Land of Hidden Fires by Kirk Kjeldsen

Kirk Kjeldsen shared with us the family history (together with pictures) that served as the basis for Land of Hidden Fires in February. Few stories of wartime adventure, drama, or intrigue have been set in Norway in the dead of winter or featured a female teen heroine as the main character. The immediacy and directness of Kjeldsen’s prose—no unnecessary material clogs the reader’s path—was what first caught my attention. He’shows’ rather than ‘tells’ the reader much of the time, offering several tale viewpoints and heightening tension through quickly switching between character narratives.

It is clear from the scene-setting at the start of each new narrative viewpoint that Kjeldsen has first-hand experience in this area and appreciation for the inherent dangers. Many of these chapter beginnings had me underlining them because I was so moved by the bleak imagery and mood they generated. One excellent example among many is as follows: More grey than the day before, the next one began. It was chilly again in February, as if the calendar had turned around and was moving backward, and the air smelt like rock salt and shorn metal. A thin rope of black smoke rose by Trondheim, twisting in the wind to the northwest. Thick storm clouds to the south built over the mountains, gathering like mercury that had been poured. It felt ominous and still , like the world was coming to an end.

Strangely, though, Kjeldsen did not attain the depth that was anticipated in the starring roles of Kari and Lance. I found the secondary characters and their motivations to be well developed. However, upon consideration, Kari’s mental fortitude and tenacity are undeniably admirable, and the fact that these characters were not conversationalists actually adds to this tale’s plausibility – people’s actions in such trying situations are far too frequently romanticised. In stark contrast to more conventional WWII tales, Kirk Kjeldsen’s Land of Hidden Fires is a gripping tale of survival and adventure.

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About The Book

1943: occupied Norway. Kari Dahlstrom, a brash fifteen-year-old, sets out to find the wreckage after witnessing an allied plane crash over the mountains. She quickly locates the arrogant American pilot Lance Mahurin and offers to accompany him to Sweden while posing as a resistance fighter. Kari starts to fall for Lance and fantasises about a life with him in America as her widower father Erling and the disillusioned Nazi Oberleutnant Conrad Moltke pursue them.

But throughout the terrifying voyage, Kari uncovers unexpected depths in herself and learns harsh realities about others around her.