![\"Wintery](\"https:\/\/lamesacourier.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/books1-copy.jpg\")
<\/a>It would be hard to have a list like this without mentioning George R.R. Martin’s \u201cA Song of Ice and Fire\u201d series, the basis for the popular \u201cGame of Thrones\u201d HBO TV series. Some of the main characters in this fantasy epic come from the realm of Winterfell, cold and mountainous year-round and where heavy, fur-lined cloaks are normal fashion. North of Winterfell is a gargantuan wall of ice intended to keep out a race of frosty zombie creatures known as \u201cThe Others\u201d (or \u201cWhite Walkers\u201d on the TV show). But even more striking is that in this fantasy land, the length of seasons vary, meaning that winter can last a year, 10 years, or in one legendary case, for an entire generation. This harrowing fact gave birth to the show\u2019s prophetic slogan, \u201cWinter is coming.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/a>One of the most memorable tales I know about the cold is Jack London’s \u201cTo Build a Fire.\u201d It\u2019s a short story, but very intense. A man travels through the Yukon wilderness during temperatures lower than -50 degrees, trying to survive as things go from bad to worse. Decades after I read this story in school, I still remember the visceral descriptions of cracking ice, the physical pain of extreme cold, and fear of not being able to find warmth ever again. As I understand it, there are two versions of this tale, one that ends well, and one that … doesn’t.<\/p>\n<\/a>Another wintry survival take is Dan Simmons\u2019 \u201cThe Terror.\u201d Set in another frozen clime, two British ships become trapped in sea ice above the Arctic Circle, and the crew must struggle with the elements. <\/em>The book is historical fiction, based upon Sir John Franklin\u2019s doomed British expedition in the 1840s. While searching for the Northeast Passage, the poor crew instead finds frostbite, starvation, mutiny, and in this author\u2019s version, a murderous supernatural creature. You may have heard of this title recently, as it became an acclaimed TV horror series.<\/p>\n