Rick Will

Last Entry Rick Will

Professor Michael Borden and his enthusiastic students set out on an exciting archaeological expedition to Banks Island, Northwest Territories. Well versed in the history and lore of the region, Mike knows much about the 19th-century British explorers who searched for a Northwest Passage through dangerous, Arctic waters. Many sailors died on those quests. A passage was eventually discovered by the crew of the HMS Investigator. The ship became icebound at the north end of Banks Island in 1853. Most of its crew were rescued to tell their stories. One of them had more to say than the others. Archaeology has a way of uncovering the truth. The Arctic covers a vast area. Much of it was still an unexplored frontier in 1980. Mike and his team's archaeological discoveries show how extraordinary are the cultures of northern people, and at the same time, how fragile and vulnerable life is in the frozen North. The team members had prepared for every field contingency before heading to Banks Island, well at least for those situations they could reasonably anticipate. Sometimes, however, the unexpected happens, something totally outside of your control or even wildest imagination. That's when things can go wrong, just horribly wrong. The Arctic's been an unforgiving place, and it offers no mercy to the archaeologists. Cut off from the outside world, they are entirely on their own. They must cope with the terrifying and overwhelming realities of animal attacks, sickness, dwindling food supplies, and hypothermia. As a student of archaeology, I didn't receive training in university on how to write simple and interesting sentences! Writing this novel was hard work for me. Thank you for considering to read it. This book is my attempt to share my knowledge of the Arctic in a way that I hope you will find interesting, if not entertaining, and perhaps a little frightening, even shocking. I want you to experience all kinds of emotions while you read it. Most of the history I describe is real. Many of the events that I portray are from my own experiences on Banks Island in 1981 and 1982. Some are embellished, but many actually are not!