Artwork and Designs for Seacar SC-1 from The Rise of Oceania

Artwork and Designs for Seacar SC-1 from The Rise of Oceania

In The Rise of Oceania, characters live and work underwater in cities, habitats, domes, and other remote outposts.  They travel via submarine, warsub, seacar, submersible, or in SCUBA. The seacar SC-1, pictured above, is the vessel most constantly present in the saga.  In fact, its appearance in The War Beneath is the story’s central plot.  It’s a unique vessel in the oceans that other nation’s militaries want to get their hands on.  It soon becomes Truman McClusky’s personal vehicle, and it is present in every book that follows.  It goes through a lot of punishment in the series, and in fact becomes a character of its own by the final book, A Blanket of Steel.

Here is some artwork for you to enjoy:

The Original Design, as Drawn by Artist Cheyney Steadman

SC-1 is described as “being the size of an RV on the surface” or perhaps a bus. It is for travel in shallow or deep water and can hold six to eight people.  Often in the series there are more on board than that.  The stated depth limit is 4,000 meters, or four kilometers, though it often goes deeper, causing much stress and worry among the passengers.  The maximum velocity, as twin screws hammer the vessel through dense water and powered by batteries in the starboard and port engine pods, is 70 km/hr.  Many storylines in the book involve new technologies to dive both deeper — and faster — underwater.

Realized in 3D by Artist Nelson Housden

On the Cover of A Blanket of Steel

On the Spine of A Blanket of Steel, on the Shelf at an Indigo in Canada:

The vessel, SC-1, plays a dramatic and crucial role in all six books of the series. It even becomes its own character.  There is frequently damage to repair following skirmishes and outright battles and torpedo detonations.  There are also malfunctions that need repair, action around and within it, and frequent conversations and arguments, including formulating plans for assaults or covert operations, occurring within the pilot’s cabin and SC-1‘s seating area. There are also murders on board, during the six-book series.

I hope you enjoyed this look at a remarkable part of The Rise of Oceania.  By the time I’d finished writing the series, I felt a strong emotional connection to not only the characters, but also to this unique undersea vessel.  She played a huge role in every story, and Mac had a close bond with her.  If you’ve read the books, you know why, but I won’t say more here.

In The War Beneath, (Book 1), there was a scene early on featuring this remarkable ship.  Trapped at 4,400 meters underwater on a plateau above escalating pressures and certain death, as Chinese warsubs dropped mines on her from above, Mac had to figure a way to repair her and get underway on a mission to track down a former spy. But SC-1 was damaged, too deep, and partially flooded.  The sequence was exciting to write, but as I think about what the vessel went through during all six books, that incident paled next to some of the battles she endured.  If she could speak, she would tell an epic tale of a brother and sister who battled the superpowers for ocean supremacy, who dealt with unspeakable loss and agony, but fought hard against superior forces every inch of the way.

Now that the series is done, I’m going to miss her.

— TSJ, 20 December 2024

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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.

“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

“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

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

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TSJ’s Awards

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THE WAR BENEATH:  FIRST PLACE 2018 GLOBAL THRILLER Action / Adventure Category Winner, 2019 Silver Falchion Award Finalist, 2018 CLUE Award Semi-Finalist, 2019 Kindle Book Awards Semi-Finalist, & 2019 CYGNUS Award Shortlister

THE SAVAGE DEEPS:  FIRST PLACE 2020 CYGNUS Award Winner, 2019 GLOBAL THRILLER Awards Finalist, 2022 Kindle Book Awards Semi-Finalist; 2019 CLUE Award Shortlister

FATAL DEPTH: FIRST PLACE 2021 GLOBAL THRILLER Award Winner, 2022 Silver Falchion Award Finalist (Best Action Adventure), 2021 CYGNUS Award Semi-Finalist

Praise for THE WAR BENEATH

“If you’re looking for a techno-thriller combining Ian Fleming, Tom Clancy and John Le Carré, The War Beneath will satisfy … a ripping good yarn, a genuine page-turner.” — Amazing Stories
“One very riveting, intelligent read!” — Readers’ Favorite
“If you like novels like The Hunt for Red October and Red Storm Rising,
you will certainly enjoy The War Beneath.” — A Thrill A Week
“If you’re here for thrills, the book will deliver.” — The Cambridge Geek
“… an engaging world that is highly believable …” — The Future Fire
“This is a tense, gripping science fiction/thriller of which Tom Clancy might well be proud . . . When I say it is gripping, that is the simple truth.” — Ardath Mayhar
“… a thrill ride from beginning to end …” — SFcrowsnest
“… if you like Clancy and le Carré with a hint of Forsyth thrown in,
you’ll love The War Beneath.” — Colonel Jonathan P. Brazee (RET),
2017 Nebula Award & 2018 Dragon Award Finalist
“Fast-paced, good old-fashioned Cold War espionage … a great escape!” — The Minerva Reader