both find it difficult to speak its language but, as they prepare for their expedition to the South Pole, they learn as much about each other as they do about the men they are trying to find. When they finally reach Antarctica and face true isolation and real danger, they realise how impossible it would be to survive without the other.

For life, love, fear and death are the themes of Dead Men. Removed from society and civilisation, in the white out of a snow storm and with the threat of six months of frigid darkness, Scott and his men, as well as Birdie and Adam, have to face something quite primeval about their existence and place in the world.

Dead Men contains several voices. In large part, we have the present tense first person narrative of Adam, revealing to us his feelings for the younger and extraordinary Birdie as well as his increasing fascination for Scott and his men. The only distraction for me were Adam's frequent tears. In addition to his story we have pieces from the past, told in third person, as we observe the discoverers of the remains of Scott, the other men of the Terra Nova expedition waiting for rescue from the ice, Roald Admunson, Scott's wife and so on. This variety of perspectives, times and continents provides a rich depth for the mystery.

There is also another presence at work here and it's the one that exerts the pull on the lives and fate of the men who explore this ice wasteland as well as those of the people left behind or follow in their footsteps.

Dead Men grips in more ways than one. It is a historical puzzle but it is also a polar adventure, a love story, a horror story and a ghostly tale. It challenges the conventions of what one can expect from a historical mystery - Dead Men is not an action thriller nor is it a conventional romance. It is, however, poetically told and I was as moved by it as, at times, I was frightened. It's a gentle, relatively short and well-written tale focusing on characters past and present with whom we quickly become involved. We many not know much about the previous life of our narrator, Adam, or too many details about the men from the past such as Cherry but the quality of the prose means we know all we need to with a skilful brevity.

Dead Men is a debut novel by Richard Pierce and it is an excellent one. His meticulous research into the story of Scott's last expedition shines through, as does the dangerous, cold splendour of Antarctica and the adventurous spirit of the men who strove to conquer her. This review is from a review copy.

This book as the Authors debut piece is a truly remarkable work.
I am not a very literary individual and as a rule I am not a great reader, however, this book captured me totally and completely from its very beginning.
The dual story lines and deeply moving account of the harsh and grim condition of the Antarctic 100 years ago was completely captivating.
I was held spellbound by this work from the first word to the last.
I reccomend this exceptional piece of work to you. You will not be disappointed.
I am eagerly awaiting more work from this author.

Four years ago when I first encountered Richard's writing on Harper Collins' website Authonomy, I knew I was in the presence of a writer. A real wordsmith. When it was first announced that Dead Men would be published, I eagerly awaited the opportunity to forward order. I had absolutely no doubt that this book would be a tour de force. From the first rough sample I read, to the finished product in my hands today, I can truly say that this book above all has been worth waiting for.

Everything about the story rings true. The icing on the cake of this deceptively simple tale of life and love, loss and all consuming passion is the power of authenticity. Richard has captured the essence of not only a love story, but the ice cold world of the Antarctic. His childhood passion gleams from every page. Not just in the power of imagination but in reality. He knows of what he writes. He has been there, he has experienced the remote and cruel beauty of this distant place, he understands the power of the dream which claimed the lives of Scott and his men. Richard translates this personal journey into words brilliantly. There is nothing out of place. Nothing that jars the senses. You feel the heartbreak that Scott must have felt, to be so close, but so far. There are no trite explanations, but the offering of a solution as to why Scott and his men, Bowers and Wilson died just eleven miles from safety. As a memorial to the true heroes of exploration, Dead Men is a beautiful and memorable tribute. If you read only one novel this year, make it Dead Men.