new school year. But when hundreds of huge holes mysteriously appear
overnight in the frozen tundra north of the Arctic Circle, Jack
receives an unexpected phone call. An oil company exec hires Jack to
investigate, and he picks his climatologist wife and two of their
graduate students as his team. Uncharacteristically, Jack also lets
Aileen O’Shannon, a bewitchingly beautiful young photojournalist,
talk him into coming along as their photographer. When they arrive in
the remote oil town of Deadhorse, the exec and a biologist to protect
them from wild animals join the team. Their task: to assess the risk
of more holes opening under the Trans-Alaska Pipeline and the wells
and pipelines that feed it. But they discover a far worse danger
lurks below. When it emerges, it threatens to shatter Jack’s
unshakable faith in science. And destroy us all…
Jack Oswald is a geology professor and is asked to check out several large holes that have mysteriously appeared in Alaska that are threatening ExxonMobil’s operations. Jack gathers his wife, Angela Menendez, a climatologist and a couple graduates to investigate.
Then you have Aileen O’ Shannon has heard about the mysterious holes and Jack’s investigation. She talks her way into joining the group but she has more to add to this little adventure.
Of course there is death, very bloody and gory death, and a bit of paranormal. It seems these holes are a direct gateway to hell and all kinds of demons are coming out to rule Earth.
This story is a bit slow to start with the world building and all the science that goes into the investigation. You can really tell that the author has done a lot of research. I was worried that I was going to get lost with all the science, but this just drew me deeper into the story. Things quickly go to hell, quite literally.
This is a short read and ends on one heck of a cliff hanger. I didn’t want to leave this story but luckily I have the second book and can jump into it right away.
tundra north of the Arctic Circle, geologist Jack Oswald picked
Angele Menendez, his climatologist wife, to determine if the record
temperatures due to climate change was the cause. But the holes were
not natural. They were unnatural portals for an invading army of
demons. Together with Aileen O’Shannon, a 1,400-year-old sorceress
demon-hunter, the three survivors of the research team sent to study
the holes had only one chance: to flee down the dangerous Dalton
Highway towards the relative safety of Fairbanks. However, the
advancing horde of devils, imps, hellhounds, and gargoyles will stop
at nothing to prevent their prey from escaping. It is a 350-mile race
with simple rules. Win and live; lose and die…
After learning that the holes that have mysteriously appeared are gates to hell, what is left of Jack’s investigation group decides to live to fight another day and heads to Fairbanks on the Dalton. But they seem to keep finding trouble in one way or another with flat tires, demons, and bathroom breaks. Thankfully they find the military and they have a plan.
Thank goodness Aileen is there to help save the group. They have faced so much loss so far but it is going to get worse before it gets better. I really enjoyed reading the narrative through Angela’s eyes. It gave this story a fresh spin. I really liked learning more about the Tutores Contra Infernum.
This story is a rush at break neck speeds as the group tries to keep ahead of the demons and is searching for a way to stop them. You have action, violence, and a great paranormal twist. I love this series and can’t wait for book three to get published.
engineer helping the US Government acquire large, complex
software-intensive systems. In this guise, he has authored seven
technical books, written numerous software- and system-related
articles and papers, and spoken at more conferences than he can
possibly remember. He is also proud to have been named a
Distinguished Engineer by the Association of Computing Machinery,
although his pride is tempered somewhat worrying whether the term
“distinguished” makes him sound more like a graybeard academic
rather than an active engineer whose beard is still more red than gray.
fantasy, apocalyptic science fiction, action and adventure novels and
relaxes by handcrafting magic wands from various magical woods and
mystical gemstones. His first foray into fiction is the book Magical
Wands: A Cornucopia of Wand Lore written under the pen name Wolfrick
Ignatius Feuerschmied. He lives in Crafton, Pennsylvania with his
wife Becky, his son Dane, and varying numbers of dogs, cats, and birds.
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