Ghosts of Tokyo

by Christopher J. Smith

Ghosts of Tokyo is an adventure set in the Tokyo underbelly. Deep beneath the streets of Tokyo, in a long forgotten labyrinth, there lurks an evil that could change the world as we know it. The boy was just one year old when he was kidnapped and, along with four other boys, whisked away to a life of scientific experimentation in a fortress laboratory below the streets of Tokyo. There, Tetsuya Hiroko, a driven scientist, and his henchman Grok, a man whose conscience stops where the money begins, have assembled a team with the purpose of challenging the apparently immutable laws of the universe. The musician arrives in Tokyo a jaded, travel-weary man. His passion for music has cost him his first marriage and he is on the verge of quitting after one bad tour too many, but on this trip things finally seem to be coming together for him. His following in Japan has grown exponentially since his last visit. Yuka Sasaki, a reporter from northern Honshu comes to Tokyo to interview the musician and soon discovers her interest in him is moving from a professional to a personal level. The musician finds himself falling head over heels in love with her, but is distracted and unnerved by a number of strange and disturbing dreams involving a Tokyo rentboy with haunted eyes. Then, one day, outside Shinjuku Station he finds himself face to face with the boy from his nightmares. This chance meeting sets off a series of events that leave the musician questioning his own sanity and the reader turning the page for more. Now the scene is set for an adventure that spans more than fifty years and takes us all over the world and back as the mystery of the boy and musician unfolds.

370 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2012

About the author

An Australian by birth, Chris is a nomad by nature. His writing career spans over thirty years and has included time as a journalist, editor and corporate communications consultant. He has founded and managed a number of successful strategic marketing companies and advertising agencies and has enjoyed a parallel career as a singer/songwriter, with a catalogue of over 200 songs to his credit.

While he describes himself as having a chronic aversion to airports, Chris considers himself as fortunate to have been able to travel widely over the past forty years for business and pleasure. The northern prefectures of Honshu, Japan, The French Languedoc and the northern Italian lakes district are favourite stamping grounds.

“Travel has provided me with the raw materials upon which I build both my songs and stories. The characters I meet along the way often find their way into my writing and of course the world provides me with diverse locations as backdrops.”

He described himself not as a musician or a novelist, but as a storyteller. In 2009 he made the decision to turn to writing full time. He started reading at a very early age to escape from life in a private boarding school. Early influences were Steinbeck, Vonnegut, Huxley, Orwell and Mark Twain. In his late teens he got through three or four books a week and fell in with Clarke, Asimov, Heinlein and Philip K. Dick.

He has just completed his fourth novel and is finalising a large collection of short stories and poetry. His list of literary heroes is an eclectic grouping and these days include authors like Haruki Murakami, China Mieville, Italo Calvino, Chuck Palahniuk and Marlon James.