Explorers of the New Century Review

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In the new century, theories abound, the inventiveness of the age giving way to unparalleled problem solving and great social movements, citizens infused with a can-do spirit, the future sparkling on the horizon. Against an expanse of untamed continent, two teams of explorers, one perhaps Scandinavian and the other perhaps British) set off for the AFP, Agreed Farthest Point, one team west, over land and the other charting a course through a dry riverbed, their mules critical to the success of the endeavors. The loss of one of their mules is a blow to Johns' party, who are forced to their overland trek since Tostig's, has co-opted the riverbed route. Small fissures erupt as the westerly journey begins, but Johns and his deputy keep the men in check through discipline.
On the first day of the march, the western group is confronted by miles and miles of scree, their progress slowed by the uncertain surface, the mules unable to maintain secure footing. Tostig, who has left markers in the dry river bed for Johns to follow, notices the second group has splintered off in another direction, suggesting they want to make a contest of it; Tostig informs his men they have a rival for the goal. While John's expedition is larger and manned with volunteers, Tostig's is smaller, all seasoned professionals.
So begins the two-pronged march, ostensibly with the same objective, each party driven as well by a spirit of competition, both in service to the newly popular Theory of Transportation, their mules integral to the ventures. As might be expected, the terrain offers each group serious obstacles, but they are rigidly controlled by military-like hierarchies of leader and trusted troops. Human nature ever unpredictable, a few question the logic of authority, setting in motion an undercurrent of discontent and doubt. For the most part they soldier on, each step closer to the AFP bringing new challenges of adaptation and altered strategies for the same objective. Nothing in this adventure is as promised from the outset, no discernible physical markers or identifiable terrain.
In the stark prose of man against nature, Mills frames this tale with the nobility of intent, yet lays the groundwork for a mind-bending twist that stops the reader cold. Whatever assumptions and preferences for either team, Johns' or Tostig's, the seduction of adventure pales in the light of ideology. Life and death are at stake at every turn in this remarkable novel, but who's life and who's death and who shall decide? As biting as the arctic winds that buffet the travelers, Explorers of the New Century will leave you chilled and disturbed. Luan Gaines/ 2006.


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