A New Five-Star Review of A BLANKET OF STEEL |

A New Five-Star Review of A Blanket of Steel

My spy vs. spy underwater revenge thriller has scored a five-star review from Chanticleer Book Reviews. Here’s some of the spoiler-free review:

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CHANTICLEER BOOK REVIEWS: “In the year 2131, some people are now living in large underwater cities. They are free from the surface world’s rapidly deteriorating climate, overpopulation, rebellion, and dictatorships—but not its violent powers. In Timothy S. Johnston’s A Blanket of Steel, the fledgling marine union Oceania might be crushed from above, if it isn’t torn apart from within.

Most of the great upper world countries want to maintain a tight yoke on the water world, hungry for their mining resources and advanced technology. Massive warships from the world’s top terrestrial nations—China, Russia, and others—are assembling on the surface.

Truman McClusky, mayor of Trieste City off the Florida coast, declares the formation of Oceania to bring the 14 underwater cities together. Defense is their top priority. But within minutes of the announcement, a massive power blackout strikes Trieste. Is it an accident or an opening salvo?”

“A war with the upper world is only one of McClusky’s problems, as subtler enemies circle him in the water.

His chief of security, Cliff Sim, undertook a top-secret mission to a mysterious stretch of Oceania, and is murdered in a brutal fight. His murderer may be one of the world’s most ruthless killers, known as Steel Shiv—but why? Answering the questions of Cliff’s death might take dredging up the true nature of his mission …

… Warring nations, rogue international forces, would-be assassins; McClusky must battle with all of these forces at once.

Fast paced and fully imagined, Timothy S. Johnston’s tale of underwater cities illustrates political dynamics only a few small steps from our own. But it’s also a personal story of trust, friendship and betrayal. A Blanket of Steel marries its science fiction setting and human conflicts to create a complex and rapidly changing world.

A Blanket of Steel by Timothy S. Johnston won Grand Prize in the 2024 CIBA Global Thriller Awards.” — FIVE STARS from Chanticleer Book Reviews

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Thank you to Chanticleer Book Reviews for the Grand Prize Award, and also for this review.

See the full review HERE.

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A Blanket of Steel by Timothy S. Johnston and from Fitzhenry & Whiteside, LTD. is the recipient of the 2024 GLOBAL Thriller Award GRAND PRIZE and the 2024 CYGNUS Award First in Category.

— Timothy S. Johnston, 8 September 2025

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Praise for Timothy S. Johnston’s A Blanket of Steel

“Fans of Clive Cussler’s NUMA Files will be delighted with Timothy S. Johnston’s undersea novels. Truman McClusky and Dirk Pitt are cut from the same adventurer’s cloth.” — Nick Cutter, author of The Deep and The Troop

“Action that ranges from close range combat to torpedo-fueled attacks. The result is a thriller that keeps moving from confrontation to confrontation … with constant danger and the vast depths of the ocean as a setting, there is always reason to keep reading.” — Kirkus Reviews

“Read the book and prepare to be blown away by one of the best writers I have ever had the pleasure to read. Timothy S. Johnston is simply amazing.” — FIVE Stars from Readers’ Favorite

“A Blanket of Steel is not simply a ‘daring do’ thriller … It’s prescient.” — Amazing Stories

“A priority selection. An action-packed story that is hard to put down. A Blanket of Steel is outstanding.” — D. Donovan, Sr. Reviewer, Midwest Book Review

“Innovative technology, Mac taking risks no one else would dare and thinking his way through to brilliant solutions … But the stakes are higher than they’ve ever been before. This is it. The countdown to the final battle … Johnston does an excellent job of keeping the tension taut as he plays with the reader’s perceptions of characters we thought we knew and trusted …” — SFcrowsnest

“Expect to be left breathless. Trust me here. Please. I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN.” — Michael Libling, author of The Serial Killer’s Son Takes A Wife and Hollywood North: A Novel in Six Reels

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A BLANKET OF STEEL is out now!

WATCH THE GRIPPING BOOK TRAILER HERE.

FOR PURCHASE OPTIONS CLICK HERE

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A Blanket of Steel from Timothy S. Johnston and Fitzhenry & Whiteside, Ltd.

Book Cover & Jacket Copy:

AN UNSTOPPABLE THREAT!

A mysterious assassin has murdered Cliff Sim, Chief Security Officer of the underwater colony, Trieste. Cliff was a mountain of a man, highly trained, and impossible to defeat in combat. And yet …

Someone brutally beat him and left his broken body in a secret Chinese facility at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean.

And included a calling card for Truman McClusky, Mayor of Trieste.

Taunting him.

Mac has led the underwater colonies in their fight against the world’s superpowers. Climate change has devastated the surface; nations suffer famine, drought, rebellion, rising waters, and apocalyptic coastal flooding. But now, as Mac leads the underwater colonies to freedom and independence, he’s faced with the gravest threat of his life: a Russian assassin, hellbent on killing Mac and everyone he cares for. Now Mac must uncover the identity of the killer, face him in combat, and at the same time lead people in battle against the largest underwater force ever assembled. It’s Mac’s final test, and to win the war, he must use every tool at his disposal, including the most surprising and devastating underwater weapons ever invented.

If Mac fails, all hope is lost for the future of human colonization on the ocean floors.

But the assassin could be anyone …

Watch your back, Mac.

A Blanket of Steel is the most gripping thriller yet in The Rise of Oceania.

FOR PURCHASE OPTIONS CLICK HERE

The other books in The Rise of Oceania series by Timothy S Johnston:

The War Beneath 9781771484718
The Savage Deeps 9781771485067
Fatal Depth 9781554555574
An Island of Light 9781554555819
The Shadow of War 9781554556007