On Thin Ice

'The emotional heart of On Thin Ice lies in people's reaction to the unfolding catastrophe of war... The book reads like a thriller. What a gripping film it would make'

'Moments of beauty and horror punctuate this account of an ill-timed sub-zero camping trip... Walker evokes it all with a masterly touch'

'I was hooked from the very first, chilling words. On Thin Ice reads more like a Soviet-era spy thriller than travelogue, full of derring-do, panache, but also – importantly – insight. Imagine John Le Carré mixed with James Bond, add a dash of that master of travel writing, Colin Thubron, and you’ll have some idea of what’s in store'

'A powerful and haunting report from one of the world's most inaccessible places. Part quest, part fugitive drama, Walker navigates the ice roads and shattered towns of northeast Siberia to reveal the complex - and dangerous - politics of travel in Putin's Russia. On Thin Ice is a captivating book'

'His brilliantly told story reads like a thriller, but is far from fictional, and the taut, pacey writing is admirably lacking in the self-introspection that so often blights autobiographical "journeys" nowadays' 

'This almost insanely intrepid and dangerous trek in remotest Siberia is astonishing in itself. But it also brings invaluable experience of Russian reactions to the war against Ukraine. Altogether extraordinary'

'On Thin Ice is a remarkable book, and joins the ranks of those rare travelogues where a writer's journey gets overtaken by world events. Walker is the best of guides, curious, honest, humble. I was gripped by the hardships of his journey, and his growing paranoia as the walls close in around him. In both his trek across Siberia and in his subsequent incarceration, it does what the best travel books should do, providing a unique and captivating insight into an utterly unknown world'

'This is a rare kind of expedition – a vast solo journey through one of the coldest inhabited places on Earth, undertaken just as history shifts beneath his feet. Charlie Walker’s travels capture the deeper uncertainty of moving through a landscape where danger is shaped as much by geopolitics as by ice'

'A wonderfully well-observed account of what happens when a British explorer comes up against the hard realities of Putin's wartime Russia. From the frozen expanses of Siberia to the inside of a prison cell, Walker is empathetic, clear-eyed, and engaging'

'An astonishing journey, depicted with empathy and panache, in which the manifold dangers of the Siberian tundra ultimately prove far easier to bear than the insidious tyranny of the Russian state. Combining humility with mind-boggling tenacity, Walker is a compelling narrator who conveys the dual challenges of politics and permafrost with insight, honesty and a reporter's eye for detail. A cracking read from start to finish'

'Walker captures the Arctic’s unforgiving nature and exposes the importance of storytelling in places where truth is fragile. An absolutely gripping read' 

'A gripping first-person account in one of the world’s most unforgiving environments'