A Thousand Degrees Below Zero

"A Thousand Degrees Below Zero" by Murray Leinster is a science fiction novel written in the early 20th century. The story begins amidst a strange and alarming phenomenon in New York harbor, where an inexplicable mass of ice begins to form, seemingly defying the summer heat, leading to frozen shipping channels and panic amongst the populace. The narrative introduces readers to a cast of characters, including Teddy Gerrod, who is determined to understand and thwart the inexplicable events caused by a mysterious antagonist, Wladislaw Varrhus. The opening of the narrative sets the stage for an intriguing fusion of science and suspense. The story begins with passengers on a steamer witnessing a melodic humming sound overhead, followed by an unseasonable cold front as a massive ice cake unaccountably forms in the water. Readers are introduced to the chaos ignited by a disastrous collision involving a tramp steamer and a lurking threat beneath the waves. As the ice continues to expand, it captures the attention of various emergency services and the press, leading to alarming public speculation regarding the return of an ice age. Alongside the icy disturbances, Gerrod encounters Varrhus, whose mysterious intentions and advanced technologies pose a dire threat to humanity, setting the stage for a high-stakes battle of wits and innovation as Gerrod seeks to unravel the enigma behind these chilling events. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Murray Leinster was a pen name of William Fitzgerald Jenkins, an American writer of genre fiction, particularly of science fiction. He wrote and published more than 1,500 short stories and articles, 14 movie scripts, and hundreds of radio scripts and television plays.