History ReassignedToAntarctica / Literature

* In ''Literature/TheMalloreon'', Belgarion manages to convince [[PunctuationShaker ']]Zakath to do this instead of [[YouHaveFailedMe killing]] the guy. It was pretty easy, given that killing indiscriminately cost 'Zakath his wife and caused his breakdown when he learned she really was innocent.

* In the ''Literature/AgentPendergast'' novel ''Literature/BookOfTheDead'', Agent Coffey threatens the guards with demotion and transfer to North Dakota. When everything comes crashing down on him, Coffey is [[spoiler:heavily demoted and transferred to North Dakota]].

* The ''Literature/JacksonLamb'' series of spy thrillers revolve around the inhabitants of Slough House, where MI5 sends their incompetent, unfortunate and inconvenient employees to do soul-crushingly boring routine work for the rest of their careers.

* ''Literature/{{Tempest}}'': In ''Tempest Unleashed'', the [=merQueen=] Hailana has Jared train Tempest in fighting techniques, but after eight months she decides he's not pushing her hard enough and has him transferred to Alaskan waters.

* In Creator/TomSharpe's ''Wilt on High'', the hapless security officer at the USAF base in Cambridgeshire (which Henry Wilt manages to reduce to inoperable paralysis) is eventually re-assigned from his plum posting in England to duty in Nome, Alaska.

* The Night's Watch in ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'', who guard the great Wall in the frozen north, has become this. While it was once considered an honorable calling by all, it's now a joke to most of the southern realms because the [[SealedEvilInACan Sealed Evils In A Can]] behind the Wall haven't been active for thousands of years. Now, only those in the North consider the Night's Watch to be a noble calling, where second sons and highborn bastards from select Northern noble houses are known to join for the sake of honor and duty, but even many in the North don't believe the ancient threat has come back. Meanwhile, most other realms in Westeros believe the Watch is guarding the world from an imaginary threat. As a result, due to diminishing supplies and lack of support from southern realms, it is also a place to send criminals, disgraced ex-soldiers and [[BlackSheep unwanted members of noble houses]]. Of course, after a few thousand pages, numerous epic moments of ReassignmentBackfire ensue.

** In ''The Illustrated Star Wars Universe'', the section on the Forest Moon of Endor was written by Imperial Sergeant Pfilbee Jhorn, whose numerous memos complaining he wasn't qualified for a scouting mission were unfortunately all misfiled before his deployment. His subsequent mission report is predictably snarky and acerbic, leading to him being assigned to one of Coruscant's orbital solar mirrors for a time, ''then'' redeployed to the Tatooine garrison as a janitor.

* ''Literature/WorldWarZ''. The pharmaceutical executive who marketed a fake vaccine for the zombie virus does this to ''himself'', partly because it's too cold for the virus to thrive, but also because no human seeking vengeance can hike out there to kill him. At the end of the novel, it's stated that this is only going to delay things; the U.S. is already negotiating with Russia to make sure the lease on his Antarctic hideaway isn't renewed.

* The beginning of Creator/MichaelConnelly novel ''Literature/TheNarrows'' finds FBI agent Rachel Walling assigned to the [[TheRez Pine Ridge Indian Reservation]] as punishment for having an affair with a reporter in previous Connelly novel ''Literature/ThePoet''.

* In the Otto Prohaska series by John Biggins, Otto gets assigned to a gunboat on the River Danube fleet under a captain notorious for being stupid even in Austro-Hungaria's navy. On hearing this news, his colleagues throw their cloaks over their heads like funeral mourners in Ancient Rome and parade around him humming a funeral dirge. Their CO barges in demanding to know what all the noise is about, then joins in the mourning once he reads the orders.

-->-- '''Emperor Gregor Vorbarra''', ''Literature/ACivilCampaign''

* In ''Literature/IslandInTheSeaOfTime'', Marian Alston was assigned to command the ''Eagle'', an ancient WWII-era ship, because her superiors in the US Coast Guard strongly suspected her of being a lesbian but couldn't prove it and didn't want the public-relations nightmare that would have ensued if they'd discharged a high-ranking black female officer. For her part, Alston went along with it because she'd barely avoided being outed during her divorce and figured she could just finish up her career in obscurity and then retire with a nice pension. And then The Event happened...

* In the ''Literature/NantucketTrilogy'', Marian Alston was assigned to command the ''Eagle'', an ancient WWII-era ship, because her superiors in the US Coast Guard strongly suspected her of being a lesbian but couldn't prove it and didn't want the public-relations nightmare that would have ensued if they'd discharged a high-ranking black female officer. For her part, Alston went along with it because she'd barely avoided being outed during her divorce and figured she could just finish up her career in obscurity and then retire with a nice pension. And then The Event happened...

* ''Literature/TortallUniverse'': It's normal for the Night Watch in ''Literature/BekaCooper'' to be made up of the less-competent Dogs, as they're usually the least busy. In [[WretchedHive the Lower City]], though, the reason is different — the criminals own the streets during Night Watch. Lower City's Night Watch is therefore made up of the absolute worst Dogs, the ones who are considered to be expendable.

* A notable literal example appears in Creator/MichaelChabon's ''Literature/TheAmazingAdventuresOfKavalierAndClay'', in which German immigrant Joe Kavalier joins the army in the hopes of fighting [[ThoseWackyNazis Nazis]], only to be reassigned to Antarctica as a radio operator due to his fluency in German.

* ''Literature/WorldWarZ''. The pharmaceutical executive who marketed a fake vaccine for the zombie virus does this to ''himself'', partly because it's too cold for the virus to thrive, but also because no human seeking vengeance can hike out there to kill him.
** At the end of the novel, it's stated that this is only going to delay things; the U.S. is already negotiating with Russia to make sure the lease on his Antarctic hideaway isn't renewed.

*** Byerly is sent to Jackson's Whole with his new sort-of in-laws, as Gregor's liaison with the Cardonnah family. Allegre says By's been getting stale and this new assignment will be a fresh new challenge. By disagrees, though it's tempered by the fact he's in love with one of the family members (Rish).

* In ''Literature/CatchTwentyTwo'', ex-P.F.C Wintergreen deliberately causes this for himself by constantly going AWOL from the army. Every time he is caught and court marshalled, and sentenced to digging and then filling up holes in the middle of nowhere for a specified amount of time. He is [[OnlySaneMan wise enough]] to know that in World War 2 this is the safest thing he could be made to do, so continues to go AWOL.

->''"Gerard, take a note. This is the third time this month that the busy Lieutenant Vormoncrief has come to my negative attention in matters touching political concerns. Remind Us to find him a post somewhere in the Empire where he may be less busy."''