Atomic Coffin

by Benedict Anning

The Hunt for Red October meets The Thing in this high-stakes debut blending cosmic and psychological horror with cold war espionage.

DECEMBER 1984. British SIS asset Heidi Sperling, code name Thistle, escapes East Berlin carrying a stolen Soviet naval log. Inside is a single chilling message from an unidentified submarine known only as TK-15—a vessel believed to have remained hidden and motionless between Scotland and Iceland for three years. Its latest transmission contains one word: ACTIVE.

Recovered by the Royal Navy submarine HMS Viking, Heidi joins a covert mission to locate and destroy TK-15 before it can threaten the balance of power in the Cold War. But as crew members fall mysteriously ill and paranoia spreads through the vessel, Heidi discovers TK-15 is far more than an experimental Soviet weapon. Something ancient has awakened beneath the North Atlantic—something no superpower can control.

As reality fractures around her and an unknowable force drives the Viking’s crew toward madness, Heidi must save the survivors and stop TK-15 before the darkness below consumes both the submarine and her mind.

Genres: Horror, Historical Fiction, Science Fiction, Fiction, Thriller, Ebooks

336 pages, Paperback

First published June 25, 2026

About the author

Benedict Anning is a Surrey-born author and charity worker living just outside of Edinburgh with his wonderful cat, Penny. His debut novel, ATOMIC COFFIN, was published to critical acclaim in June 2026.

An artist at heart and fan of all things eerie, Ben 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 Peters Fraser and Dunlop.

Reviews

[Alix · Rating 3.75 out of 5]

This was an entertaining horror story set aboard a submarine that definitely had me feeling claustrophobic at times. I liked the unique setting and Cold War backdrop, which added to the tension and raised the stakes. The scenes aboard the abandoned Soviet submarine were especially eerie once the horror elements came into play. Things start becoming increasingly unclear at this point, and we have to figure out what’s real and what isn’t, just like our main character. In true cosmic horror fashion, we don’t get all the answers, but there was enough here to leave me satisfied.

One downside was that the characters felt pretty flat and interchangeable for the most part, with our main character being the only truly distinctive one. Overall though, this was an enjoyable and immersive read that made great use of its underwater setting.

[Paddy Dobson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cold war. Submarines. Existential horror. Ticks all the right boxes for a claustrophobic, nightmarish experience.

[Dominika · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was my first submarine horror book and to begin with I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. But less half way through the book I realised that I don't care about any of the characters and I skipped whole paragraphs just to find out how the book ends.
It has this claustrophobic/psychedelic vibe to it but I wouldn't classify it as horror!
I would definitely recommend it to anyone who likes the Iron Lung type of horror but it wasn't for me and I only finished reading it to see how it ends.

Thank you NetGalley for my copy!

Unfortunately I also know the author which I didn't realise until recently and he's not a nice guy.

[Jacob Greer · Rating 1 out of 5]

The first 70 or so pages of this buck had me sucked in.

The further we got into it the more I found myself less interested which shouldn't be how you feel when the whole point is in the mystery of what is in the sub.

Every single problem after she was picked up by the submarine was solved instantly with the first idea. The stakes dropped to nothing immediately and then the reveal is disappointing. I kept saying it could be worth it but all we got was more mystery and the monster being just some water that makes you suicidal. The pay off did not feel worth the slog to get to it.

[Amelia (Yateslittlecorner) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Deeply disturbing and dark horror. This had me gripped throughout the mysteries of the submarine, the entity, the twisty and turning timeline / reality had me guessing through and feeling anxious just what you want from a horror.

[Tim Pendry · Rating 4 out of 5]

If ever there was a flawed masterpiece of existential horror then this is it. Anning ably combines two genres - the Cold War thriller and horror where the horror has both psychological and probable cosmic or Lovecraftian aspects. I will deal with the flaw later but both genres are handled masterfully in their entwining.

Once the author's heroine (Heidi, codenamed 'Thistle') leaves the territory of Le Carre as a British agent in East Germany and is picked up by a British nuclear submarine in the Baltic, 'Atomic Coffin' captures brilliantly the submarine's closed and claustrophobic world. He maintains the convention of lovingly describing hardware without the boredom some writers induce.

She has acquired documents that indicate a Soviet nuclear submarine lying in wait off Iceland, still and silent, offering a serious existential threat to the United Kingdom. The orders to the submarine commander are to investigate. What they find is something considerably more advanced than the Soviets should have had at that time.

However, the Soviet submarine is deserted with the only clues as to its purpose and the fate of the crew being some enigmatic tapes left by a Soviet Officer which Heidi, as the one who understands Russian, must interpret. What is to be done is unclear. The situation is unprecedented. The Submarine Commander has to weigh up the risks to his crew from knowing more.

This is where the novel becomes a cut above most such thrillers as the dynamics of decision-making amongst a highly disciplined and well trained crew come up against a situation that is not only inherently unbelievable but where the 'truth of the matter' unfolds in a race against time to survive.

And this is where the horror comes in. Whatever is in the ship (which is rightly never explained), whether found by the Soviets or created by the Soviets or emerging from the advanced technology, is an entity that feeds off fear. The level of fear it generates completely distorts perceived reality and drives people to suicide.

This is where the novel fires up as something far above the average. The terror and the horror represent nightmares that chime with the reader's own extreme perceptions of and doubts about reality. When the horror comes, it is unremitting. There are moments when you think that perhaps the author is describing our non-reality as much as that of his characters.

Perhaps the ending has to be predictable because there is nowhere else to go. At least he leaves that problem of surprise to the very last lines but the path to total psychological horror via some indeterminate Lovecraftian entity is masterfully done. So why not five stars? Because a flaw is there and one which is surprising given that the naval crew are so well drawn and 'real'.

It lies in his heroine. Was Anning trying deliberately to reach a female audience with a female action heroine (as is the fashion of our time)? Possibly but he misfires, perhaps because he is less good at drawing women than men but also because he asks too much of Heidi. She has to serve as foil to both the thriller and the horror.

The horror requires her to be vulnerable in order to allow the entity to play on her weaknesses and experiences. The terror will not work unless she has weaknesses and vulnerabilities. On the other hand, thrillers are usually vehicles for males because the action often requires barely contained callous sociopathy and the clinical discipline required to handle extreme situations.

It is difficult to find Heidi credible as both supremely vulnerable to the point of neurosis and yet driven to the expedients and will to survive necessary to surmount the various terrors and horrors that assail her, let alone the final crisis of the story. Can she be truly despairing and suicidal (required for the horror) and yet possess such a remarkable will to survive (required for the thriller)?

The first part of the book actually makes her appear a tiresome needy bore in her lesbian relationship with a daddy complex although this becomes raw meat for her psychological responses in the ship. It means that she lacks the subtlety in her vulnerability that Daniel Craig's James Bond just managed to demonstrate through great writing and acting.

Having said this, frustrating as this failure is, the raw energy of action heroine Heidi, once the soppy stuff has passed, the quality of most of the writing (which only collapses into dullness when Heidi starts to go all touchy-feely), the capturing of existential psychological horror and the masterful handling of thriller tropes make it a very good read. Just be patient.

I recommend it on those grounds and because 'Lovecraftian' horror (though the entity is indistinct) has often become formulaic. Anning revives the genre by being discreet about what can be known and redirecting the terror to the mind and away from the body. It is a book that helps the reader towards a sincere and very dark, if brief, questioning of his or her own reality.

[Davinia Hinde · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It's so creepy and dark, you get goosebumps.

The submarine setting combined with the horror element makes it so atmospheric and chilling, I certainly don't want to be on a submarine anytime soon after reading this.

It has a cold war setting but you can easily see past this if that doesn't sound like your kind of thing and just enjoy the truly creepy horror element of the book.

Highly recommended to keep you up all night and perfect for Summerwean

[Amie Derricott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Set during Cold War in December 1984, we follow agent Heidi Sperling, codenamed Thistle, as she escapes East Berlin carrying a highly classified Soviet intelligence leak. The information points to the existence of TK-15, a mysterious Soviet submarine that has remained hidden beneath the North Atlantic for years, until it suddenly transmits a single chilling message: "ACTIVE." Heidi is exfiltrated by the crew of Royal Navy submarine HMS Viking, who head up covert mission to locate and neutralise TK-15 before it can threaten global security. However, what they discover is far more terrifying than a secret military weapon. As strange events begin to plague the submarine, reality itself starts to unravel, paranoia spreads through the crew, and Heidi must confront an ancient, unknowable force that threatens not only the mission but everyone's sanity.
Set inside the submarine HMS Viking, this is one of the most claustrophobic, atmospheric and unsettling books I’ve ever read. The fact that Heidi and the crew are trapped inside the sub deep underwater as increasingly strange events start to happen just amps up the paranoia and makes you question what is actually real. It definitely doesn’t rush the horror aspect, instead allowing the dread to grow on you slowly alongside the mystery of this anomalous TK-15 sub.

Heidi is a really interesting character, this Cold War spy who is determined to get these documents where they need to go no matter the cost, but also struggling with PTSD and in a vulnerable position in this sub full of men. It was interesting to see how she held her own when they doubted and questioned her, but also how she then questions herself if she's done the right thing. The fact that a submarine has potentially hundreds of crew could have made for a very distracting cast, however we are only introduced to a core amount of characters that have relevance to the plot which made it easier to follow what was going on and who was who.
The way the timeline twists and flips on itself really intensifies the paranoia and keeps you hooked into the mystery of this submarine and its entity. You never quite know whether what you’re reading is the actually reality that Heidi is experiencing or whether it is some kind of hallucination triggered by the sub. This sets up nicely for the ending, which once again has you questioning everything you’ve read.
I’m not entirely sure why this didn’t reach 5 star status for me, as I did really enjoy it, but I feel like there was something lacking. It is absolutely worth the read though and combines this Cold War mystery thriller with horror really effectively.

[Diana · Rating 0.5 out of 5]

I’m on holiday and running out of new books to read, that’s the only reason I didn’t DNF much sooner. I wanted some claustrophobic submarine vibes (think Our Wives Under the Sea but make it military), but this author was so badly over his skis writing about the Cold War that it ruined any potential vibes it might’ve had. Honestly, it was ridiculous from start to finish. Even outside of anything that would’ve required some actual research into Cold War spying, life in the navy, and late stage Soviet Union/ GDR (you know, minor details in a book about a mysterious Soviet submarine lol), he even failed at things that could be solved by very simple googling, such as using the Vietnamese surname Nguyen as a first name or fucking up the spelling of German words.
I was actually amazed to see that this wasn’t self-published.

[doowopapocalypse · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s a very interesting Cold War horror, and the writing does feel quite fittingly claustrophobic at times. I think the end was a bit too vague.

[Desirae · Rating 3.5 out of 5]

I genuinely don't think I've ever read anything quite like Atomic Coffin by Benedict Anning, and I'm still deciding whether that's a good thing or a bad thing. Perhaps a little of both. What I do know is that I absolutely loved the atmosphere of this book. There is something so deliciously unsettling about Cold War paranoia, nuclear horror, and the idea that something unimaginably terrible might be lurking beneath the ocean, completely beyond human comprehension. It's a particular kind of nightmare, and Anning certainly knows how to make you feel trapped inside it.

Set in December 1984, the story follows Heidi Sperling, a British intelligence operative working undercover in East Berlin under the codename Thistle. After uncovering a rather extraordinary piece of intelligence concerning a mysterious Soviet submarine, TK-15, Heidi is extracted from East Germany and brought aboard the Royal Navy submarine HMS Viking. The vessel has reportedly been sitting motionless and undetected in the North Atlantic for three years, only to suddenly transmit a message: ACTIVE.

What begins as a covert military operation to investigate and neutralize a potential Soviet threat quickly becomes something much more sinister. Heidi and the crew discover that TK-15 is not simply an abandoned piece of military machinery. Something has happened aboard that vessel, something that seems to defy explanation. As the crew of the Viking begins experiencing strange occurrences, deteriorating mental states, and increasingly disturbing distortions of reality, the mission descends into an underwater nightmare. The threat is no longer simply political or military. It is something far darker.

I really enjoyed Heidi as our central character. She's an interesting protagonist to place in this kind of story, particularly because she's already carrying so much with her from her life in East Berlin. She's a spy, an outsider aboard a military vessel, and someone whose grasp on reality becomes increasingly uncertain. Her personal history and the emotional weight she carries give the story something human to hold onto amid all the increasingly bizarre horror. The relationship between Heidi and her fellow crew members also adds an interesting dimension, especially as trust becomes harder to maintain.

And then there's the setting. Oh, the setting! The cramped corridors, the mechanical groaning, the darkness, the endless water pressing in from every direction. I loved the gritty, almost suffocating atmosphere. Anning does a wonderful job of making the submarine feel like a character in its own right. There is nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, and certainly nowhere to escape when things begin going terribly wrong. The Cold War backdrop is another huge selling point for me. The nuclear anxiety, the political tension, the suspicion between nations, and the ever-present possibility of annihilation create such a wonderfully bleak foundation for the supernatural elements.

I will admit, however, that I found myself a little confused at times. Not necessarily because the writing was poor, but because this is my first real venture into this particular corner of horror. The cosmic and psychological elements are deliberately disorienting, and I occasionally felt as though I was trying to catch up with what was happening. There were moments when I wanted a little more clarity or something firmer to hold onto. I also thought the ending was a bit too abrupt. After spending so much time descending into this strange, terrifying world, I wanted a little more room to breathe, process, and sit with everything that had happened.

Still, I can't deny how much I enjoyed the experience. There's something refreshing about reading outside your usual comfort zone, even when you're not entirely sure what to make of everything. Atomic Coffin was strange, atmospheric, grimy, claustrophobic, and wonderfully unsettling. It left me with plenty of questions, but also with a newfound appreciation for this particular blend of Cold War thriller and cosmic horror.

I'm not sure I understood every single thing Anning was trying to do here, but I certainly appreciated the journey. And honestly? Sometimes a book doesn't need to make you entirely comfortable to leave an impression.

I loved the vibes. I loved the dread. And I think I'm going to need to explore a little more of this genre.

[Rachel | fullybookedtbr · Rating 3.75 out of 5]

Characters: 3.75⭐️
Setting: 4.00⭐️
Plot: 4.00⭐️
Themes: 3.50⭐️
Personal enjoyment: 3.75⭐️
Emotional Impact: 3.75⭐️
Overall rating: 3.75⭐️

In 1984, a SIS field agent named Heidi aka Thistle receives enemy intelligence about a unidentified Soviet submarine. She leaves East Berlin and delivers the message along with the startling information that the sub, TK-15, has been stationary for three years to the Royal Navy's own hunter killer sub. When they go to investigate the sub Heidi discovers that the Soviets may have awakened something far worse then what they could imagine.

I am all for claustrophobic and cosmic horror. I think he idea of isolating this story to the submarines deep in the ocean made it work. The story starts out as a spy mission and it slowly devolves into this mind altering, fear inducing paranoia that Heidi cannot tell what is real and what are the hallucinations that you are experiencing with her throughout the story. There were moments that I felt breathless at times and thought to myself how could they ever get out of this situation.

However, with that being said, I think there was a little too much ambiguity of what the "thing" was that had lurked within the walls of the TK-15 sub. There were hints at what it could have been and you would have to use your own imagination. I don't have problem with ambiguous theories or endings, but I think this was left a little too open ended where I think it could have been explained more.

Would I recommend this book? Maybe, I really enjoyed it, but I can understand why some people did not.

Thank you to Saga Press for a finished copy of this book, in exchange for an honest review.

[Kim Layman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ever feel like you’re stuck between a dream and the waking world, not being able to tell the difference? That’s what it feels like to be in this book.

What starts as a spy novel quickly morphs into a psychological horror story that leaves you questioning reality.

Giving Leviathan, The Abyss, and The Thing vibes, we follow Heidi-code name Thistle-and a crew into the bowels of TK-15, a secret Soviet submarine that should not exist. But once in this vessel, it’s clear something is seriously wrong. Anyone who goes in comes out wrong, different, not quite themselves, or have they really changed at all?

What makes this book so gripping is how seamlessly the author blends reality and fever dream, and the FMC can’t seem to escape this feedback loop. Rooms move, people morph, ghosts become real, and things only continue to spiral. Who is real, and who is a monster? Is there something sinister that hitchhiked back with Heidi, or is she having a psychotic breakdown? You can speculate, but the author makes it hard to trust your instincts while you’re following Heidi through her nightmare.

This is a solid debut that messes with your head. It makes you uncomfortable, in the best way. You’ll want to pick this one up. 4.5 stars

Thank you Saga Press for my arc. My opinion is my own.

[Gary Meades · Rating 4 out of 5]

Had I just seen the title of this I think I would have scrolled passed, but a review in Grimdark persuaded me it was worth a look, and they were right.

Starting as a cold war thriller, this is mainly set on a submarine. Atomic Coffin is a creepy, disturbing, hallucination of a tale, a little Event Horizon, a little Alien (think those cramped, dim, corridors), but really very much its own story.

The writing is great, and the author has obviously done their research as the setting feels very authentic.

It becomes increasingly unsettling as it goes on and the final third ridiculously tense.

This is not a book for those with claustrophobia, a dislike of mirrors, or anyone who likes their stories wrapped up with a nice bow of explanation. For anyone else though, it is well worth a read...

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

✦ Book Review: Atomic Coffin by Benedict Anning
✧ ᴛʜᴀɴᴋ ʏᴏᴜ ꜰᴏʀ ᴛʜᴇ ꜰʀᴇᴇ ʙᴏᴏᴋ, @SagaPress
➊ 𝚂𝚈𝙽𝙾𝙿𝚂𝙸𝚂
During the Cold War, a British submarine is sent to investigate a mysterious Soviet vessel that has been sitting silent on the ocean floor for years before suddenly transmitting a single word: ACTIVE. What begins as a tense underwater mission quickly becomes something much darker as the crew encounters a threat they don't understand and the isolation of the deep ocean turns increasingly terrifying.
➋ 𝚃𝙷𝙾𝚄𝙶𝙷𝚃𝚂
I went into this expecting the mystery to eventually come down to some sort of radiation leak or Cold War nuclear accident, so I was pleasantly surprised when the story leaned much harder into horror. The submarine setting already provides plenty of claustrophobia, but adding the increasingly strange and unsettling events aboard the ship gave the story another level of tension. I especially liked that it didn't settle for the more obvious explanation I was expecting. There were some genuinely creepy moments, and the combination of Cold War espionage, isolation, and horror worked well for me. A good, atmospheric read that took the story somewhere more interesting than I initially expected.

[Venneh · Rating 4 out of 5]

I may have slammed the request button when I saw Atomic Blonde listed in the comps on this, and I would say that's absolutely accurate. We get a story of a lesbian spy during the Cold War, and the outcome of a secret mission involving a Russian nuclear sub, and how it all went horrifically wrong. We get lots of psychological and claustrophobic based terror, the thrill of a competent team trying their best to survive when the odds are stacked against them, and being unclear on whether or not what's happening is even reality or not, as one does. This comes out in less than a week, and I highly recommend picking it up when it comes out.

[phillip jane stressman · Rating 4 out of 5]

basically “what if the thing in Sphere was the monster from Smile?” aka good stuff

[RACHEL · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reality bending, claustrophobic mind twist of a story. My copy was a gift from Goodreads First Reads.

[Auriel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really intriguing context and setting, loved the idea of the setting being a character and the antagonist. I love books where neither you nor the character know what's real

[Sophia Marlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

good read, interesting concept esp for fans of weird psychological horror like iron lung or smile. just wish we had more horror tbh, book takes awhile to get there and spends a good amount of time setting up a lot of characters that didnt really stick with me. some of the horror sections though were just not very interesting to read but some really landed for me? idk. mostly loved the main character, Heidi, except for when she tried to tell the submarine captain what to do! like girl! this is your first time on a submarine! why do you think you know whats best!!!! anyways solid 3/5

[Amy Faust · Rating 3 out of 5]

Capably written but repetitive in an exhausting way. I listened to the audiobook and the narrator did a good job. I'm not sure whose idea it was to have her do a really thick accent while mumbling and then to put over old-timey sound effects over that for some segments. I couldn't understand a darn thing during those. But they were a small part of the book. As others have stated, really nails the claustrophobic effect but I wish it had something else to it. Not sure what.

[Ash Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

“It's not as simple as the bombs, the mimics of stars. This thing aboard, it's alive.”

Heidi Sperling is immediately extracted from East Berlin when she obtains critical information regarding a previously unknown soviet submarine.
Finding herself on HMS Viking she reveals to the Navy the data she’s found. TK-15 has been sending messages every 6 months and impossibly has been stationary and undetected for three years. Heidi is dragged into Vikings mission to find TK-15 and neutralise it.

The TK-15 submarine is unresponsive, seemingly abandoned and unlike anything they’ve seen before. But when Heidi and the Navy leave the soviet sub, something comes with them. The nuclear arms race is the least of their concerns.

As the sickness spreads and people begin to die, Heidi struggles to hold on to her sanity. She can’t trust anything, not even her own mind and memories. Heidi will have to return to the TK-15 if she and the people on the Viking have any hope of reaching the surface alive.

Gripping and compelling, it’s hard to put this book down. There’s a claustrophobic, creepy sense of dread. It’s disorientating and as a reader you struggle to determine what real with Heidi. Part thriller, part horror with the Cold War as a back drop. This book will keep you on your toes!

[The Rose Lectory · Rating 4 out of 5]

Atomic Coffin was my first submarine horror novel. I was initially drawn in by the striking cover, which gives off a chilling, ominous vibe, and the story more than lived up to that first impression.

While the submarine setting alone is terrifying; Benedict’s writing creates a suffocating atmosphere and the descriptions of life aboard the submarine are so vivid that you'll be grateful you're reading from dry land. As Thistle and the crew investigate the silent submarine and deal with the consequences of their discoveries, reality begins to twist in increasingly unsettling ways. The novel becomes more claustrophobic with every chapter, trapping the reader in the depths alongside the characters.

Heidi (Thistle) is a strong FMC, carrying plenty of emotional baggage into the mission. I found myself invested in her journey and the increasingly surreal situation unfolding around her. Benedict succeeds in effectively placing the reader in Thistle's shoes. As reality slowly begins to fragment around her, I felt just as unsafe and disoriented as she did. The feeling of dread never really let up, and the isolation of the submarine setting only amplified it. By the end, I was still not sure what was real and what wasn’t.

This was a tense, atmospheric blend of submarine horror & cosmic dread with a Cold War backdrop.

[City Elf Reader (Ryan) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok unique! And that’s cool, but it was kinda a mess in the middle. I know part of the function of the story was to be confused but that just didn’t work for me. Over all a fun read though.

Thanks Saga for the ARC

[Steph · Rating 4 out of 5]

Atomic Coffin was a great read! Honestly I never felt like I wanted to go on a submarine before I read it, but I definitely don’t want to go on one now! I thought Heidi/Thistle was a fab protagonist. She feels real and relatable to the reader, especially because she’s not a fully trained spy, just someone who’s sort of landed in this situation due to various circumstances. I loved Griffiths and Kelly too as side characters. With a story set on a sub full of soldiers, you could get lost with too many characters, but I think there’s just the right amount of notable and important players which makes it easy to keep track of the events and their roles within the story.

Event Horizon is one of my favourite horror/sci-fi films and this definitely has those kind of vibes but underwater on a sub rather than in space! It’s creepy and claustrophobic and the horror element really creeps up on you throughout. It’s a great blend of a spy thriller, with the historical setting of the Cold War and cosmic horror and it all worked really well together for me!

Big thank you to 3am books / Bantam for sending me an early finished copy of Atomic Coffin to read and review!

[Camila Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

So gripping I’ve only put it aside to sleep last night and work today, straight back into its final chapter - loved it!

[Tim Jackson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reminded me of the pacing of Michael Crichton, but was hard to follow at times and repetitive in the horror scenes. Great idea/concept but mixed execution.

[Reader · Rating 2 out of 5]

Starts off well, and good storytelling keeping you turning the pages. Turns into a mind playing tricks on you vague horror story leaving nothing properly explained. Unsatisfied.

[Ed Crocker · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a tonally clever—and daring—book this is. Yes, on the one hand it’s pretty obvious this is a horror. The name, cover and blurb. But still, for the first half, or at least third, of this novel, you are lured into thinking we’re strictly in Cold War thriller territory. 1984. Spies. Escape from East Berlin. A mission on a British submarine to investigate a Russian one. Anning locks in the realism, and doubles down on the Cold War tension. And then the horror comes, and the nature of the Russian submarine being tracked down becomes clear, and we are smoothly, with no turbulence, ushered into one of the great nightmarish endgames of the year, involving a fight against a genuinely terrifying and sinister foe in unbearably claustrophobic conditions, all enhanced by the inspired decision to have the protagonist be a woman with a controversial past stuck in a submarine full of men.

Plotwise, we begin in December 1984. Berlin Wall firmly in place, USSR still at its pesky zenith, you know the drill. British intelligence asset Heidi Sperling manages to escape East Berlin with some vital info: there’s a Soviet submarine that’s just been sitting at the bottom of the ocean between Scotland and Iceland for three years… silently. But it’s just sent out a message: it’s active. Sperling gets a lift from a nearby Royal Navy submarine the HMS Viking, and both her and the crew begin the voyage to track this submarine down. But when they get there, they will… probably wish they hadn’t, because something very bad and possibly supernatural is on that sub, and now the entire crew is in danger.

I mentioned earlier the smooth tonal combo of Cold War spy thriller and supernatural nightmare, and one way Anning really sells the genre mix of Atomic Coffin is the sheer realism of the setting of the British submarine that our protagonist has hopped a lift on. Anning has clearly done his research, and it shows. Not just in the claustrophobic nature of it and all the Cold War gadgetry which you’d expect, but in the surprising details I didn’t expect: a pizza night watching films that haven’t been released yet back in Britain, for example. And you thought the Cold War sub life was all work and no play. Anning’s hyper-realism is so crucial in selling what happens next, and it draws you into the believability of the nightmare at twenty thousand leagues under the sea (give or take).

Another neat trick Anning does is to make the protagonist a woman in a submarine of men, and then give said woman a troubled past. The Navy men aren’t overtly sexist to her, at least at first, but the more she tries to explain the nature of the threat they’ve encountered on the spooky abandoned Russian sub, the more she starts to become the “hysterical women” stereotype in their eyes. Sperling also has a controversial past (which I’ll leave you to find out) and is not doing great psychologically, and this has two functions: when all hell breaks loose it adds to the sense of vulnerability in our hero—the one person who gets the threat is breaking down herself—but when the officers find out that the hysterical women is also an “untrustworthy” hysterical woman, then suddenly misogyny becomes almost as much an issue as the nightmare on board the death sub.

But ultimately it’s the final third that elevates this into a must-read. The nature of the threat—which I am studiously refusing to divulge at all—is genuinely terrifying, partly in its nature and behaviour and effects, and partly just because facing it involves scenes of creeping through a dark abandoned submarine which are written with such nail-biting dread that you might find yourself down to the knuckle bone by the end. Anning plays with the narrative a little too, until the point where we’re not sure what to believe or not. It’s a hell of a finale.

Atomic Coffin, then, is brilliantly original must-read horror. Anning has fused a claustrophobic submarine-set Cold War thriller with a genuinely terrifying Event Horizon-style horror, and the result is tonally terrific, a nightmarish descent which will have you clinging to your armchair every single fathom.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

My thanks to NetGalley and Saga Press for an advance copy of this dark thriller a mix of Cold War espionage, dark horror, and psychological stress, all set in the most mysterious place on Earth, the wine dark sea, where the dangers are all around, even in the mind.

I think it was a Time-Life book on U-Boats that made me interested in submarines. It is hard to remember. The past can be changed so easily by memory, or outside forces adding their own truths. I know it was before Tom Clancy and techno-thrillers. I read everything fiction and non-fiction from the good Clancy, to the excellent, Das Boot. There is something about the environment, the trapped quarters, the lack of air, the fact that death can come with no warning, maybe a sound of a bolt popping. The crushing depths, the fear of drowning. Add in a mysterious device, an uncertain navigator, and lots of spooky moments, one has a very good story. Just like this one. Atomic Coffin by Benedict Anning is a Cold War thriller, a horror story of both environment, and of science, a story that crushes like the water around the submarine, without sun, and sometimes even without hope.

The time is 1984, and Heidi Sperling is living in East Berlin, a deep cover agent for the British SIS. Code named Thistle, she has come across a series of Soviet Navy documents that point to a great and very dangerous secret. The Soviets have a Typhoon class sub, capable of launching nuclear weapons, located off the Scottish coast. This submarine has been highly modified, and as been on station for almost three years. Something that should impossible. The information is so important that Thistle is removed from East Berlin by a British sub, the HMS Viking. Thistle is to accompany them to the whereabouts of the Soviet sub and investigate. What they find is a bizarre mystery. The sub is empty, with no sign of a crew. Everything is wrong, things have been added that make no sense, and the technology looks far beyond what NATO is using. Thistle also begins to feel lost, to feel tired and confused, something the other crew members are starting to feel. Also the Viking has been cut off, no sonar, no radio, no idea what is happening in the world. And things are only getting worse.

A mix of techno-thriller and survival tale, something that would have made a good movie in the 90's. There is a macho feel even with a female lead, a Crimson Tide the movie kind of feel. I love how there is no attempt to make anything glamourous, or supercool like many techno-thrillers do. The sub stinks, its crowded, dark and stale, and even pizza doesn't help. The story is good, claustrophobic, with a lot going on. I did not like the jumps in time but that is a new device that movies, television and books are using a lot of. This does gives the story a bit of dislocation, but sometimes I like a straight ahead tale. That said Anning does a good job developing characters, one tends to care about them, and what their fate might be. Very atmospheric with a good sense of what life underwater is like, and how dangerous it can be when things are normal.

A spooky tale which will appeal to people like me, who remember submarine stories and the shelves they used to fill in bookstores. I like the horror aspect, the psychological horror, and the dislocation. A good setting for a spooky tale. An interesting read, and an author I would like to read more of.