First off: this has a fantastic cover. I mean, just look at it! Outstanding.

Anyway. I reviewed this for Strange Horizons, and the full review will be up there soon. But briefly... I really enjoyed this. There's some very interesting ideas here, and if some of the science was not all that convincing, the grim exploration of corruption in science was well worth the read. More importantly, the tragic, glorious descriptions of the polar bear at the centre of the narrative... even if I didn't enjoy that narrative as much as I did, the prose was justification enough, as was the imagery. Everything regarding that bear was absolutely spot-on, and I will no doubt be rereading this book for years to come, wallowing in the beauty of it. It was enormously affecting, and now I want to go out and find everything else Jarrett has ever written and devour it.