Imaginethat the calendar shows 2032.
The USA has taken over Greenland with military force. American soldiers patrol the streets, the new occupying power determines the rules of the game, and the Greenlanders’ wishes suddenly weigh very lightly.
Imaginethat the calendar shows 2032.
The USA has taken over Greenland with military force. American soldiers patrol the streets, the new occupying power determines the rules of the game, and the Greenlanders’ wishes suddenly weigh very lightly.
This is the starting point for Jørgen Ullerup’s debut novel “Harpunkkrigerne”.
The novel is based on a political conflict, which is already well known. Donald Trump has repeatedly stated that the US wants control over Greenland. Where reality has for the time being been left to words, Ullerup asks: What if one day the US takes the threat seriously?
The answer is a classic political thriller.
The novel’s two main characters are the politician Malik from the Naleraq party and the Danish journalist Cecilie Hvid. Malik has previously argued for closer cooperation with the US and has been accused of being in the pocket of the Americans. But during the process, he changes sides and becomes one of the driving forces behind the Greenlandic resistance movement. At the same time, Cecilie Hvid tries to find out what is really going on behind the scenes – a task that quickly turns out to be both dangerous and politically explosive.
That Jørgen Ullerup has spent decades as a journalist is felt on almost every page. As a former correspondent for Jyllands-Posten in, among other places, Washington, Brussels and Paris, he has a thorough knowledge of international power games and the mechanisms that drive political decisions. The novel’s strength lies precisely in the depiction of the political engine room, where diplomacy, intelligence services and strategic considerations are woven together in a credible process.
It is also no coincidence that a journalist occupies one of the main roles. For decades, the genre has used the journalist as the main character, because he can naturally move between ministers, officials, intelligence officers and resistance groups. Cecilie Hvid therefore acts as the reader’s eyes throughout the story and helps drive the action forward.
The novel’s weakness, on the other hand, lies in its Greenlandic universe.
Although the action takes place in Greenland, the reader only gets a limited insight into the country’s political life. Malik is the only Greenlandic politician who is seriously developed as a character, while the other political circles remain relatively sketchy. Thus, the novel misses an obvious opportunity to explore the dilemmas and disagreements that characterize the current Greenlandic debate on independence.
The plot doesn’t surprise much either. If you regularly read international news, many of the political developments will feel recognisable, and the narrative follows the template you often encounter in journalistically based suspense novels. This does not make the book bad – just less surprising and original.
On the other hand, “The Harpoon Wars” is both well written and easy to read. The pace is fast, the chapters are short, and the story is safely driven towards its conclusion. At the same time, it is difficult not to get carried away by the central question: What would Greenland actually look like if a major power one day chose to disregard international law and take over the country by military force?
Jørgen Ullerup’s answer is gloomy.
The Greenland depicted in “The Harpoon Wars” is not a society where the Greenlanders’ wishes or democratic rights are at the top of the agenda. On the contrary, the country becomes subject to American interests and a political system where the local population must fight for the right to rule over their own country.
You don’t have to believe that the scenario becomes reality to find the novel interesting.
Precisely because the starting point is so close to the current geopolitical debate, “The Harpoon Wars” becomes more than just a suspense novel. It also becomes a thought experiment about what can happen when great power politics suddenly become everyday life.
Title: The Harpoon Wars
Author: Jørgen Ullerup
Publisher: Isfjord v/Ullerup Books
Release year: 2026
