Antarctica’s Frozen Chosen

On board ‘The Polar Scientist’, Antarctic ‘boffins’ have scientific knowledge of a genetic mutation causing infertility – which crosses from ‘beasties’ to humans. Kyle and his Spanish exchange-student girlfriend Jade get involved when Kyle gets a last-minute job for the Antarctic summer as a marine biologist, helping to count ele-seals. Activist Jade who is involved with the Red Herrings, an Internet cyber-protest group, e-mails daily. Like the ele-seal, Kyle is big, and not what you’d call handsome, and he’s unaware of the rogues gallery of dodgy ship owners until e-mailed by Jade who wants him to protest against threats to pristine Antarctica. Jade has changed her name from Esmeralda, and is his first girlfriend. He doesn’t want to lose her, and in icy isolation, e-mails matter. Jade tells him about illegal fishing vessels, Patagonian tooth-fish poachers, and the Red Herrings web chat-line. After a crazy haircut, which is an Antarctic ritual like ice-dipping nude, Kyle is forced to face questions of mateship, ownership – and just how far you should go to protect a friend, even one who calls you ‘Big K’. Meanwhile, the ‘boffins’ face the dilemma of whether their scientific knowledge should be shared if others will misuse it.

Hazel’s other Antarctic publications include  picture book Antarctic Dad,  memoir ‘Antarctic Writer on ice’ , Antarctic Close-up, and classroom scripts in ‘ Right or Wrong; Plays to Make You Think’

Available on Kindle  are Antarctic Dognapping  and Shooting Antarctica, an easy reading mystery for developing adult literacy.

‘Outback Ferals‘ is the sequel, starring eco-warrior Kyle, but in the outback and around Darwin (NT) , tackling a pandemic threat & questions of mateship.