The Great Stone of Sardis

A speculative adventure traces an ambitious maritime and submersible expedition that probes beneath polar ice toward a mysterious geological target. The narrative lays out contemporary engineering and speculative devices — multi-part ocean craft, battery-driven submarines, remote thermometric sondes, and powerful searchlights — and shows how technical planning, instrument failure, and environmental hazards shape the voyage. Interwoven social portraits reveal personal motives, domestic tensions, and courage under pressure. Episodes of suspense, scientific curiosity, and imaginative invention propel the story toward a climactic discovery.