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Back Iron Winter Save as PDF
Chapters (89)
  1. Title page
  2. Contents
  3. Map
  4. ONE
  5. 1
  6. 2
  7. 3
  8. 4
  9. 5
  10. 6
  11. 7
  12. 8
  13. 9
  14. 10
  15. 11
  16. 12
  17. 13
  18. 14
  19. 15
  20. 16
  21. 17
  22. 18
  23. 19
  24. 20
  25. 21
  26. TWO
  27. 22
  28. 23
  29. 24
  30. 25
  31. 26
  32. 27
  33. 28
  34. 29
  35. 30
  36. 31
  37. 32
  38. 33
  39. 34
  40. 35
  41. 36
  42. 37
  43. 38
  44. 39
  45. 40
  46. 41
  47. 42
  48. 43
  49. 44
  50. 45
  51. 46
  52. 47
  53. THREE
  54. 48
  55. 49
  56. 50
  57. 51
  58. 52
  59. 53
  60. 54
  61. 55
  62. 56
  63. 57
  64. 58
  65. 59
  66. 60
  67. 61
  68. 62
  69. 63
  70. 64
  71. 65
  72. 66
  73. 67
  74. 68
  75. 69
  76. FOUR
  77. 70
  78. 71
  79. 72
  80. 73
  81. 74
  82. 75
  83. 76
  84. 77
  85. 78
  86. 79
  87. Afterword
  88. By Stephen Baxter
  89. Copyright

In this novel the world collapses into Ice Age conditions in just a few years. This has some basis in reality. Beginning about 12,S00 years ago, the period known as the ‘Younger Dryas’ (named after an Arctic flower) was a relapse back into glacial conditions, triggered when a glacial lake in Canada burst its banks and reached the sea, chilling and diluting the North Atlantic, and forcing a shut-down of the Gulf Stream. Much the same mechanism is postulated here. Recently (see New Scientist, 14 November 2009) scientists from the University of Saskatchewan used a finely grained mud core from a lake in Ireland to prove that during the Younger Dryas temperatures collapsed within mere months, or a year at most.

Bolghai in Daidu (Beijing) precociously studies the properties of carbon dioxide (‘fixed air’), some centuries ahead of similar studies in the West in our timeline, by scholars like Jan Baptist van Helmont, Joseph Black, John Tyndall and Svante Arrhenius.

The names I have used here are primarily chosen for clarity and familiarity.

‘German’ is a name used by Greek and Roman writers, not by the people the term was meant to describe. I have followed the Pinyin system for Romanisation of Cathay names, erring always on the side of clarity. Pyxeas’ journey to the East very roughly mirrors that of Marco Polo in our own timeline, and I have used names from that source (for a recent study see Laurence Bergreen’s Marco Polo, Quercus, 200S). Daidu is on the site of modern Beijing; Quinsai is Hangzhou. I also drew on the memoir of Ibn Battuta, a great Muslim traveller of the period (see Ross Dunn’s The Adventures of Ibn Battuta, University of California Press, 19S6). My Northlanders use ancient Cathay terms relating to the manufacture of gunpowder, which they call the ‘fire drug’ (see Clive Ponting’s Gunpowder, Chatto & Windus, 2006). Saltpetre was known as ‘solve stone’.

I have loosely used modern terms for military rankings like ‘sergeant’, ‘general’. Ancient equivalents are often unknown.

In our history Carthage did not survive as an independent power after its famous destruction by the Romans in 146 BC (see Richard Miles’ Carthage Must Be Destroyed, Allen Lane, 2010). I have referred to Carthage by its modernised name throughout, which derives from a Latinised version of the Phoenician ‘Qart-Hadasht’, ‘new city’ (Miles p. 62).