I did not like this book. Not because it wasn't well written. It was. Not because there wasn't an intriguing story. There was. Not because the characters didn't come alive. They did. That is exactly the reason I didn't like this book. I spent all 300+ pages frustrated. Frustrated that Sym blindly followed "Uncle" Victor when she knew, deep down, that he was a scoundrel. Frustrated because she kept acting so clueless, even though she wasn't. Frustrated that Victor could con and hurt so many people, including Sym, her father and everyone else unfortunate enough to be a part of his con or on his expedition to the Antarctic, in pursuit of his obsession. No one was what they initially seemed. The book certainly did take some twists and turns. For that, I applaud the book, but it also made me angry. That's what a good book is supposed to do, isn't it? Make you feel.
Sym's story certainly does make you feel from the beginning and her belief that her late father hated her to her ill-fated trip to Paris with Victor where she first learns of his treachery, but refuses to believe it. Once the journey makes its way to Antarctica, things are downhill from there. Everyone falls in Victor's pursuit of Symme's Hole and an underground world. Even Sym herself was going to be a victim of him plan. Ultimately, Sym survives and it is Victor who destroys himself.
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