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Dec 30, 2014Nursebob rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
An uneasy relationship exists between two vastly different men forced to work side-by-side at a remote Arctic weather station. Despite his gruff and surly demeanor Gulybin has been doing this for years, he’s conscientious to a fault and therefore has no patience for the young and immature slacker Danilov who prefers to swing from radar antennas when he’s not shutting out the world with a pair of very loud headphones. Their only link to the outside world is an old wireless set which they use to relay data and exchange personal messages. When Danilov receives an urgent memo regarding Gulybin’s family, fear, and perhaps a bit of resentment for his rough treatment, prevents him from passing on the information to the older man. Until now Danilov’s only experience with conflict has been in the form of war-themed video games but this grave omission begins to weigh heavily on his mind. As the days pass his ethical dilemma grows into a full-blown moral crisis for which he is completely unprepared; and when Gulybin finally discovers his subterfuge a deadly showdown ensues. Using panoramic arctic landscapes and the natural elements of wind and water Popogrebsky presents us with a tale of one man lost, literally and figuratively, in a wilderness of his own making. With the wireless serving as the voice of his guilty conscience Danilov wanders through a frozen wasteland marked with images of both order and chaos, forgiveness and retribution; but when the final confrontation comes it is not what he expected. A good solid story hampered by some superfluous window dressing (and one glaring technical inaccuracy involving fish and radiation). Best seen as a simple thriller.