From Goodreads: Hans Swensen holds a position of great responsibility in a hidden nation built in a subterranean cave system beneath the mountain wilderness of Norway. His people are able to exist in secret because of the discovery of an inexhaustible form of energy that has led to the development of a society more technologically advanced than anywhere on earth. While physically utopian, there is an oppressive side to this society, with a totalitarian form of government in place which is fearful of dissent, disorder and, above all, discovery by the outside world.

Hans knows something that imperils his people, and he must fight against all odds — including his cousin, Fredrick, the President of the Nation of Bergsland — to save his people from destruction.

When two young vacationers stumble upon this strange world accidentally, they are taken captive and find themselves caught up in events that test them to the very core — and become involved in a drama that will determine their own future, the future of this nation and the secret power that drives it.

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Acland has written a truly amazing novel about a secret nation beneath a mountain.  Through the discovery of a special energy source, Hans Swensen was able to help create a utopiaian society deep beneath the earth, cutting off all ties with the world he and his people left.  But, when Will and Natalie stumble upon one of the doors leading into the mountain after an avalanche, their lives are changed forever. 

I really enjoyed the characters of Will and Natalie.  Their defiance of a world they never knew existed, and never wanted to be captive in, is great.  I imagine my reactions would be similar to those of the teens as everything they ever knew is taken from them.  The rules and regulations of the new world were really interesting to read about, but I couldn’t help but feel for Will and Natalie as the restrictions put upon them were quite ridiculous—for a nation so advanced, their thought process was a little backwards, and Acland superbly shows how extreme paranoia and backward thinking can very quickly turn into a dictatorship.

This would be a five star novel, in my opinion, except for the amount of grammatical errors within the novel. I really enjoyed the storyline and I was drawn into it from the very beginning, but the excessive grammatical errors really bogged me down as I read.  The story is there, and it is awesome—I think this would even make a really cool movie—but the book needs to be edited so that it flows non-stop.  With more editing and a release of a second edition, this novel will be gold.  Four stars.

I received a copy of this novel from the author in exchange for an honest review.