My Blog

Retirement. Publishers, thank you for the many years of reading pleasure you gave me, but all good things must come to an end. Due to failing eyesight I am forced to retire. I can no longer review your books, and any that you send will be donated to the local library, unread. Do not send any more. I can only read for a couple hours every day, and this does not allow me to finish a book in reasonable time. I will be devoting time to my own books from now on, and reading on a personal level. Books that interest me. I prefer paperbacks and hardbacks, not eBooks. My eyesight has been failing the last few years, and I cannot handle hundreds of review books any more. My books are still available for review. Anyone interested in reviewing any of them, they are found in the Link to Tom’s Books On Amazon. Contact me for pdf copies at fadingshadows40@gmail.com

Thursday, December 31, 2015

Twenty Fathoms Down


As daring and defiant as Kirk Douglas journeying 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, there’s no stopping diver Hawk Ridley as he takes the plunge into a briny world of untold riches and danger.
The Caribbean is a fortune hunter’s dream, salted with the gold of galleons long ago claimed by the deep.  Now Hawk’s headed for the Windward Passage of Haiti to stake his claim.  But a rival team has also picked up the scent, and they’re willing to turn the sea red with blood to get to the gold first.
Fighting off ruthless competitors is nothing new to Hawk…but fighting off a beautiful woman is a different story.  Is she an innocent stowaway or a seductive saboteur?  Between the cool millions lying on the bottom of the ocean, and the boiling-hot race to grab it, Hawk’s about to find the answer and make a discovery Twenty Fathoms Down that will blow you out of the water.

Twenty Fathoms Down (Sea Adventure)
By L. Ron Hubbard
ISBN #978-1592122516
Price $9.95
136 Pages
Rating 5-Stars

“Thrilling Adventure From The Master Story Teller.”

Hawk Ridley is after sunken treasure, and he has the coordinates to the ship lying on the ocean floor near Haiti. But the Mercer brothers are also after the gold bullion, and a chest of jewels, and will not stop at murder to obtain them. They work Ocean Salvage, owned by Charles Stanton, and Hawk must not let them near enough to upset his own dreams. But then everything changes when Stanton’s beautiful daughter, Frederick “Vick” Stanton is found on his boat, wearing a wedding dress. What could possibly be going on?

There is murder at twenty fathoms, and Hawk’s ship, the Stingaree is sunk while he is below recovering the treasure. Watching in awe as his ship goes down, taking with it the last of his air supply, Hawk knows he may never live to enjoy the treasure.

This was another fascinating sea adventure by a master story teller, filled with plenty of action and suspense, and great characters. Originally published in the September 1934 issue of FIVE-NOVELS Magazine. Highly recommended for adventure lovers, and readers that love a well-crafted yarn.

Tom Johnson
Author of CARNIVAL OF DEATH

Monday, December 28, 2015

Born Lucid

"There exists in this country a plot to enslave every man, woman and child. Before I leave this high and noble office, I intend to expose this plot." - President John F. Kennedy - 7 days before his assassination.
In a time when the elite control the world, a chance discovery changes EVERYTHING... Unearthed ancient technology gives one man the power to make a difference. But is it too late? Humanity hangs in the balance. Real-life conspiracy theories. Truth or Lies? You Decide!
In a dark and brooding world where conspiracy theories are no longer just theory, the fate of humanity hinges on the whims of the sociopathic elite - a hidden hierarchy which vie in a secret war amongst themselves, crushing anyone who gets in their way. Every man, woman and child, every agency, every nation state, are but pawns in the greater game of power and control.
Chris Trent, an archaeology student and activist is thrown into the middle of this power struggle when he inadvertently uncovers a "Relic" - ancient technology which turns him into a living weapon too deadly to remain uncontrolled. Press-ganged into the service of a corrupt government agency, he discovers a breakaway society entrenched in intrigue, manipulation, corruption and betrayal, which puppeteers the modern world from the shadows. The only light in the darkness is the unexpected camaraderie of his fellow "Relics" and the hope that they can break their bonds of servitude and save mankind from the seemingly inevitable slide towards a cruel totalitarian police state. But is it already too late?
Jumping from present day to a not-too-distant dystopian future and back again, Born Lucid - Book 1 of the Born Lucid Series lets you see actual modern day events and real government legislation in a whole new light...

Born Lucid (SF Thriller)
By Christopher C. Evans
Create Space
ISBN #978-1518635786
Price $10.99
252 Pages
Rating 4-Stars

“A Good Conspiracy SF Tale.”

In 2010, archaeology student Chris Trent and a team of activists are exploring a tunnel for the truth. They are looking for signs of ancient civilizations and technology, which they believe our government is withholding from the public. Opening a sealed room Chris discovers the body of a long dead giant, but before he can do anything something attacks him. It is a parasitic Relic that had been embedded in the giant, now it is burrowing into him, attaching to his nerve system and brain. When he wakes up he’s in a hidden base below Denver Airport, and learns that a mysterious group known as the Committee of 300 had him brought here. They have been aware of the Relics for years, and searching for others, when they found Chris. The 300 run the governments of the world, as well as industry, and are the most rich and powerful people in the world. He is to be trained at the Academy by their Agency, a Brotherhood of men and women with Relics embedded. So now he has found the truth, but will he become part of the cover-up, or will he escape the Agency.

The Agency/Relics are being trained for the purpose, I believe, to combat or protect the Committee of 300. They are mere slaves of the 300. The Anunnaki are returning soon, and with them the planet Nibiru. The Anunnaki warred upon the Earth once before. The parasitic Relics came from the Anunnaki to be embedded in humans in the beginning for slave labor, and have been here since the first Anunnaki on Earth.

There are two story lines in the book, the one in 2010, and a later story line 90 years later, but Chris Trent – also called Lucidus now - is still around, and appears to be the same age, so we don’t really learn much about what happened in between in this book. More will be told in sequels. I was also a bit confused about the collapse of the world between 2010 and 90 years later. Did the Anunnaki return and start another nuclear war with Earth, or what? We’re told in the second story line that a sun storm or something radiated the world.  We’re also told the radiation is the result of failed nuclear reactors. In the year 3000, the world is divided by the powerful, the A.I.s (artificial intelligence), and the ragged remnant of civilization. Evidently, a series of economic, environmental, and pandemic disasters caused the collapse, but did the Anunnaki ever return? Chris now heads a group of Freemen, and they are looking for weapons and food to help them survive in this collapsed world. The Freeman is a ragtag group of liberated citizens who live apart from the main city, and engage in guerrilla warfare. Except for the confusion, this is a fascinating tale, with interesting characters, and good writing. For fans of a good conspiracy, and science fiction yarn, you’ll enjoy this exciting tale.

Tom Johnson

Author of THESE ALIEN SKIES

Tuesday, December 22, 2015

Man-Killers of The Air

Take a touch of Charles Lindbergh, mix in a dash of Evel Knievel, throw in one man-killing cat—and you’ve got a recipe for a rip-roaring adventure featuring the high-flying, hard-living Smoke Burnham.
There’s not a dare Smoke won’t take, and there’s not a wager he won’t make.  Now he’s betting his life that he can fly his plane, Super Comet—with his pet cheetah Patty coming along for the ride—across the mountains and jungles of South America to a prize-winning payday.  
All he has to do is out-race the competition, out-maneuver a saboteur, and make out with his girl—who’s determined to bring him down to earth.  One thing you can count on—in the air, in a fight, or in his girlfriend’s arms—he’s a man who likes to turn up the heat.  Because where there’s Smoke, there’s fire.

Man-Killers of The Air (Aviation Adventure)
By L. Ron Hubbard
ISBN #978-1592122912
Price $9.95
107 Pages
Rating 5-Stars

“A Transatlantic Race With Deadly Danger.”

Smoke Barnham was a daredevil pilot not afraid of anything. He flew the fastest planes over the worst terrain imaginable, and loved it. When millionaire Paul Harrison Girard sponsored a race over ocean and land, with a fifty thousand winner’s prize, it was all that Smoke could want. After all, he was broke, and Girard was repossessing all of Smoke’s holdings. If would have killed him for his rich girlfriend, Melanie King to discover his financial problems. Without a plane, he and his publicity manager, Alex Montague talk an airlines executing into selling them their experimental plane – on a note. If he didn’t win the race, he was going to be in deeper money problems than ever.

With Alex as co-pilot, and Patty, his pet cheetah, and Melanie along, they join the race, only to be sabotaged over the jungle by Girard’s contact in Brazil. But a piece of silk saves the day, and they are quickly back in the air.

This was originally published in the June 1935 issue of FIVE-NOVELS Magazine. I love Hubbard’s writing in the 30s and 40s, especially his adventure yarns. A great storyteller, Hubbard brings the reader along for the ride, and the story flows as only as master writer can make them. Highly recommended.

Tom Johnson
Author of CARNIVAL OF DEATH



Monday, December 21, 2015

Cold War Heroes & Three Go Back


COLD WAR HEROES & THREE GO BACK by Tom Johnson: Just off Contract and looking for a publisher, preferably a European publisher for COLD WAR HEROES that can place the book in French and German translation and release in Europe. COLD WAR HEROES is a military satire set in France during the 1960s at the height of the Cold War. THREE GO BACK is a YA SF novel about three teenage girls who accidentally go back in time, visiting the different epochs of our world’s evolutionary history.