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Atomic Coffin
Not yet published
Expected 25 Jun 26December 1984. SIS field asset Heidi Sperling exfiltrates from East Berlin with the sole copy of a critical intelligence leak: a naval log containing a message received from a previously unidentified Soviet submarine.
Incredulously – impossibly – the vessel, known only as TK-15, has been sitting motionless and undetected in the waters between Scotland and Iceland for three whole years. Its latest message now reads: ACTIVE.
Picked up by the Royal Navy’s submarine HMS Viking, Heidi is unwittingly thrust into a black operation: find TK-15 and neutralise it at any cost. But as her only ally falls sick, she realises this modified vessel is far more than a Soviet experiment to gain an upper hand in the nuclear arms race. Here, in the crushing depths of the North Atlantic, something darker has been awoken, something that cannot be chained by any superpower.
As Heidi’s own reality twists around her, an unknowable force cripples HMS Viking’s defences and drives its crew to madness. Trapped in the deep, Heidi has no choice but to find a way to save the remaining crew and stop TK-15 for good, before it steals what’s left of her mind.
Incredulously – impossibly – the vessel, known only as TK-15, has been sitting motionless and undetected in the waters between Scotland and Iceland for three whole years. Its latest message now reads: ACTIVE.
Picked up by the Royal Navy’s submarine HMS Viking, Heidi is unwittingly thrust into a black operation: find TK-15 and neutralise it at any cost. But as her only ally falls sick, she realises this modified vessel is far more than a Soviet experiment to gain an upper hand in the nuclear arms race. Here, in the crushing depths of the North Atlantic, something darker has been awoken, something that cannot be chained by any superpower.
As Heidi’s own reality twists around her, an unknowable force cripples HMS Viking’s defences and drives its crew to madness. Trapped in the deep, Heidi has no choice but to find a way to save the remaining crew and stop TK-15 for good, before it steals what’s left of her mind.
- GenresHorrorHistorical Fiction
Kindle Edition
Expected publication June 25, 2026
27 people want to read
About the author
Benedict Anning
3 books3 followersBenedict Anning is a Surrey-born author living just outside of Edinburgh with his wonderful cat, Penny.
After a stint in creative studies at sixth form, independent exams, and later Ancient History at university, Ben spent three years as a bookseller before moving to the third sector where he now works for a local animal shelter.
An artist at heart and fan of all things eerie, he has a special love for twisty horror fiction where the setting is a principal character and things just aren't quite right.
Ben is represented by John Baker at Bell Lomax Moreton
After a stint in creative studies at sixth form, independent exams, and later Ancient History at university, Ben spent three years as a bookseller before moving to the third sector where he now works for a local animal shelter.
An artist at heart and fan of all things eerie, he has a special love for twisty horror fiction where the setting is a principal character and things just aren't quite right.
Ben is represented by John Baker at Bell Lomax Moreton
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Fair warning - this is not my usual kind of book. I'm not usually a fan of cold-war thrillers, but it was the supernatural element that drew me in here - and I'm so glad I did!
First off, the atmosphere is perfect. Not a submarine (I have no way of commenting on that!); the sense of a winter in 1980s Europe, with the Berlin Wall firmly in place, Thatcher and Reagan fighting the USSR and everyday people just trying to get on. Including those who are essentially social outcasts (in this case both half-German and gay).
Protagonist Heidi (aka Thistle) is by no means a regular spy. She does her work to the best of her ability, while also battling considerable espionage PTSD and relationship grief over a lost girlfriend. Entering the claustrophobic, 100% male British environment of the HMS Viking sub is not an ideal mission. However, diving deep to discover a Russian nuclear vessel that shouldn't be there, Thistle discovers far more concerning drama than she could ever have anticipated.
This was a wonderful adventure that I tore through in two days. Essentially 'Event Horizon aboard Das Boot', it ramps up the tension from the get-go, moving from nuclear fear to something far darker that should've stayed in the depths of the ocean. Descriptions of life aboard a submarine - the conditions, the food, the smell! - had me entirely on board (pun intended), with the loneliness of the weird empty TK-15 pulling on even more nerves.
The characters are all fantastically drawn. I genuinely cared for Heidi/Thistle and understood why she would want to return to a terrifying place to save a fallen comrade even as I was internally shouting 'No, don't do it!'. Little touches such as photographs, the constant reminiscing about sunlight and dry land, and a stunningly effective piece of misdirection halfway through meant I couldn't leave the mystery unresolved any more than our messed-up heroine. I fully believe that life on board a submarine would make one question just what is reality, and this adds to that mental dilemma for the strangest, most compelling discomfort!
This is a truly remarkable book that achieves everything it sets out to do. More from Benedict Anning soon, please!
I was kindly sent an early copy of this book by the publisher, but the above opinions are entirely my own.
First off, the atmosphere is perfect. Not a submarine (I have no way of commenting on that!); the sense of a winter in 1980s Europe, with the Berlin Wall firmly in place, Thatcher and Reagan fighting the USSR and everyday people just trying to get on. Including those who are essentially social outcasts (in this case both half-German and gay).
Protagonist Heidi (aka Thistle) is by no means a regular spy. She does her work to the best of her ability, while also battling considerable espionage PTSD and relationship grief over a lost girlfriend. Entering the claustrophobic, 100% male British environment of the HMS Viking sub is not an ideal mission. However, diving deep to discover a Russian nuclear vessel that shouldn't be there, Thistle discovers far more concerning drama than she could ever have anticipated.
This was a wonderful adventure that I tore through in two days. Essentially 'Event Horizon aboard Das Boot', it ramps up the tension from the get-go, moving from nuclear fear to something far darker that should've stayed in the depths of the ocean. Descriptions of life aboard a submarine - the conditions, the food, the smell! - had me entirely on board (pun intended), with the loneliness of the weird empty TK-15 pulling on even more nerves.
The characters are all fantastically drawn. I genuinely cared for Heidi/Thistle and understood why she would want to return to a terrifying place to save a fallen comrade even as I was internally shouting 'No, don't do it!'. Little touches such as photographs, the constant reminiscing about sunlight and dry land, and a stunningly effective piece of misdirection halfway through meant I couldn't leave the mystery unresolved any more than our messed-up heroine. I fully believe that life on board a submarine would make one question just what is reality, and this adds to that mental dilemma for the strangest, most compelling discomfort!
This is a truly remarkable book that achieves everything it sets out to do. More from Benedict Anning soon, please!
I was kindly sent an early copy of this book by the publisher, but the above opinions are entirely my own.
Displaying 1 of 1 review