TSJ and AVATAR 3: FIRE AND ASH |

TSJ and Avatar 3: Fire and Ash

The Johnston Family made the trek to see Avatar 3 yesterday. Here are my (very brief) thoughts:

Avatar: Fire and Ash is an absolutely massive film and a visual treat. It is an epic and experiential adventure. I recommend seeing this in theatres over the holidays.

Of the three films, it has the weakest plot. It shares the same story as the first two, with elements cribbed directly from them. That being said, it’s HUGE, action-packed, a visual buffet, and emotional. I’m not as connected to these films as I am to Terminator or Aliens or True Lies, but my daughters definitely are.

What follows is a very quick review, in jot-note format:

Pros

Amazing effects
It’s a big story
There are huge stakes
Quaritch has an interesting story here
The conflict is not black and white … there are shades of grey here, too
Many characters have their own threads
We see some new areas of Pandora
The best addition is the character, Varang. She is simply amazing … a great new villain
For us, these films have been wonderful family events each Christmas. This movie is no exception

Cons

It seems to be the same story and themes each time
It’s a bit too long, at 3:15 hours
The action sometimes switches to high frame rate, which is noticeable and can be distracting
A lot of the action/events/plot are taken directly from the previous two films

Here I am after the showing, with my youngest daughter on the left. The review continues below.

In short, it was highly entertaining, the very reason we have theatres, and watching it was an excellent experience. This trilogy is James Cameron’s Star Wars. I would now plead with Cameron to please make the move to some more original films, like he did with True Lies, The Abyss, or Terminator. Avatar has been loads of fun and he is a true visionary. Huge kudos to the most successful director of all time, a great Canadian, and an effective advocate for environmental protections.

Now … time for something new, please!

TSJ’s Rating: 8/10

———

Each day, I post one carefully curated news item from the Science Fiction, Thriller, Mystery, Horror, and Suspense genres. Follow or subscribe to my blog and start your days dialed in to the exciting worlds of Timothy S. Johnston!

———

Follow TSJ on Facebook.
Follow TSJ on X.
Follow TSJ on Instagram.
Follow TSJ’s Blog Life After Gateway, featuring one carefully curated news item from the world of Science Fiction, Mystery, Thriller, Horror, and Suspense each day. Enter your email in the “Subscribe to Blog via Email” widget on the right.

———

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, 21 December 2025

———

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

———

A BLANKET OF STEEL is out now!

WATCH THE GRIPPING BOOK TRAILER HERE.

FOR PURCHASE OPTIONS CLICK HERE

———

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