Antarctica (novel)
Most of the story is centred on McMurdo Station, the largest settlement in Antarctica, which is run as a scientific research station by the United States. Robinson's characteristic multiple-protagonist style is employed here to show many aspects of polar life; among the viewpoints presented are those of X, an idealistic young man working as a General Field Assistant at McMurdo; Val, an increasingly embittered trek guide; and Wade Norton, who works for the Californian Senator Phil Chase (Wade and Phil also appear in the "Science in the Capital" trilogy). As well as McMurdo, the story involves the Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station, the Shackleton Glacier, the McMurdo Dry Valleys and a South American drilling platform near Roberts Massif.
Geography of Norway
Queen Maud Land is Norway's claim in Antarctica. This large, sectorial area stretches to the South Pole and are completely dominated by the world's largest ice sheet, but with some impressive nunataks penetrating above the ice. The Troll Research Station manned by Norway is located on a snow free mountain slope, the only station in Antarctica not to be located on the ice.