Techno-Warriors and Enemies of Economic Truth!

The Hidden Truth: A Science Fiction Techno-Thriller by Hans G. Schantz
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A young budding scientist student and his IT know-how friend enthusiastically decided to compare a multitude of public domain books against original copies of titles written pre 1923. The world they live in is very similar to the USA we know, except it seems President Gore won the election and not President Bush. At least this is the way I interpreted the backdrop of the story. I’m assuming some of the other political characters, mentioned at the start, are people that may have held such office if the Gore candidacy won the election. The dreadful historical events of 9/11/ have all happened but the response is from the alternative politicians. Being a Brit, it took a moment or two for this to register. But it did – eventually. This intrigued me. Plus the story is written in first person singular from the young scientist’s perspective.

With help from an IT proficient friend and an encouraging/positive father, our student science graduate takes the reader into a conspiracy world of economic truths. The story has an up close and personal feel. Especially with omitted scientific discovery. Much of the science was above my head, but the crux of withheld information certainly was not. The new online versions of many scientific books have been altered. The young explorers begin to go through books in a proficient yet independently founded town library. They discover hidden things when compared to the newly written digital versions. They open a Pandora’s book. That is when the story begins to get more interesting. The two techno warriors have already assumed they are going to be tracked before they embark upon their adventure. They have done some prep work to evade. However, government anonymity is a double-edged sword as the techno-thriller starts to role.

Splendidly written, especially from the first person singular angle. I felt as though I was there all the way. If you are a conspiracy theory fan, then I would recommend this story. Also if you like government rouge style thrillers.

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Good SciFi Books Attract Avid Readers

New Sci-fi books are always looked out for. Good sci-fi books are in the realms of the reader opinions. For good or for bad, best new sci-fi books can only be hoped for by the author. Therefore, keep readers happy and hope for good sci-fi book reviews.

For one of many such top sci-fi books Click Here

War of the Worlds Adaptation Retro Science Fiction Novel (The Last Days of Thunder Child)

Deny yourself nothing where good old retro SF is concerned. Come aboard H.M.S. Thunder Child and see another perspective of the War of the Worlds adventure unfold in dreadful detail. See the uncanny alien events through the eyes of the crew. 

Growing Interest in Adaptation

The Last Days of Thunder Child is a War of the Worlds adaptation on sale in the USAand to be sold in the EU from August 2016, seventy years after the passing of the great H.G. Wells - the master science fiction writer of the late Victorian age.

Fascinating new perspective.

The pastiche story goes aboard the battleship/ironclad and the readers see the Martian invasion unfold via the crew's perspective. At first, just rumour and speculation from semaphore stations. The plucky battleship is destined to confront and fight the alien invaders, as in H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds the old retro sci-fi story. Today it is more of an alternative history as well as Science Fiction. It could also be a steampunk story due to its Victorian setting. It all makes for a fun read of Victorian battleship versus alien invaders from Mars.

The story offers two lines of adventure: 

1. The noble Scottish Captain McIntosh and his crew aboard HMS Thunder Child as they cruise around the channel into the North Sea and up along the south-east England coastline.

2. On land, the shy and reserved English Albert Stanley, a minor administrator from the Ministry of Defence - the messenger who brings HMS Thunder Child's last minute orders. Instructions that stop the ironclad going to the salvage yard.

The Final Outcome

The adaptation story has the alternative history - retro science fiction - steampunk feel about it. Readers can purchase the novel in paperback or on Kindle download USA.

War of the Worlds Fans

Have you ever enjoyed H.G. Wells War of the Worlds, an all-time classic Science Fiction story written in 1898? It tells of a Martian invasion that begins in Britain in the County of Surrey just South West of London. Close to a town called Woking. In fact, if you ever visit the town there is a statue of a Martian tripod in the shopping centre. If you have read this story, you will know of the ironclad H.M.S. Thunder Child that is forced to defend the paddle steamer full of refugees. Do you wonder what it would be like to join the crew a few days before the event? You could follow the brave men on their terrible journey around the coastline and up the River Blackwater to Maldon and the final confrontation with three Martian tripods? 

From Mars, the meteorites shot through space bound for Earth and conquest over all lifeforms that live there. The Martians were unfeeling towards mankind as humans are to sheep or other lesser creatures.

The meteorites land in fields and woodland. After a time, there emerges the terror of mankind. Colossal tripods, before which, humanity flees as the onslaught of the fighting machines begins. People are destroyed by heat rays and black toxic gas. Those that survive are forced to flee the pursuing devastation.

Aboard H.M.S. Thunder Child, the crew are blissfully unaware of the savage terror. Only the new Captain knows and only upon the journey, at sea, do the crew begin to learn the unbelievable news from semaphore stations.

Fear grips the population and hordes of refugees make for the coastline to flee the country. Their world is gone and only death and destruction follows. Ships of all nations and sizes must aid the mass evacuation...

Amid all of this, the mighty little ironclad, H.M.S. Thunder Child must play her role to the full and rely on the bravery of a small crew.

Victorian Battleship Model

I saw a model ship from Victorian times in a military Museum in Norfolk as I drove along the coastal road back to my home in the Fenlands. It was a pleasant surprise because the museum had a little more to look at than I expected.

In one section I saw a number of model boats. One of them HMS Hornet of the Dreadnought class or just pre-Dreadnought. I wrote a pastiche novel of H.G.Wells' War of the Worlds. It is called: The Last Days of Thunder Child. Although in my book, Thunder Child is visualised as a ship looking more like HMS Devastation the HMS Hornet, the models figures of the sailors on board would look the same. I loved the look of the superstructure and the wheel house and the figure standing about in their RN uniforms of the era.

I could not help but excitedly snap the model in order to get a look at the sailors aboard. It sets my old imagination going into overdrive.  

To my further delight, I saw a paddle steamer called the Waverly. This little boat still exists and goes all around the British Isles to various seaside locations each year. When I lived at Southend-on-Sea she often came to the pier and took people out on excursions. I based the paddle steamer on the one in H.G.Wells' War of the Worlds when I wrote the Thunder Child pastiche story. Therefore, I had to click all. I have the image of the sailors aboard HMS Hornet for the uniforms of the day, the paddle steamer Waverly (re-named Southend Belle) for the fleeing boat full of refugees and the model of HMS Devastation for my mind's image of the fictitious  HMS Thunder Child.  

The model of HMS Devastation with her short barrelled muzzle loading guns are what I imagined Thunder Child to look like. Outdated, even in 1898, but able to pack a punch for the people on the paddle steamer in the Last Days of Thunder Child.

The Invisible Man - H.G. Wells (Retro SciFi)

This was a thrilling story. I thought it would be corny and I was only half interested when I picked it up. I did not think anything could surpass The War of the Worlds or The Time Machine. However, to my delight, The Invisible Man was so wonderfully presented. It takes place at an Inn in an English village during the time of Victorian Britain. The locals are nosey rumour mongers who find the strange bandaged man a bit of an odd fellow who keeps himself to himself. From here the wonderful plot begins as we gradually learn of the invisible man and the growing intolerance towards his desperate need for isolation and secretive studies. A gripping tale with characters that are deeper and more real than those in H.G. Wells' other good novels.

This story drip-feeds the reader with a developing plot. The scientific explanation for the man's invisibility is remarkable and very plausible too. The clothes and bandages to hide his transparency are all wonderfully thought out. 

One would think the prospect of being invisible would be exciting and advantages, but H.G. Wells thought otherwise as our scientist becomes obsessed, bitter and twisted in his attempt to find a cure for his invisibility - the result of a scientific experiment that went wrong. The reader is introduced to the invisible man as he is about to embark upon a new quest to reverse the accident that rendered the scientist permanently invisible. It is a race against time as he gradually loses his sanity while trying to keep his dilemma a secret. Desperately, he searches for a formula to reverse the dreadful process. 

A Great Steampunk Adventure

Great Steampunk adventure set in an alternative British Empire with advanced steam driven machinery and airships. We follow the adventures of Captain Folkestone and his Martian accomplice, Sergeant Felix Hand. The British Empire is policing colonies on Mars and Venus in the year of 1882. It's a wonderful weird and wacky adventure of a retro sci-fi world from our past. An alternative British Empire in a bizarre space age. The image of Victorian machinery (iron and steam) in a space age dreamed of by people with futuristic imaginations of the late 19th and early 20th Century. H.G. Wells, Jules Verne, Edgar Rice Burrows type Sci-Fi. A story of ancient Dark Gods known to Martians and Venusians from their entwined pasts yet not to Humans who are new comers building empires and colonies upon both planets. The restless natives of these colonised worlds are resurrecting taboo old Gods. Those that must not be spoken of. Their aim (The Dark Gods) to destroy the alternative British Empire of 1882 and bring vengeance upon humanity. Only the dashing Captain Folkestone and Sergeant Hand can thwart the evil as they travel on a quest from Mars to Venus following leads where humanoid and reptillian Venusians dwell. Plus some work back on Earth, in London, by Scotland Yard’s Chief Inspector Ethan Slaughter as he searches among London's immigrant population of Chinese, Laskers, Martians and Venusian workers in a quest for secrets of the Dark Gods too.

Great adventure for all fans of Steampunk Sci-Fi where even Victorian London's back streets are awash with inter-planetary multi-cutralism. The whole story moves well with its wonderful alternative Victorian feel combined with retro steampowered machinery from a mythical, dreamed of, age.

Mexican SciFi - So Bad; Its entertaining - LOL!

These old SciFi flicks were the same all over during the 50s decade. Not just in the USA or the UK. The world was churning them out. This one is called the The Ship of Monsters and is a Mexican SciFi movie. 

Its atrocious as a futuristic story, but fabulous as an entertaining movie with bug eyed monsters and scantly clad ladies making out they always wear such attire while hanging out with bug eyed monsters. For laughs its an absolute peach of a stinker movie. The bottom link is the entire movie.

H.M.S. Thunder Child charges to the Rescue Against Martian Tripods.

The Last Days of Thunder Child pastiche story of War of the Worlds is available on Amazon print and download on USA Kindle. Click Amazon link to right side of the blog from 11th August 2014.

During the War of the Worlds story by H.G. Wells, there is a scene were a British ironclad makes a stand to defend a paddle steamer full of fleeing refugees. It is in the River Blackwater off of the coast of Essex near the town of Maldon. As the paddle steamer pulls out into the river, three huge Martian tripods wade out into the water in pursuit of the helpless paddle steamer and all aboard.

It is at this grand moment when H.M.S. Thunder Child, the British ironclad, decides to attack with everything she can muster. The pastiche story called: The Last Days of Thunder Child brings the days leading up to the event. We see the Martian invaders through the eyes of the disbelieving crew of H.M.S. Thunder Child. The reader can embark upon Thunder Child's final voyage and watch as the brave crew makes their gallant stand. Read The Last Days of Thunder Child by C.A. Powell.

War of the Worlds the true story on Amazon

Click War of the Worlds the True Story link below.

Post by War of the Worlds The True Story.

A new War of the Worlds production on Amazon. Looks good and will give it a try.

H.M.S. Thunder Childs Last Voyage.

In the War of the Worlds novel, the British Empire is powerless to defend itself. The vast navy that protected the island nation from other countries was useless against the Martians. The aliens simply fell from the sky and assembled their fighting machines to wreak havoc upon mankind. People tried to flee the island country and during one such incident HMS Thunder Child, the plucky ironclad, comes to the rescue of a paddle steamer, full of terrified refugees.

Above is a great artistic impression of the dramatic moment when Thunder Child attacked. It is also the basis for a pastiche story; The Last Days of Thunder Child by C.A. Powell. It follows the old Victorian ironclad on its final voyage before her battle with three Martian tripods. Read the exciting novel and join the crew as the brave ship cruises into legend and glory.

It is a tale that might appeal to SciFi and Steampunk fans.  

The story sells well in the USA, but I've always wanted to see how it would do in the UK. 

Under EU law the pastiche can't be published until September of 2016. 

This pastiche SciFi story was inspired by H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds set in Victorian Britain in the year of 1898. I suppose it crosses a number of genres in this day and age. Obviously Science Fiction, but also Alternative Reality and even Steampunk. 

I went on a journey of discovery trying to imagine what H.M.S. Thunder Child might have looked like and fell fancifully in love with the first revolving turret ship without sails. It was H.M.S. Devastation - blogs of which are featured here. She also had a sister ship called HMS Thunderer.

At first these revolving ship's had muzzle loading guns with short stumpy barrels that barely protruded from the gun ports. I wanted to keep these on the ship of 1898. Even though they were obsolete by such times. I used poetic license to do such thing and used a credible excuse.

The whole endeavour of this written work was done during an evening school writing class and it sort of developed from there. It was a wonderful project that I found most absorbing. I got it edited properly and a front cover picture from an artist living in Cambridgeshire.

It cannot be published in the UK or the EU until September 2016, but the USA, CANADA, AUSTRALIA and NEW ZEALAND are selling the novel now.

Read H.M.S. Thunder Child's adventure against the Martian tripods. Victorian Britain is now a dystopian land. The world has gone mad and the British Empire is exposed for all the weakness it has against an alien technology it cannot compete against. One small out dated ironclad steps up to the mark with a brave crew. In the River Blackwater, Thunder Child makes a defiant stand. Follow the crew and her last voyage.

My Pastiche novel about H.G. Wells' fictional battleship H.M.S. Thunder Child (The Last Days of Thunder Child) was based on H.M.S. Devastation. In my imagination, I could see this design for Thunder Child going into battle against three Martian tripods on the River Blackwater in the county of Essex, England, UK in 1898.

Muzzle loading guns went obsolete around 1889. All Royal navy ships, including Devastation were converted to Breech loading. However, I invented a political excuse to keep Thunder Child antiquated and still retaining the short stubby muzzle loading guns inside revolving turrets. 

This was to give Thunder Child a feeling of being behind the times, but still plucky when the occasion demanded. The diagram above, was found in a library book and then I was fortunate enough to find it on line. This gives a great internal view of the working of H.M.S. Devastation and I used this plan for my vision of H.M.S. Thunder Child in: The Last Days of Thunder Child by C.A. Powell. 

The book is only on sale in the USA at the moment but will be able to be sold in the EU and other places in 2017. On USA kindle, the novel is available for download and it can be bought in print too. Check out the advert below.