Iceapelago 2091


Fiction - Dystopia
282 Pages
Reviewed on 09/06/2021
Buy on Amazon

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Author Biography

Dr Peter Brennan lives in Sandycove, County Dublin and is the author of three non-fiction books, several reports on climate change and Iceapelago - the first of a trilogy that is set in a future where the Gulf Stream has collapsed with devastating effects. His research visit to Greenland convinced him that it was only a matter of time before the Arctic glaciers melted into the North Atlantic as they did before some 20,000 years ago when sea ice covered the Atlantic as far south as the Iberian Peninsula. Iceapelago 2091 is set thirty years after natural disasters turned what was once Ireland into a frozen iceapelago of islands where survival ahead of Winter Day dominates life. The positive reviews of this dystopian novel attest to a realistic, fast paced and well told story.

    Book Review

Reviewed by Rabia Tanveer for Readers' Favorite

Iceapelago 2091 by Peter Brennan is a dystopian fiction novel that gives a glimpse into the future if we aren’t careful about the climate and we don't respect Earth. Ireland was almost destroyed by tsunamis when the Gulf Stream changed and divided it into 30 different islands. While each of the islands is governed by a different leader dubbed Six, all of them take cues and answer to the Commander in Dundrum Center. Jane Madden is an aide to the Commander and right in the thick of things. Things are going as well as they can when tragedy comes in the form of an early Winter Day. From there on, Jane scrambles to get help and support for all the islands before it is too late. However, things get even more complicated when a group tries to take over one island at a time and nature decides to strike back. Can the Irish Iceapelago survive?

Author Peter Brennan has a way of making you feel the desperation of the scenario. He commands readers' attention with his carefully composed sentences and word choice to make them realize the gravity of the situation. The narrative is terrifyingly realistic, and the imagery created is enough to make me fear the future. The descriptive polar bear attacks, Jane’s desperation to get help to everyone, and the simple struggle of people to survive are masterfully depicted. There is drama, suspense, and the thrill of racing against nature that keeps readers hooked. The pace is fast, the development arc of the story is extraordinary, and the overall atmosphere complements the story incredibly well. Author Peter Brennan is a magician with words!

Anne-Marie Reynolds

Iceapelago 2091 by Peter Brennan is a dystopian eco-thriller. Thirty years ago, the Gulf Stream collapsed, and tsunamis swept across La Palma and the Eriador Ridge. The result was Icepelago: a collection of thirty islands that were once the country of Ireland. Survivors struggle to find food and medicine before Winter Day arrives – the day when Iceapelago becomes locked down in severe winter conditions for months. Iceapelago’s commander is doing his best, but dissatisfaction and dissent are taking over, and not all the elected leaders are on his side. Then Iceapelago descends into complete chaos as an arctic storm batters the islands the day before Winter Day. Will there be any survivors this time? Will the conditions prevail, or will humankind turn on one another in a desperate bid to survive? Or will this force the islanders to work together for their own good?

Iceapelago 2091 by Peter Brennan is both exciting and scary. Given the climate change warnings and the recent announcement that the Gulf Stream is in imminent danger of collapsing, this is an eerily accurate tale of what we may face in the future if we don’t change our behavior. The story grabs you from the first page and gets progressively more suspenseful. Several threads weave together seamlessly in a race toward the disturbing conclusion. Peter Brennan has done a great job of developing his large cast of characters into real and believable people as they face the one thing they may never be able to beat – Mother Nature in all her fury. This is a superbly written story with plenty of detail and a well-paced plot that should make us all stop in our tracks and think hard about the future we face.

Scott Cahan

Iceapelago 2091 by Peter Brennan is a bleak look at the near future of mankind, zoomed in on the former country of Ireland. Technically, this is a science fiction novel because it's set in the future, but due to the collapse of the Gulf Stream and other natural disasters, Iceapelago 2091 feels more like it's set in the past. The communities that have formed over the past 30 years have to work together to survive the brutal conditions. When an unusual ice storm hits earlier than usual, the townsfolk are thrust into an early ice age, resulting in much death and destruction. Sheriff Rory, normally mild-mannered and friendly to all, takes desperate measures to survive. The result is a chain of events that will shake the islands of Iceapelago to their core. By winter’s end the once peaceful communities of hard working people are almost unrecognizable.

I found Iceapelago 2091 to be a thrilling experience to read. As an avid reader of fiction about apocalyptic events, I found this book to be completely original. That fact alone coupled with the author’s fertile imagination made Iceapelago 2091 totally unpredictable. Halfway through the book, I had no idea where the story was going and that’s a good thing as far as I’m concerned. There are a slew of colorful characters that keep the plot grounded nicely. I was also very impressed with the author’s vision for the physical and social support structure that keeps the separate communities of Iceapelago functioning from year to year. It was clearly explained and seemed highly plausible. Overall, Iceapelago 2091 is a fascinating read about how human beings will react and survive in overwhelmingly bad conditions. I highly recommend this book for readers who enjoy an exciting yet unpredictable journey into the cold and unforgiving future.

Susan Sewell

Irish survivors battle the elements, the wildlife, and invaders after a world-changing event in the brilliant dystopian novel, Iceapelago 2091 by Peter Brennan. When the Gulf Stream changed, Ireland was struck by tsunamis and was inundated with water until it became thirty separate islands. Each island is governed by Six, and a Sheriff keeps the peace. They all answer to the Commander located in Dundrum Centre. When Jane Madden, the Commander's aide, receives intelligence that Winter Day is arriving a month early and will descend within a few days, she is worried. Passing the information to those responsible for transporting supplies to the islands' inhabitants, she discovers that things are even worse than she imagined. Their drones are down, and the winter storm has seriously damaged all but a couple of the cruisers. In the meantime, polar bears are attacking residents, arctic foxes are spreading a deadly virus, and a Welsh faction is planning to invade and take over Iceapelago. Can the islands survive the dangerous onset of winter? Or will they fall prey to those that stalk them?

Set in twenty-first-century Ireland, Iceapelago 2091 by Peter Brennan is a thrilling dystopian novel. Based on changes in the earth's climate, the story is not too improbable and easily imagined. The era setting is impressive and quite realistic, melding well with the story world. Moving at a brisk pace and filled with suspense and drama, the book is impossible to put down once you start reading. Skillfully written, the story has fully developed characters, a suspenseful plot, and a captivating storyline. The extraordinary Iceapelago 2091 promises to delight everyone who relishes narratives with dystopian settings that resemble reality with exciting and dramatic scenes.

Grant Leishman

Iceapelago 2091 by Peter Brennan picks up the story some thirty years after the devastating events described in the first book, Iceapelago. Thirty years earlier, three massive events changed the world forever. Following the melting of the Greenland Ice Sheet, the cessation of the Gulf Stream, and a series of devastating tsunamis that swept across much of Europe and the Eastern United States, civilization has been struggling to re-establish a foothold in this precarious world. One country doing better than most is Ireland. Ireland, now known as Iceapelago, is no longer a single landmass but rather a collection of small islands linked by short-wave radio, cruiser boats, and autonomous drones. Each island has an elected self-governing council of six and an elected sheriff. Ultimate control, however, rests with the Commander and his administration based in the town of Dundrum. Once a ranger at the tourist attraction of Malahide Castle, Rory now lives on the Island of Malahide with his faithful dog, Alfie. When Rory is surprised by a request from The Six of Malahide to take over as the sheriff of the Island, he has no idea of the trouble and adventure he is about to embark upon.

Iceapelago 2091 is a sequel, and I was fortunate enough to have read and thoroughly enjoyed the first book, Iceapelago. Author Peter Brennan has painted a scenario that is easy to believe and accept. Science has certainly been warning us about the dangers of massive global ice melt and the fragility of the Gulf Stream for several decades now, and the potential of catastrophic tsunamis was demonstrated on Boxing Day 2004. This is a fast-paced and exciting adventure that highlights the fragility of our institutions and the ease with which it could all be taken away from us. As a lead character, Rory was interesting and enough of an oddball maverick to make him quite appealing. The descriptive writing was top-notch, and one could almost feel the biting cold and sympathize with the monotonous way of life for ordinary citizens who had survived the original catastrophic events. Rory epitomized the average citizen in that all he wanted was to be left alone to live his simple existence with his dog, Alfie, and remember his wife and children tragically killed all those years ago. This is a realistic book that is easy to read and action-packed. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and you do not have to have read the first book in the series to enjoy and follow this one. I can highly recommend this read.

K.C. Finn

Iceapelago 2091 is a work of fiction in the suspense, climate fiction, and dystopia subgenres, and was penned by author Peter Brennan. The work is mainly suitable for the general reading audience, with the exception of a few moderate explicit words here and there. Set in a future Ireland where rising sea levels have resulted in a series of neighboring islands rather than a continuous landmass, we find ourselves following the survivors as they battle the elements in a feudal system where Sixes and Sheriffs rule the day. As the locals scramble to gather provisions ahead of Winter Day, a freezing storm shakes the land earlier than expected, and tensions rise to breaking point.

Author Peter Brennan has crafted an in-depth work of tense interpersonal drama set in a gritty climate future that is frighteningly close to reality. In the emerging genre of climate-related dystopia, it is innovative to see a story where small-time political tensions and the fight for survival are so viscerally portrayed, mixing the dangerous elements of humanity with those of Mother Nature. The plot is as volatile and dangerous as the storms themselves, and the work is peppered with a confident sense of narrative control that keeps readers gripped but also secure in the knowledge that they won’t be dissatisfied by the conclusions of the tale. Overall, I would highly recommend Iceapelago 2091 to fans of gritty cli-fi who are seeking their next big disaster read and newcomers to the genre who can engage with a fine example of the poignancy and impact of this emerging genre.