Iditarod a novel of The Greatest Race on Earth

Marchez! — A race for survival

When Rhodes Delaney challenged James Alderston Whitbury III to a grudge match she chose the most grueling of all tests — the Iditarod: a lethal dogsled race across the perilous wastelands of barren Alaska.

Through life-sapping storms, howling blizzards, and deadly sub-zero temperatures, the racers must struggle over treacherous mountain passes where the sun’s rays never reach, cross frozen rivers risking the icy torrents below, and pass enraged bull moose, ravenous bears — and the world’s largest, hungriest wolf pack.

In Iditarod, André Jute puts the reader’s feet on the ice and on the runners for twelve hundred hazardous miles of the last great race across the last dangerous frontier as the exhausted bodies and hallucinating minds of the contestants battle towards the moment of truth — when Man and Nature exact the ultimate reckoning from each other.

Iditarod is at once a love story, a great adventure, and a brilliant word portrait of the world’s most spectacular and least-known land.

First published in the UK by Grafton Books 1990, Iditarod is fully revised for this 21st anniversary 2011 edition by CoolMain Press. A map of the race has been specially drawn for this edition. The value-added resources at the back of the book include an Activity Page around the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.

From the author of the novels Reverse Negative, Sinkhole, Festival and the textbooks Writing a Thriller and Grids, the Structure of Graphic Design.

Reviews of André Jute’s novels

“Wild but exciting. A grand job with plenty of irony.”
New York Times

“So bizarre, it’s probably all true.”
London Evening News

“This is an important book.”
Sydney Morning Herald

“Keeps up such a pace and such interest that it really satisfies.”
Good Housekeeping

“A masterly story that has pace, humor, tension and excitement with the bonus of truth.”
The Australian

“Jute has clearly conducted a great deal of research into everything he describes, investing the novel with an air of prophecy. His moral and ecological concerns are important.”
Times Literary Supplement

“Andre Jute's Iditarod is the finest piece of fiction that I have read about The Greatest Race on Earth. Packed with adventure at every turn, nail-biting suspense, touches of endearing humor and the fine, subtle thread of romance, this tale speaks to what readers crave. Although written for an adult audience, I recommend Iditarod for grades 7 and up.”
Margie Myers-Culver/Librarian’s Quest

“Iditarod forges a path through your imagination. Like a runaway train, it pulls you along in its wake, constantly stimulating and exciting. This adventure would set a teenager’s head on fire as it subtly covers issues of integrity, morality and human decency. The quality of the writing is superb: one particular line about solitude rang in me like a bell.”
William White/Amazon

“Intense, riveting, wonderful book.”
”Kindle Addict”/Amazon

“The sheer reality portrayed is daunting. If you enjoyed Jack London's White Fang and The Call of the Wild, give Iditarod a try. You'll be glad you did.”
“Trek”/The wool and the word