by Ian McGuire
First published 2016
The Volunteer sets sail from Yorkshire into the brutal Arctic, carrying an ex-army surgeon and a murderous harpooner. Patrick Sumner, seeking redemption after a disgraced military career, signs on as ship's doctor, hoping to escape his past. But Henry Drax, a savage and amoral harpooner, transforms the voyage into a landscape of escalating violence. As the ship's mission degrades from whaling expedition to something far darker, Sumner finds himself locked in a primal struggle against Drax's ruthless brutality. Survival becomes a razor's edge between human savagery and desperate moral resistance.
Genres: historical-fiction, 20th-century, adventure, 19th-century
Vibes: dark, emotional, suspenseful
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, primal-struggle
Setting: Arctic Regions, Yorkshire
Period: 19th Century
367 pages · Library Binding · Center Point Pub
Content warnings: violence