Beneath the Dark Ice

Not a bad way to get the year rolling. Wanted something very light and fast and this nearly delivers. Alex Hunter has the possibilities of a memorable character int he making but the handling is so borderline that there is also a chance to completely screw this up. I you love Contest “Matt Reilly” this is right up that alley. Crazy creatures, imaginary world and a super soldier. Done and dusted in a day:-)

This story has all the makings of a big special effects Sci-Fi/Horror movie. Alex Hunter is more than just another special forces soldier after surviving being shot in the head by a Russian enemy. The inoperable bullet still lodged in his brain inexplicably has awakened formerly unused parts of his brain, heightening his strength, his senses and his recuperating abilities, but also leading to bouts of rage that he must learn to control. He's like Doc Savage on steroids (yes, he even ends up bare chested by the end).

When a small private jet crashes and punches a hole in the Antarctic ice a team of scientists and military is sent in to look for survivors and explore the opening, but soon disappears without a trace. Alex, along with a few of his hand picked men and another scientific team, equipped with specialized gear and weaponry, is sent in to see what has happened to the first team and as a side mission to look for oil under the Antarctic ice.

What they discover in labyrinthine caves under the ice is an ancient world of deadly creatures that may have wiped out one of the first post Atlantis civilizations. To make matters worse, a covert team of Russians has been sent in after them, led by the vicious assassin who put the bullet in Alex's brain. They are there to steal any uncovered oil secrets and murder all in Alex's group.

What follows is a race for survival in the deep caves under the Antarctic ice with assassins pursuing from behind and a large, intelligent, very hungry, Lovecraftian creature stalking everyone who entered the cave system. It's touch and go as members of Alex's team are picked off one by one in the frantic race to try and reach the surface and safety.

While typical of the genre, the story kept me turning pages to reach the big finish ending. With the creature, or one like it, now appearing to have been released from its Antarctic tomb, I'll have to check out the next adventure of super soldier Alex Hunter, and I'm sure his Russian nemesis will be dogging him along the way.