Ice

Overview

Anna Kavan's classic apocalyptic novel in a new edition which now features a trompe-l'œil die-cut dust jacket, over the work of British contemporary artist Naomi Frears

In a land devastated by war, a nameless narrator pursues an elusive white-haired woman in the clutches of a government official known only as "The Warden." Neither will giver her up, but a freak ecological apocalypse is indifferent to their rival claims. As a terrifying wall of ice continues its incursion, freezing everything in its path, it seems that only the white-haired woman is truly resigned to the fate of the world. Ice is hailed as classic of science fiction and a definitive work of the slipstream genre. As part of the new and improved Cased Classics, this edition features a false die cutting of a triangle on the dust jacket, while printed on the cover board is the striking artwork of contemporary artist Naomi Frears.

Reviews

"Ice is her best novel: a sustained and extended metaphor for the descent into, and traverse of, the ice-laden world of the addict . . . a marvel of descriptive, chilling writing, rich in action and introspection." —Christopher Priest

"Entering this haunting realm, the reader will crave to plunge deeper into her metallic and poetically surreal universe." —Patti Smith

"A classic, a vision of unremitting intensity which combines some remarkable imaginative writing with what amounts to a love-song to the end of the world. Not a word is wasted, not an image is out of place." —Times Literary Supplement

"One of the most mysterious of modern writers, Anna Kavan created a uniquely fascinating fictional world. Few contemporary novelists could match the intensity of her vision." —J G Ballard

"Astonishes with poetic brilliance." —Sunday Telegraph

"One of the most terrifying postulations about the end of the world . . . one can only admire the strength and courage of this visionary." —Times

"To say it is Kafkaesque or sci-fi would be to minimise a true classic." —New Statesman

Author Biography

Anna Kavan (1901-1968), born Helen Woods, was a British novelist who emerged from a Swiss asylum in 1938 with a pen-name adopted from one of her fictional characters. Now a cult figure, her writing has been compared to Kafka, Woolf, and Ballard. Christopher Priest is a novelist and science fiction writer whose works include Inverted World and The Prestige.