​A Blanket Of Steel (Rise Of Oceania book 6) by Timothy S. Johnston (book review).

The primary goal for Truman ‘Mac’ McClusky, his sister Meg and their allies has always been independence. Now, in ‘A Blanket Of Steel’ the sixth and final book in Timothy S. Johnston’s ‘Rise Of Oceania’ series, fifteen underwater colonies have banded together, led by Mac and his cohort at Trieste, to declare their intent: We are Oceania, united and free. Move against us at your peril.

For decades, the underwater colonies have been the backbone of commerce for a climate ravaged world, eroded coastlines and drought-stricken farmland, supplying food and other necessary resources. But their treatment at the hands of the sovereign fleets has been less than humane, with sailors on leave abusing the local populations and their governments expecting goods and services at a fraction of market value.

Over the course of the ‘Rise Of Oceania’ series, Johnston has guided Mac and his team through several adventures involving mystery, intrigue, revenge, bleeding edge technology and even a prison break. With each book, the stakes rise as Mac works to gather the tools necessary for him and his underwater coalition to not only declare independence but outlast the reaction of the world’s powers as they realise they no longer own the seas. Weapons never heard of, technology that enables Trieste’s subs to go deeper and faster and defences against the inevitable.

Little has gone as planned and the day the fifteen underwater cities announce their independence is no exception. Mac’s chief security officer is missing, a category six hurricane is poised to dash the crumbling seawalls of the beleaguered United States and the worldwide governments’ response to the declaration of independence is a resounding not on our watch.

Mac has six days before the hurricane makes landfall, no more than seven days before the United States Submarine Fleet (USSF) arrives to reclaim their territory, to find his CSO. Cliff Sims had been following a trail of breadcrumbs to a final piece of technology that could allow the underwater colonies to stay ahead in the coming war. As it turns out, however, those breadcrumbs were scattered by an old enemy, one Mac thought he had already dealt with.

This enemy has a new tool: an assassin known as the Steel Shiv…and three new operatives have just arrived on the scene, one from Sheng City and two from Churchill Downs. Both underwater cities are allies, but are these operatives working for or against independence? Could one of them be this assassin?

Mac’s final mission will uncover the truth and guarantee the freedom of the new nation of Oceania but he’ll have to risk all of it along the way, including his own life.

If you’ve read any of the books in this series, you’ll think you know what to expect and, to some extent, you’ll be right. Innovative technology, Mac taking risks no one else would dare and thinking his way through to brilliant solutions. Camaraderie and betrayal. The testing and strengthening of family ties. But the stakes are higher than they’ve ever been before. This is it. The countdown to the final battle. Mac has enough to worry about without having to play a game of cat and mouse with an assassin. But it’s him or them and the countdown has begun.

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 and the relationships built thus far. I really did wonder if Mac would make it through to the end of this one!

But while I’m sad the series has concluded, I feel as though Johnston has left Oceania exactly as it should be, riding a rising tide that could easily carry a new series or simply be left to enjoy their independence.

Kelly Jensen

December 2023

(pub: Fitzhenry & Whiteside, 2023. 416 pages eBook and paperback. eBook price: $10.49 (US), £22.61 (UK). ASIN: B0CPN2KZSX. paperback price: $21.95 (US) £22.61 (UK). ISBN: 978-1554556281).

check out websites: https://www.fitzhenry.ca/  and https://timothysjohnston.com/

view the book trailer: http://www.timothysjohnston.com/ablanketofsteeltrailer/