Beneath the Dark Ice by Greig Beck

A plane crashes into the Antarctic ice during a violent storm exposing a massive cave beneath. A rescue mission is launched but all contact is suddenly lost with them too: cue Alex Hunter and his team of super-soldiers or HAWCS ( Hot Zone All Forces Warfare Commandos) who, along with a team of scientists believing that an oil field exists within the cavern system, are sent in to investigate what has happened.

They find out that they definitely do contain oil fields, as well as discovering something that is very much alive below the surface. It is a force that dates back to the very dawn of time; an ancient terror that hunts and kills to survive. Naturally things do not go as planned and the group has to contend not only with Russian Black Ops (sent to make sure the US mission does not succeed), but also a number of unanticipated antediluvian biological horrors.

This is a story for the men (or for women who like me are drawn to a fast paced adventure/sci-fi/horror novel). Take a remote and dangerous setting, add in a vicious and deadly villain and a smattering of geopolitical intrigue, some cutting edge science, and you have the ingredients for a compulsive read.

There are lots of James Bond styled high-tech weapons and a hero in Alex Hunter who is a super-soldier with an Achilles heel. A near fatal accident has left him with near superhuman sensory and physical abilities that are almost more than human, a trait that the military have been quick to use to their advantage.

This book has it all. A remote and dangerous setting, a rugged hero, a feisty heroine, a band of elite soldiers baby-sitting a group of whining scientists and a mythological creature which has made its home in the ruins of an ancient civilization under the ice of Antarctica.

This is the first in a series of ‘Alex Hunter’ books. The fast paced action, coupled with characters who felt believable means that the reader is drawn into the adventure along with the other characters. If you enjoy fantasy mixed with science, mythology, frightening water demons and a super hero to save the day, then this is a must read.

Posted by Fiona

Catalogue link: Beneath the Dark Ice