Walking Shadow

by Clifford Royal Johns

Benny tries to ignore the payment-overdue messages he keeps getting from "Forget What?," a memory removal company. Benny's a slacker, after all, and couldn't pay them even if he wanted to. Then people start trying to kill him, and his life suddenly depends on finding out what memories he has forgotten.

Walking Shadow is a future-noir science fiction mystery novel with action, humor, suspense, smart dialogue, and a driving first person narrative.

Genres: Science Fiction

229 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

Clifford Royal Johns: (AKA Cliff)

Even though I have been an engineer in my day job since starting out at Bell Telephone Laboratories in the early 80's, I like using both sides of my brain,so I also write novels and short stories.

My second novel, "Velocity Blues," is out from Vernacular Books as of June 15, 2021

Reviews

[Staticblaq · Rating 3 out of 5]

First time author Clifford Royal Johns has crafted a fine sci-fi noir story that shows none of the pretension of other more established authors of the genre.
The writing has no flourish; at times it can read a little choppy, and early on the pacing is a little behind where the reader's pace of the story. But all this is easily overlooked by a story, that despite a simple premise, did draw me in. The dryness of the prose suits the story well. John's has delivered an original and realistic down-on-his-luck protagonist that defies the cliched tropes and is far more fulfilling for that.
I did however feel somewhat let down by the last quarter of the book and the resolution, but overall, a solid effort.

[Bfett25 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a surprisingly good sci fi mystery novel. Kind of reminded me of some Philip K. Dick short stories but its a novel. I'd put this up there with Altered Carbon. Highly recommended if you like stuff like Both detective novels a good sci fi.

[Christopher Gerrib · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've met the author at various Chicago-area events and finally got around to buying his book. The novel is set in a future Chicago, after some undefined event that wrecked the economy and rendered travel for tourism expensive and rare. It's narrated by Benny, who seems to be a bog-standard welfare bum living in a one-room welfare apartment.

Benny's only problem is that he went to Forget Me and had some memories wiped. The check bounced, and now Forget Me wants their money or they'll share his memories with the police. Since Benny doesn't want to go to jail, he needs to figure out what he forgot and fast.

The novel is a new noir, in which our hero works with hot dames, shady characters and crooked cops. Oh, and a street bum that the old Benny used to kick a lot. It proved to be an entertaining read and left me wanting more from this world. My only irritation was that Benny kept using slang nicknames for city streets, which as a Chicagoan meant I had to puzzle out what streets were being referenced.

[Josh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Walking Shadow is a gripping sci-fi noir adventure full of dramatic action and complex characters. In a future where focused memory wipes are a common occurrence--both commodified and used as a deterrent to crime--social drifter Benny gets caught up in a dangerous web of influences when a memory he had wiped from his own mind places him in the sights of powerful people willing to kill to protect their own interests. Unsure what he's forgotten or who he can trust, Benny sets out to uncover his past and hopefully save his future.

In this debut novel, Johns blends sci-fi elements and themes with the complex and gritty storytelling that defines the noir genre. Plot twists follow surprises as Benny tumbles down the rabbit hole to places he never expected to go. Dark, thoughtful, and exciting, Walking Shadow is a strong debut well-worth taking the time to pick up.

[Gilbert Stack · Rating 3 out of 5]

I stumbled upon this book while looking up the Spenser novel of the same name, but I loved the premise and decided to give it a try. Our hero is being hassled for payment to a memory erasure company. The problem is, he doesn’t remember having his memory edited and it quickly becomes apparent that what’s he forced himself to forget is becoming very important to his future.

This is one of those mysteries where you keep thinking you know what’s going on but then a new layer of the onion gets pulled off and you realize nothing is the way you think it is. It could have been half the length and very satisfying, but Johns’ mind is much more devious than that. The pace was a little slow for my liking, but the mystery is first rate.

[Raechel Henderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Johns' Walking Shadow has all the style of pulp-noir novels of old, but with a slick veneer: like oil on the pavement. The writing is great, and invites the reader to savor the story, rather than rush through.

I enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more from Johns.

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