Author(s): Sandy Fussell

Junior Fiction

In the land of snow and ice, where the midwinter sun doesn't rise and it's black all day, Iluak is afraid. But he's not afraid of the darkness. No one here is. He's afraid of whiter things. His grandmother tells Iluak the ancient ones whisper to her and talk about him. "They say a bear is waiting."

Set in a 13th century polar community, a young boy's destiny transforms him from a frightened child into a courageous hero. Illuak, a Too-lee boy, has been told by his grandmother that it is his fate to save his people from a bear. But the mere thought of a polar bear makes Illuak's stomach churn and he lives in fear of this destined encounter. When Illuak summons the courage to rescue a Northman (Viking) child from a polar bear, he realises there is a far greater challenge involved in the prophecy - two very different cultures are about to collide head-on.