An island alive with beauty and menace
Tense, dark novel blends family drama, ecological crisis, mystery and suspense
Battered by constant winds and rough seas, Macquarie Island lies in the subantarctic ocean between New Zealand and Antarctica. It is the only place on Earth where rocks from deep inside the planet rise above the ocean. Even with its harsh weather, the island is home to penguins, seals and albatrosses.
Best-selling Australian writer Charlotte McConaghy sets her latest novel, Wild Dark Shore, on a fictional version of Macquarie. The landscape is raw and dramatic, wild, threatening and beautiful all at once. Rising seas and terrifying storms caused by global warming are steadily consuming Shearwater Island. It is also home to a decommissioned research station containing a seed vault, inspired by the real Svalbard Global Seed Vault in Norway. This vault holds seeds from every country — an insurance policy designed to protect the world’s plant life and ensure it can be renewed should climate disaster ever destroy the planet. ..
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