by
C.R. Lindström
crossed with a Young Adult Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Eerie River Publishing
Publication Date: September 7, 2023
Page count: 330 pages
Katherine was staring down the Russian defence attaché when her intelligence officer burst in the room. Realising Katherine was not alone, the J2 covered his mouth while whispering to her. “General, the USS Samuel Ronaldson is reporting they’ve lost contact with their helo.”
Damn.
“Colonel Borishov,” she breathed, “you’ll have to excuse me for a moment.”
The attaché started to protest before Katherine closed the door behind her, leaving the Russian with her chief of staff.
The Arctic headquarters in Pond Inlet’s community centre was already alive with activity. Katherine took her position at the head of a series of flat screens and looked to her J3 operations officer. “Report, please.”
“Ma’am, at approximately 20:44 Zulu, the USS Samuel Ronaldson, operating in the south-western search zone, dispatched one of its helos to act as overwatch due to deteriorating sea ice conditions.” The J3 pointed to the electronic map to his front. Katherine mentally deducted five hours from the reported time, since Zulu was based on Greenwich Mean Time, or GMT in England. The operations officer continued. “General, roughly thirty minutes later the Russian frigate Nikolay Khabalov entered the Ronaldson’s search area from the south and dispatched its own helo.”
Katherine’s face was tense. She could tell where this was leading, but hoped she was wrong. The J3 pressed on.
“Though there was considerable electronic interference at the time, at roughly 21:20 Zulu, radar contact was lost with the Khabalov and Ronaldson helos. From what we gather, they were both within the same grid square when this occurred. Ma’am, at this point we are assuming a midair collision between the helicopters. The Ronaldson has undertaken its search and rescue procedures, and we believe the Khabalov is doing the same.”
Katherine looked about the room. All eyes were on her.
“Any survivors, J3?” she asked quietly.
“Unknown at this time, ma’am, though no emergency beacons have been detected.”
Katherine pulled a notepad from the right cargo pocket of her pants and scribbled down several points before directing the operations officer.
“Engage the search and rescue protocols if not already done, and request SAR aircraft to support us from Goose Bay and Thule. Open up a secure line to both Ottawa and Washington.”
The headquarters staff started carrying out her orders when Katherine glanced grudgingly at her closed office door.
“J3, please ask Colonel Borishov to join me. He deserves to
know what has happened.”
Unusual, unique, and absolutely riveting!
Helluland by C.R. Lindström is a riveting tale that successfully fuses several genres into a fascinating whole. Told from numerous points of view by engaging and genuinely normal, relatable characters, I was absorbed by all the storylines that eventually converged into one big picture.
While the story unfolds via several voices, one is that of eighteen-year-old college freshman Erika Holstrom, as she attends summer hockey camp at the University of Vermont. Immediately before arriving on campus, Erika lost her mother to cancer, and what should have been a time of excitement and spreading her wings is laden with grief. Focused on hockey and her mother’s illness while in high school, she is unpracticed at relationships other than friendships with hockey teammates, and college provides opportunities to sample all the possibilities. But her initial college experiences are unique due to unusual feelings or premonitions of danger, feelings that are occurring with greater and greater frequency as she and her new friends dodge death and injury.
The converging storylines are intense slices of points of view, all giving the reader a unique glimpse of the underlying plot. The dramatic and suspense-filled scenes left me anxious for more of the puzzle hiding underneath. I was hooked by the sheer horror of the characters’ situations and their findings, the enigmatic markings found on the victims’ bodies, and the indecipherable symbols seen on high-tech monitors only to dissipate as suddenly as they appeared. I was asking myself the same question as the characters. “What is going on?!”
The settings for the story are as diverse and detailed as the converging points of view. Whether the characters were on the flight deck of an anti-submarine surveillance plane or enjoying the amenities of a major university’s sports complex, I felt I was right there in the moment with them.
HELLULAND by C.R. Lindström was an exciting, absorbing
surprise for me, and I recommend it to mystery and thriller readers who enjoy grittier
storylines that feature paranormal elements and horror.
