The novel “The Ice Schooner” by Michael Moorcock was published for the first time in 1966 serialized in the magazine “sf Impulse” and in 1969 as a book. A revised edition was published in 1977, a further revision was published in 1985.

Konrad Arflane is the descendant of a family of sailors but had to give up the ice ship he commanded to pay debts. One day he stumbles into an elderly man wounded and lost on the ice after the destruction of his ship. After some hesitation, he rescues him and brings him back to his city.

The man is Lord Rorsefne, one of the most powerful men in the city of Friesgalt. He feels gratitude to Konrad Arflane and the fact that he has experience as a ship captain is a lucky sign. Lord Rorsefne shipwrecked during an expedition to find the legendary New York and needs someone to be put in command of a new journey.