TSJ’s A Blanket of Steel is now a 2026 Kindle Book Award Semifinalist
I just found out this news on Friday and wanted to share it with you today here at Life After Gateway.
The Kindle Book Review has just released their 2026 list of Semifinalists. I’m happy to announce that not only is A Blanket of Steel one of them, but the cover has also advanced to this stage in the contest.
Many thanks to my publisher, Fitzhenry & Whiteside Ltd., my family, friends, fans, and everyone who has helped make this book a success. Thanks to Holly Doll, Peter Doll, Sharon Fitzhenry, Ken Whyte, Krithika Chandrasekar, also to editor Sandra Kasturi, who helped me keep the narrative tight. Thanks also to the cover artist, Ken Geniza, whose design work is now moving through the contest. Nelson Housden created seacar SC-1, found at the top of the cover. (In case you weren’t aware, SC-1 is The Rise of Oceania’s Millennium Falcon, present in every book in the series, and Truman McClusky’s personal seacar.)
Also, thank you to Cheyney Steadman, the incredible graphic artist who created the many schematics and maps within the book. These are only three of them:
There are eighteen semifinalists in the cover category; you can see them HERE.
PURCHASE A BLANKET OF STEEL BY TIMOTHY S. JOHNSTON TODAY
The awards for this book are now:
- GRAND PRIZE Winner in the 2024 GLOBAL THRILLER Awards
- Winner of the 2024 CYGNUS Award, Climate Fiction (Cli-Fi) Category
- 2024 Silver Falchion Best Action Adventure Top Pick
- 2024 Silver Falchion Best Action Adventure Finalist
- 2024 Readers’ Favorite Finalist — Fiction, Thriller, Environmental
- 2026 Kindle Book Review Semifinalist (Sci-Fi / Fantasy)
“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
At book signings, I frequently say that this book is “James Bond meets Agatha Christie,” because it is very much an action thriller combined with a whodunnit. Mac must discover the assassin’s identity aboard the submarine SC-1, while also attempting to lead his underwater city Trieste to freedom and forge the underwater nation of Oceania. I planned the big reveal’s location and setup before I even started writing page one … and it paid off. That scene is so incredibly tense.
“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
As news about this contest continues to come in, I’ll post it here at Life After Gateway. Thanks again to publisher Fitzhenry & Whiteside and new owner Ken Whyte. I continue to do signings and promote this book; the next is at Coles Stratford Mall on 26 September 2026 — that’s this Saturday! And I’ll be in Toronto at Indigo Fairview Mall on Saturday 24 October 2026!
How is The Rise of Oceania related to climate change and current ecological trends? Why is it set underwater, and why do I see the oceans as our future? Find out here: (click the pic)
“A Blanket of Steel is not simply a ‘daring do’ thriller. It is actually a serious look at the possibilities inherent in learning how to exploit the ocean’s riches for the benefit of humanity … The man writes from a profound knowledge of the subject … It’s prescient.” — Amazing Stories
Here’s the exciting trailer, created by L. Trujillo:
And here are some purchase links for the book. Go pick up a copy today — I promise a gripping page-turner!
Thanks to the 2026 Kindle Book Awards for this great honour.
— Timothy S. Johnston
PURCHASE A BLANKET OF STEEL BY TIMOTHY S. JOHNSTON TODAY
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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, 23 September 2026
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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
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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