Al Clark

Al Clark wakes inside a coffin-like box, in a place he does not remember.  Amnesia leaves him with nothing to draw on. Without clues to explain his situation. Even his name has been wiped from his mind.
His new moniker comes from a faded placard outside the door of the small compartment containing the metal box where he woke. The sign is old, and hard to make out, but it looks like Al...Clark.

At forty-something, Al is beginning a new life.  A brand new life without the benefit of experience to guide him.

It is the beginning of a quest that will take him to places he could not imagine, manage feats he would not have thought possible, and teach him the value of true friendship.

Al Clark (SF Adventure)

Book One

By Jonathan G. Meyer

Independent Publishing Platform

ISBN #978-1720011910

Price $11.95 (Paperback)

Price $3.99 (Kindle)

286 Pages

Rating 5-Stars

“Character Driven SF”

Waking up on a spaceship orbiting a planet, a man remembers nothing of his past. A faded placard appears to read “Al Clark”, so that’s all he has to go by. Roaming the giant ship he finds a young boy named Chris, who has only been awake for a while. Eventually, they discover other bodies in stasis and begin reviving them, Out of 1000 passenger only a little over 800 have survived. Below the ship is the planet Avalon, their destination. They arrived ten years previous, so something went wrong and the awakening never happened on schedule. Now the process begins of moving the survivors to Avalon and starting their human race over. It looks like a peaceful planet, and they meet another race of human-like friendly people. But their valley isn’t peaceful. Dinosaurs still rule this planet, and they will have to prove mightier or be destroyed.

The story is character driven, and the reader feels for them, and follows their conquest of the terror, and the discovery of who they really are. The author knows how to pull the reader into the story. A great story that could have appeared in the classic science fiction period of the 1950s. Highly recommended.  

Tom Johnson

Author of WORLDS OF TOMORROW

Fangs and Claws

Fangs and Claws (Horror)

By Cameron Joseph

Independent Publishing Platform

ASIN # B076YNXH9G

63 Pages

Price $0.00

Rating 4-Stars

Ballard Stone buys a large area of land that has a tract of forest with trees that reach up to the heavens. He sends his nephews, Seath and Duncan to the forest as workers. He has already sent in his crew boss and foreman. The boys take their girlfriends along for the adventure, but there is already someone else in the woods: Raven Shadow, a witch, and her companion, a huge half man, half beast, over seven foot tall, with a sabertooth cat head, and fierce claws. Raven is determined that Ballard Stone will not have his way.

A fun read, but perhaps would have been better read around a creepy campfire on a dark night. The book, even short, would have benefited from an editor, or at least a proofreader. Reminded me of some slasher/sex teenager movies from the 1970s and ‘80s. The language, slashing, and sex could have been cleaned up to give us a great yarn with witches and monsters. Highly recommended.

Tom Johnson

Author of Carnival of Death

Writers of The Future

Let your imagination run wild.

If you’re ready to travel to a universe of mystery, sacrifice, and suspense, where the laws of physics are optional, book your journey here.

On this odyssey of enchantment, enlightenment, and endless possibility, you will meet a murderer who’s out to save mankind, a cyborg who robs the dead to rescue the living, and a lost boy who holds the key to peace. Discover visions of the world, of mankind, and of the future that are sure to open your eyes.

Every illustration will touch you.

Every word will move you.

Every idea will take you by surprise.

Just imagine.

Bonus: Learn how to write or improve your craft with tips from award-winning and bestselling author and editor Mike Resnick and New York Times bestselling author L. Ron Hubbard. Internationally renowned artist, Rob Prior, shares tips of the trade for aspiring illustrators.

“It’s one of the forces that keep science fiction alive.” —Orson Scott Card

The 35th collection of winners of the Writers and Illustrators of the Future competition features expertly crafted stories and art, spanning the gamut from hard core sci-fi to epic fantasy. 12 stories so fresh and new, they're 5–10 years ahead of the curve—the future is literally here and now.

Each year, the Writers and Illustrators of the Future Contests’ blue-ribbon judges search the world to discover and introduce to you the very best new talent in sci-fi and fantasy.

Created by L. Ron Hubbard, whose commitment to help new writers and artists gave rise to the annual Writers of the Future anthologies—a launching pad for writers and artists who are sure to command our attention for decades to come.

The 24 award-winning sci-fi and fantasy authors and illustrators are accompanied by New York Times bestselling authors L. Ron Hubbard, Rebecca Moesta, Mike Resnick, Dean Wesley Smith, and world-class artists Rob Prior and Echo Chernik and edited by David Farland.

Writers of The Future Vol 35 (SF Anthology)

Various Authors & Artists

Galaxy Press www.galaxypresss.com

ISBN #978-1619866041

Price $11.72 (Paperback)

Price $9.49 (Kindle)

428 Pages

Rating 5-Stars

“The Annual L. Ron Hubbard Contest Winners”

Volume 35 continues the annual winners in the SF short story contests presented by the Galaxy Press L. Ron Hubbard folks, and this year is just as fascinating as previous years. Featuring this year’s 12 best international tales, as well as illustrated by the best international illustrators. Includes three short stories by professional authors L. Ron Hubbard, Dean Wesley Smith, and Rebecca Moesta. With essays on writing and illustrating by L. Ron Hubbard, Mike Resnick, and Rob Prior.

The winning stories this year are Untrained Luck by Elise Stephens, and illustrated by Aliya Chen; The First Warden by Kai Wolden, and illustrated by Alexander Gustafson; The Damned Voyage by John Haas, and illustrated by Allen Morris; Thanatos Drive by Andrew Dykstal, and illustrated by Qianjiao Ma; A Harvest of Astronauts by Kyle Kirrin, and illustrated by Sam Kemp; Super Duper Moongirl And The Amazing Moon Dawdler by Wulf Moon, and illustrated by Alice Wang; Are You The Life Of The Party? by Mica Scotti kole, and illustrated by Josh Pemberton; Release From Service by Rustin Lovewell, and illustrated by Emerson Rabbitt; Dark Equations Of The Heart by David Cleden, and illustrated by Vytautas Vasiliauskas; An Itch by Christopher Baker, and illustrated by Jennifer Ober; Dirt Road Magic by Carrie Callahan, and illustrated by Yingying Jiang; A Certain Slant Of Light by Preston Dennett, and illustrated by Christine Rhee.

L. Ron Hubbard wrote The Idealist, which was illustrated by Brian C. Hailes, Plus, he also wrote Tomorrow’s Miracles. Dean Wesley Smith wrote Lost Robot, inspired by Bob Eggleton’s One of Our Robots Is Missing, used as the cover of this issue. Rebecca Moesta wrote The Yellow Submarine, which was illustrated by David Furnal. Mike Resnick wrote Tips For Embryonic Pros, and David Forland wrote the Introduction. The illustrations appear in both color at the front of the book, as well as b&w with the stories.

Only the best stories and illustrations were selected for this anthology, and each is rated in the overall final 5-Stars for their unique and exciting tales, in visual and words. I enjoyed the whole book, so will not pick any favorites. Highly recommended.

Tom Johnson

Author of BEHIND THE MASK

The Armageddon Virus

The Armageddon Virus is the third installment to his action-packed, thriller series. Travis Weld and Chesney Barrett’s tandem is taken to a whole new level where Chesney tries to stop the alleged illegal transaction involving a potentially deadly virus. Let’s take a walk to memory lane – viruses were one of the major causes of death of our ancestors. A single virus can damage an entire community; if there’s no known cure. Weld in a pursuit of terrorists, intercepted a phone message from an anonymous sender trying to sell a deadly virus to a weapon dealer. This leaves them with an intense pursuit of who this person is and what this deadly virus being sold is. Chesney, who has become Weld’s first contact in missions like this, found herself leading towards a virology research company. As she tries to explore virology in this industry; she has noted wary deaths, and met various virologists. During her stay, her keen self found out about the long time feud going on inside the premises, which she purported to be the key in resolving the case. The closer she gets to the answers, the closer she is to danger. Imagine a single virus that can endanger not only one or two lives, but millions. Find out if this tandem can stop destruction to mankind or will they succumb to this virus.

The Armageddon Virus (Thriller)

By Robert W. Gallant

Independent Publishing Platform

ISBN #978-0578208114

Price $11.99 (Paperback)

Price $3.99 (Kindle)

322 Pages

Rating 4-Stars

“A Page Turner”

Travis Weld brings Chesney Barrett in on another case, this time involving the illegal sale of a deadly virus. Weld commands a team of special agents who track down and kill terrorists and drug dealers.  His motto is no criminal walks away alive. A few years in the past there was a hotel in Houston, Texas that experienced a mysterious virus that left 27 people dead out of over 400 who were at the hotel. The low death rate did not send any signals up, but it was investigated. Weld hears coded messages coming through an illegal weapons dealer that a deadly Armageddon virus is for sale, and when two of the investigators of the hotel virus are murdered, he wants someone to infiltrate the bio lab that handled the investigation. Giving Chesney Barrett a cover story as a newspaper reporter, she’s sent to interview the virologists at the bio lab in Texas. With Virologists, Dr. Martin Giles, they uncover a mysterious person wearing a coat in an elevator that may have been the origin of the virus, and this leads them to Kentucky and mines that have been shut down, and talk of a mysterious ghost who is righting wrongs. The virus is biding its time, preparing to become the dreaded Doomsday virus, which will eventually kill the other 400 people from the hotel and everyone they have come into contact with.

This is the third novel by the author that follows Chesney Barrett and Travis Weld in a topnotch page-turner. Using a similar plot to Jericho’s Trumpet, only this time a deadly virus instead of nuclear bombs, both novels were exciting page-turners. This is also a 5-star read, except for problems with the text. A proofreader would have helped. There weren’t too many wrong words, but a few that could have been corrected. My main problem was multiple voices in the same paragraph. Some of this looked like formatting problems, but others appeared intentional. For such a great read, the author should have insured no problem with the text and formatting. Highly recommended.

Tom Johnson

Author of AN INVITATION TO DEATH