BLACK VOLTAGE
The Polaris on a calm ocean beneath an electrical disturbance in the sky

A maritime post-apocalyptic thriller

BLACK VOLTAGE

DEAD RECKONING

A novel by Eddy Hollander

“When the world went dark, the sea kept moving.”
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Book one

When technology falls silent,
only seamanship remains.

An invisible pulse brings the modern world to a standstill. In the Bay of Biscay, Captain Eddy de Graaf and the Polaris are cut off from everything familiar.

Without power, satellites, or reliable communications, an ordinary crossing becomes a fight against time, the sea, and human failure. As new pulses sweep across the sky, the crew must make choices no protocol ever anticipated.

Dead Reckoning is a mature thriller about survival at sea, leadership under pressure, and navigating when every fixed point disappears.

The schooner Marie-Jeanne in a severe Atlantic storm

The story

No course.
No contact.
No second chance.

The Polaris was built to carry steel—not to survive the end of the electrical world. When the sea itself becomes the only way out, an old ship waits farther west: the two-masted schooner Marie-Jeanne.

The ocean offers freedom, but no safety. Fire, storms, dwindling supplies, and unpredictable disturbances force a divided group of people to work together—or fall apart.

Spoiler-free introduction

Human & machine

The crew and the vessels

Everyone carries something. Not everything stays hidden.

Captain

Eddy de Graaf

An experienced master who relies on observation, discipline, and paper charts. As the rules of the world change, cautious leadership becomes his hardest assignment.

MAROF

Henk Vermeer

Technically sharp and relentlessly practical. Henk tries to keep systems alive in a reality where every solution may fail again with the next pulse.

Researcher

Aris

A Spanish scientist with theories about the disturbances. His knowledge may point the way—but certainty no longer exists.

Steel coaster

Polaris

Cargo
3,500 tons of steel
Status
Blind at sea

Two-masted schooner

Marie-Jeanne

Propulsion
Wind
Course
Westward

The books

The world is dark.
The story has only just begun.

Book cover of Black Voltage: Dead Reckoning by Eddy Hollander

Part 1

Dead Reckoning

The first pulse. The crossing. The beginning of a world that must learn to navigate again.

Available now: English edition in paperback and as an e-book on Amazon. Dutch edition in paperback at Boekenbestellen.nl.
Preliminary cover design for Black Voltage: Divided Shores by Eddy Hollander
Preliminary cover concept

Part 2

Divided Shores

The sequel to Dead Reckoning. New signals. New choices. A horizon hiding more than land.

Soon
03

Part 3

Title to be announced

The third part of the trilogy. The journey continues; title and further details will follow.

Expected in late 2026
Eddy Hollander writing in a notebook at a dark, rainy woodland camp

About the author

Eddy Hollander

Writing thrillers in which the sea is not a backdrop, but a force that shapes every choice.

Eddy Hollander still works as a ship’s captain and spends part of each year at sea. He therefore knows the enclosed world on board from within: its hierarchy, technology, weather, and the quiet responsibility carried by the person who must ultimately decide. In Black Voltage: Dead Reckoning, he connects that reality to a threatening scenario in which modern certainties vanish in an instant.

The first idea for Black Voltage emerged twenty years ago, during one of Eddy’s earliest voyages as a captain in the Gulf of Finland. Arctic sea smoke lay over the water in a thin, mysterious layer. The image stayed with him. During his leave, Eddy works as a self-employed bushcraft instructor; often deep in the woods, that early idea grew into the story it is today.

His style is direct, visual, and rooted in credible maritime detail—with people always at the heart of the storm.

Emailwriter@eddyhollander.nl

FacebookBlack Voltage

Frequently asked questions

In brief: Eddy Hollander and Black Voltage

Who is Eddy Hollander?

Eddy Hollander is a Dutch thriller author and working ship’s captain. He spends part of each year at sea and works as a self-employed bushcraft instructor during his leave. That practical experience shapes the Black Voltage series.

What is Dead Reckoning about?

After an invisible electrical pulse disables power, satellites and reliable communications, Captain Eddy de Graaf and his crew must rely on seamanship, paper charts and one another in the Bay of Biscay.

In which languages is the book available?

The English edition, Dead Reckoning, is available in paperback and as an e-book. The Dutch paperback edition is titled Black Voltage – Gegist Bestek.

Is Black Voltage a series?

Yes. Black Voltage is planned as a trilogy. Dead Reckoning is book one, Divided Shores is book two, and a third book is planned.