300 – Dorian Ravenscroft & Finding Love in a Hopeless Place

The 300th author interview is here. And I’m delighted it’s with a debut author, about a truly wonderful book.

Dorian Ravenscroft’s The White North Has Thy Bones is a supreme slice of Polar Gothic and Queer Horror alike. It’s the story of a disastrous 1860 expedition to the Arctic, and the competing stories of brutality and survival told by the few who make it home. Despite all the bloodshed and … strange meat… it’s also, somehow, a moving love story.

We talk about all of those elements, as well as the weirder parts of Arctic naval history and just why the great frozen north is such a good backdrop for Queer stories. And I give my advice for how to survive being starvation on the ice.

Enjoy – and thanks for listening.

The Terror (2007), by Dan Simmons

The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder (2025), by David Grann

Where the Dead Wait (2023), by Ally Wilkes

Coffin Moon (2025), by Keith Rosson

An Immaculate Deception (2026) by Isabela Livino

Support Talking Scared on Patreon

Check out the Talking Scared Merch line – at VoidMerch

Come talk books on Threads, Bluesky, and Instagram, or email direct to [email protected]

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices