2022 Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in a First Novel (nominee)
A vivid ghost story exploring identity, gender and selfhood, set against the backdrop of the golden age of polar exploration. Perfect for fans of Philip Pullman's Northern Lights and Michelle Paver's Thin Air.
In the wake of the First World War, Jonathan Morgan stows away on an Antarctic expedition, determined to find his rightful place in the world of men. Aboard the expeditionary ship of his hero, the world-famous explorer James "Australis" Randall, Jonathan may live as his true self—and true gender—and have the adventures he has always been denied. But not all is smooth sailing: the war casts its long shadow over them all, and grief, guilt, and mistrust skulk among the explorers.
When disaster strikes in Antarctica's frozen Weddell Sea, the men must take to the land and overwinter somewhere which immediately seems both eerie and wrong; a place not marked on any of their part-drawn maps of the vast white continent. Now completely isolated, Randall's expedition has no ability to contact the outside world. And no one is coming to rescue them.
In the freezing darkness of the Polar night, where the aurora creeps across the sky, something terrible has been waiting to lure them out into its deadly landscape…
As the harsh Antarctic winter descends, this supernatural force will prey on their deepest desires and deepest fears to pick them off one by one. It is up to Jonathan to overcome his own ghosts before he and the expedition are utterly destroyed.
Genre: Horror
Praise for this book
"ALL THE WHITE SPACES is a sly and unsettling gem of a book that makes for an immersive read. The storytelling is as taut as the setting is stark, and rife with creeping dread . . . I was chilled to the bone while reading it, and could not put it down. I loved every frostbitten word!" - Camilla Bruce
"This story took me to another age, another place . . . I would say it's timely, but that would hide a more important fact, that it's timeless." - Francesco Dimitri
"Deeply haunting and full of dread, ALL THE WHITE SPACES beautifully balances grief and loss with concepts of family honor and self-determination, in the midst of frozen survival horror with echoes of Dan Simmons and John Carpenter. Highly recommended." - Christopher Golden
"An intricately described story of loss, self-discovery and belonging . . . Wonderfully immersive; I heard every creak and was bitten by the freezing fog. ALL THE WHITE SPACES is a ghost story of the heart that becomes a harrowing battle for survival in malicious barrens. It reads like The Terror meets The Thing in Antarctica." - Louis Greenberg
"ALL THE WHITE SPACES is an old-fashioned adventure story with a refreshing modern twist and a healthy dose of atmosphere and spookiness. Best savored on a blustery winter night, with a hot beverage and a warm blanket for company." - Shaun Hamill
"Frozen into the desolation and isolation of Antarctica, this stunning debut delivers a thrilling tale of survival, terror and strength that will chill you to the core." - Tim Lebbon
"A journey into winter, a growing sense of isolation, a battle with the elements and facing down the ghosts of the past - Ally Wilkes has taken some of my very favorite ingredients and bound them into a deliciously spooky and compulsive tale. Ideal for a dark evening, though you might want to draw a little closer to the fire . . ." - Alison Littlewood
"ALL THE WHITE SPACES will chill you to the bone - a haunting, claustrophobic tale of a sibling following his late brothers' ambitions to an inexorable conclusion." - Marie O'Regan
"ALL THE WHITE SPACES is a heady and haunting mix of historical fiction, polar survival horror, and a meditation on gender, identity, and the enduring mysteries of the self. You won't soon forget Jonathan Morgan and his trial by ice." - Paul Tremblay
"ALL THE WHITE SPACES is a masterpiece. A journey of discovery that left me breathless and emotional for all the right reasons. With this powerful debut, Ally Wilkes has not arrived quietly on the horror scene; she has scaled a towering iceberg and roared." - Rio Youers
"This story took me to another age, another place . . . I would say it's timely, but that would hide a more important fact, that it's timeless." - Francesco Dimitri
"Deeply haunting and full of dread, ALL THE WHITE SPACES beautifully balances grief and loss with concepts of family honor and self-determination, in the midst of frozen survival horror with echoes of Dan Simmons and John Carpenter. Highly recommended." - Christopher Golden
"An intricately described story of loss, self-discovery and belonging . . . Wonderfully immersive; I heard every creak and was bitten by the freezing fog. ALL THE WHITE SPACES is a ghost story of the heart that becomes a harrowing battle for survival in malicious barrens. It reads like The Terror meets The Thing in Antarctica." - Louis Greenberg
"ALL THE WHITE SPACES is an old-fashioned adventure story with a refreshing modern twist and a healthy dose of atmosphere and spookiness. Best savored on a blustery winter night, with a hot beverage and a warm blanket for company." - Shaun Hamill
"Frozen into the desolation and isolation of Antarctica, this stunning debut delivers a thrilling tale of survival, terror and strength that will chill you to the core." - Tim Lebbon
"A journey into winter, a growing sense of isolation, a battle with the elements and facing down the ghosts of the past - Ally Wilkes has taken some of my very favorite ingredients and bound them into a deliciously spooky and compulsive tale. Ideal for a dark evening, though you might want to draw a little closer to the fire . . ." - Alison Littlewood
"ALL THE WHITE SPACES will chill you to the bone - a haunting, claustrophobic tale of a sibling following his late brothers' ambitions to an inexorable conclusion." - Marie O'Regan
"ALL THE WHITE SPACES is a heady and haunting mix of historical fiction, polar survival horror, and a meditation on gender, identity, and the enduring mysteries of the self. You won't soon forget Jonathan Morgan and his trial by ice." - Paul Tremblay
"ALL THE WHITE SPACES is a masterpiece. A journey of discovery that left me breathless and emotional for all the right reasons. With this powerful debut, Ally Wilkes has not arrived quietly on the horror scene; she has scaled a towering iceberg and roared." - Rio Youers
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Used availability for Ally Wilkes's All the White Spaces