Book Review:  Winter Games by Daniel Church

Book Review by Kip Hansen — 27 January 2023

Hypothermia Kills! It kills the old, it kills babies and the very young, it kills strong young athletes, it kills everyday people in their everyday lives.  Hypothermia kills more men than women.  Like most people, you probably associate hypothermia — a dangerous drop in core body temperature – with very cold weather, temperatures below freezing.  But, “Hypothermia has two main types of causes. It classically occurs from exposure to cold weather and cold water immersion. It may also occur from any condition that decreases heat production or increases heat loss.” [ source ]

Hikers and campers die from hypothermia, skiers die from hypothermia, surfers sometimes die from hypothermia.  Many sailors get wet and are exposed to the wind, and get hypothermic – as Captain, I have had to send strong young men below to warm up when I’d find them way-too-cold and suffering hypothermia-induced mental confusion on deck.

During the 2013 running of the Boston Marathon, which was halted by a horrendous terrorist attack near the finish line, hypothermia became a second disaster heaped upon the first.  After the runners were forced to stop running, one witness reported that thousands of runners started to suffer from hypothermia and needed treatment or evacuation.  The temperature was 52 degrees. Only moderately cold.

Why all this talk of hypothermia?

The new novel by Daniel Church, Winter Games, opens with a scene at the beach, surfing the big waves,  which is dangerous enough in the best of times, but can be deadly dangerous for those who have stayed out too long and gotten too cold from the combination of exhaustion, cold water and ever-blowing sea breeze. 

This is a story that will suck you in from that first page and keep you reading all the way through to the last of its 250 pages.  

In this book, we follow Whit, a glacier expert who specializes in glaciers on top of volcanoes and who once suffered the loss of a colleague to hypothermia – and blames himself.

It is a fictionalized version of social/political/scientific battle raging around the world dealing with Climate Science and the disconnect between the real scientific facts about Earth’s climate and the distorted versions and facts to which most of the world’s population are exposed on a daily basis.

One group of frustrated dedicated scientists, who have found their field hijacked and being used by politicians and propagandists for the benefit of the few who wish to remake the world’s economy to benefit themselves, make a private and dangerous pact to fight back.  It is an uphill battle against a social/political force that controls nearly every news outlet and literally dictates the nightly news.

The method they choose to use in this battle will both fascinate and terrify you.  But it will also keep you up reading far past your bedtime and leave you cheering at the end.

This is science fiction story telling at its best. (and like all science fiction, must be given some intellectual leeway, a little suspension of disbelief).

The Bottom Line:

Terrific Totally-Engaging Story

Get it, Read it, Share it.

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