We are thrilled to announce the upcoming release of Ice, a sweeping and imaginative work by Polish author Jacek Dukaj, in its new English translation by Ursula Phillips. The book will be published by Head of Zeus (an AdAstra Book imprint) via Bloomsbury, and will officially launch on 6 November 2025.

Set against the backdrop of a transformed Europe, Ice embarks on a trans-Siberian odyssey rife with political intrigue, scientific wonder, philosophical questions, and romantic entanglements.

The story begins on 14 July 1924 in Warsaw, city deep under snow and Russian rule, where mathematician Benedykt Gierosławski is roused in the dead of night by officials from the Ministry of Winter. He is dispatched on the Trans-Siberian Express to locate his estranged father, an expedition that sets into motion far vaster forces.

At the heart of the novel lies the cosmic anomaly of the Tunguska impact of 1908, which revealed the arrival of an alien presence — the silent, spectral Gleissen. These entities spread across the Eurasian landmass, triggering an unrelenting winter that upends agriculture, freezes politics, and halts history itself.

Benedykt’s journey becomes not just a quest to reconnect with his father, but a confrontation with the icy unknown: will he embrace what the ice has become, or challenge it?

This novel is ambitious in scope: it merges speculative science, geopolitical reimaginings, ecological crisis, and metaphysical depth. Dukaj’s work has long earned him acclaim in Poland and internationally, and the translation by Ursula Phillips offers English readers a gateway into his bold, often existential vision. Ice invites readers to reflect on the nature of history, the fragility of civilization, and the uncanny power of nature unbound. The “eternal winter” is not just a backdrop — it is a protagonist, a force that reshapes human ambition, identity, and struggle.

More info here