2045, the Arctic Circle. A crew of six aboard the research vessel, The Nox, embark upon a voyage through the melting ice and Arctic dark in search of the last of the polar bears. The mission represents a ray of hope in a world ravaged by climate change, but it quickly becomes clear that some on board are in search of more than bears….

Isolation and the disorientation of 24/7 darkness soon have the group losing their grip on reality – accidents, nightmares, or hauntings – no one can be sure, but the voyage seems cursed. For Professor Clara Fitzgerald, the mission quickly turns from conservation to survival as she realises that danger lurks not only out on the ice, but on The Nox itself.

The Nox is a nightmare fuelled SciFi thriller that asks how far is too far to save the world.

Executive Produced by Derek Kolstad (John Wick, Nobody, Falcon and the Winter Soldier), written by Lead Writer Joe White and Co-writer Catriona Ward. Starring Lashana Lynch (The Woman King, Captain Marvel, No Time To Die, Matilda), Ralph Ineson, (The Witch, The Green Knight, The Northman), Michiel Huisman (The Flight Attendant, Game of Thrones) and a full cast. Music by Laura Rossi.

Directed by Colin Carvalho Burgess. Produced by Coex Studios.

OMG! This story. WOW.

I needed something to completely capture my mind and emotions. I knew I had an important nerve-wracking phone call today and that I would need something to hold my focus so that I wouldn’t overthink.

This hasn’t been in my Audible library for that long and honestly, I picked it at random as something to hold my attention for the above. This is classed as a “SciFi Thriller”. This is also currently nominated for the ARIAS 2023, and you can get it on the Plus Catalogue of Audible subscription.

When this listen finished, I exclaimed “WHAT” out loud. That gives you a good definition of how immerse I was while listening. Set in 2045, an expedition to the Artic Circle in search of Polar Bears goes swiftly wrong. If this was a book, I would have definitely got lost within it. It’s definitely something that worked completely as a performance by a full cast.

I would say the main character was Clara. She was the one whose P.O.V was most featured. Outside of her, you have Eddie – the Captain, Anna – the Engineer, Ross, Clara’s assistant – who I think was called Meg, and Rebecca – the one keeping them all healthy.

This listen brought me back to the David Tennant Doctor Who era and also to the early seasons of The X Files. As a listen I found it wholly unique and immersive. It was easy to follow and had more detail than I was expecting. While focusing on Clara’s P.O.V, there were still inputs from the other characters and moments for them to enjoy the limelight which gave a deeper understanding to their characters.

I would say that NO ONE on this exhibition had good mental health! But the faults of the characters and the trauma they carried make for very compelling characters and made the thriller aspect of the listen more realistic.

I have had a bit of a reading slump since coming back from my holiday and am definitely prioritising listening to more audiobooks and podcasts at the moment. As a 4hr listen, this is something that can be easily digested.

I felt unexpectedly thrilled by this listen because I don’t think I was expecting it to be as good as it was and because it kept me guessing till the very end. There is of course, a difference between listening to a narrated book by a single person and listening to a narration from a full cast of people. The Voice actors did a wonderful job in bringing the characters to life and putting meaning behind the words they spoke.

I am pleasantly happy to highly rate this.

I give this audiobook: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐