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Lauren Madison & Ellis Cole #1
Landfall
The clock is ticking—and the future may already be lost.
When a space capsule believed lost in a catastrophic space station explosion is discovered intact in the frozen Canadian wilderness, FBI agents Lauren Madison and Ellis Cole are sent to investigate. Inside, they find strange technology, a sealed case—and a handwritten note that reads only: Your Move.
Meanwhile, a deadly superbug begins to spread. Panic mounts. And the name tied to the capsule, Dr. Jan Lee—renegade astronaut, entrepreneur, and presumed terrorist—is thrust back into the spotlight.
But Dr. Lee may not be a villain. His secret experiment in time-messaging could hold the key to stopping the virus… or triggering something far worse.
As global powers race to recover the capsule and suppress the truth, Lauren and Ellis must decide how far they’ll go to protect what they’ve found—because whoever controls the past, controls the future.
Landfall is a relentless sci-fi thriller that blends cutting-edge science, conspiracy, and human courage into a fast-paced, mind-bending ride.
When a space capsule believed lost in a catastrophic space station explosion is discovered intact in the frozen Canadian wilderness, FBI agents Lauren Madison and Ellis Cole are sent to investigate. Inside, they find strange technology, a sealed case—and a handwritten note that reads only: Your Move.
Meanwhile, a deadly superbug begins to spread. Panic mounts. And the name tied to the capsule, Dr. Jan Lee—renegade astronaut, entrepreneur, and presumed terrorist—is thrust back into the spotlight.
But Dr. Lee may not be a villain. His secret experiment in time-messaging could hold the key to stopping the virus… or triggering something far worse.
As global powers race to recover the capsule and suppress the truth, Lauren and Ellis must decide how far they’ll go to protect what they’ve found—because whoever controls the past, controls the future.
Landfall is a relentless sci-fi thriller that blends cutting-edge science, conspiracy, and human courage into a fast-paced, mind-bending ride.
207 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 2, 2015
150 people are currently reading
133 people want to read
About the author
John McWilliams
8 books4 followersJohn McWilliams is an entrepreneur who has established business ventures working in the fields of microelectronics, software design, and high-energy physics. Mr. McWilliams lives in Orlando, Florida with his two sons.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews
November 17, 2016
I read it. I finished it. It was neither good nor bad. I won't recommend this. I feel my time could have been better spent on a different book.
December 30, 2015
This was quite interesting and intriguing, though got bogged down in details at times.
The blurb pretty much says it all so here's my thoughts. Character wise, I really liked Special Agents Lauren Madison and Ellis Cole. They make a good team and their banter was fun to listen to. The science guys were well written and researched. They are uber smart and quite daunting!
The plot was, at times hard to follow when they got into the nitty gritty of the time travel, but also interesting and thought provoking. I also liked how the story is told from the past and present. It all wraps up nicely in the end.
In all, a good listen. I wanted a little more character development though. I felt like they all stayed the same and didn't grow. Other than that, It's a good book and I'm glad I listened to it.
Paul Heitsch was amazing. This isn't the first book I've listened to that's narrated by him and it won't be my last. He is clear and concise and easy to listen to and puts his all into his performance.
*I received this for review, this in no way affects my thoughts.*
The blurb pretty much says it all so here's my thoughts. Character wise, I really liked Special Agents Lauren Madison and Ellis Cole. They make a good team and their banter was fun to listen to. The science guys were well written and researched. They are uber smart and quite daunting!
The plot was, at times hard to follow when they got into the nitty gritty of the time travel, but also interesting and thought provoking. I also liked how the story is told from the past and present. It all wraps up nicely in the end.
In all, a good listen. I wanted a little more character development though. I felt like they all stayed the same and didn't grow. Other than that, It's a good book and I'm glad I listened to it.
Paul Heitsch was amazing. This isn't the first book I've listened to that's narrated by him and it won't be my last. He is clear and concise and easy to listen to and puts his all into his performance.
*I received this for review, this in no way affects my thoughts.*
November 23, 2016
Not what I expected, this is a bit too hard-core sci-fi for my taste. The plot revolves around time travel, a difficult concept to capture without internal contradictions. McWilliams pulls this off well, although the plot lags at times and there is a hint at a second, sub-plot that is never fully revealed. The writing is good, with characters that have depth. The writing bounces between first-person (past events) and third-person (present events). This was disturbing at first, but I quickly adjusted. I was mostly disappointed with the lack of a satisfying ending. Without giving away spoilers, I'll say it just ended, period.
May 15, 2016
I usually enjoy sci-fi stories dealing with time jumps and travel, but this book didn't do much for me. It read like a made-for-tv action movie. The characters weren't well-developed at all, and were very over the top in both mental and physical abilities. Several seemed to be closer to superheroes than to mere mortals. There were many cool action scenes, but not a good overall plotline. The big ending reveal/climax was quite a letdown. The entire story ended by solving a great crisis that was barely mentioned, let alone developed. This could have been much better.
December 13, 2015
A very fast read. The characters are thin and the book should have been at least a 100 pages longer. Many of the cast do unexplained things with plenty of action. The plot is a different type of time traveling but is satisfying. John McWilliams has created a story that is a good first book. I'll be looking for him in the future.
March 13, 2016
3-3.5 stars
This was a clever time themed story. Overall it was fun, even if there were several things that didn't make any sense.
Narration was good.
This was a clever time themed story. Overall it was fun, even if there were several things that didn't make any sense.
Narration was good.
November 2, 2018
A good writer in many ways, but a bit too much like a lecture sometimes. He goes a bit overboard with descriptions, which oftentimes become redundant with overexplaining. A very good premise here, but it's lost in the back and forth timeframe, and he doesn't quite pull it together for me. Some of the very important details were lost for me, within much of the dialogue and explanations, so as it neared the end I was still trying to piece it all together.
Some of the story became confused because the writer added a lot of side stories that didn't have anything to do with the plot. For instance, one of the main characters, an FBI agent, was using the entire investigation as material for a screenplay she was writing. This had nothing to do with the plot, and did not push the story along. It only served (as did many other small details) to confuse the reader. The story needed a better editor, in my humble opinion.
I won't give spoilers here, but the ending was very sudden and made no sense to me. I'm sure that if I went back through, with a fine toothed comb, and researched the storyline more, I could put it together. But alas, it was a bit too much work to do that.
It was a book I wish I had liked, because I liked some of the characters, the writing was decent, and it promised to deliver a great yarn.
Some of the story became confused because the writer added a lot of side stories that didn't have anything to do with the plot. For instance, one of the main characters, an FBI agent, was using the entire investigation as material for a screenplay she was writing. This had nothing to do with the plot, and did not push the story along. It only served (as did many other small details) to confuse the reader. The story needed a better editor, in my humble opinion.
I won't give spoilers here, but the ending was very sudden and made no sense to me. I'm sure that if I went back through, with a fine toothed comb, and researched the storyline more, I could put it together. But alas, it was a bit too much work to do that.
It was a book I wish I had liked, because I liked some of the characters, the writing was decent, and it promised to deliver a great yarn.
June 4, 2019
The start of the story feels like there should be a book before this. You’re thrown into the middle of a conversation and action scene that refers to stuff that you should already know. Then Chapter two you ‘finally’ find out the stuff that you should have known in chapter one. But then the rest of the bounces back and forth between two different story times until they finally catch up to each other.
Great story for others but after reading the first 20% or so I decided I didn’t want to continue. Not that it’s not an interesting or well-written book, it’s just was not going a direction I was interested in.
Very time travel technical and hadn’t realized this was in the future. I was hoping for more archaeology exploration historical stuff.
Great story for others but after reading the first 20% or so I decided I didn’t want to continue. Not that it’s not an interesting or well-written book, it’s just was not going a direction I was interested in.
Very time travel technical and hadn’t realized this was in the future. I was hoping for more archaeology exploration historical stuff.
October 27, 2018
Intriguing space chase, sci fi time mystery
The scientific, and logic information presented in this story are outstanding. The near future technology, like holographic projection and hyper jets is real well described. The characters are very engaging and the action us really gripping. I got real MaCGyver vibe when the story arc focused on Nate and Jan and men in black sense with Ellis and Lauren. The ending was really pulling me in, but the I felt the grand finale was a bit flat. All in all a good read.
The scientific, and logic information presented in this story are outstanding. The near future technology, like holographic projection and hyper jets is real well described. The characters are very engaging and the action us really gripping. I got real MaCGyver vibe when the story arc focused on Nate and Jan and men in black sense with Ellis and Lauren. The ending was really pulling me in, but the I felt the grand finale was a bit flat. All in all a good read.
January 25, 2017
About the worse book I ever read. I was about half way through it and still could not figure out what was going on. Apparently a scientist invented a way to send messages through time and the story was about government agents (FBI) trying to discover whether this was true. Meanwhile other people were trying to blow up the international space station. At the end of the book I STILL did not know what happened. Very poor writing in my opinion.
November 17, 2017
Time travel, in this case time-messaging.
I liked the story, and enjoyed the characters. It was confusing though, having a hard time understanding the whole time messaging. And the final message was just as confusing. I enjoyed the the story, and my brain can almost grasp the concept. I feel the author could of done better in explaining the theory. I will be reading the next book...
I liked the story, and enjoyed the characters. It was confusing though, having a hard time understanding the whole time messaging. And the final message was just as confusing. I enjoyed the the story, and my brain can almost grasp the concept. I feel the author could of done better in explaining the theory. I will be reading the next book...
October 17, 2020
I read the audio version in a day, and I am incredibly disappointed that this is the only book I could find in audio by Mr. Mc McWilliams! This is one of the most complex and most intriguing plots in a book that I have ever seen. Excellent character development, and an overall great story were some of the reasons I had difficulty putting it down. Why didn’t this book win any awards? It is that good!
February 16, 2018
I agree with those who have said the book is confusing. The messaging from the future to the past would definitely be bad (imaging a message to Hitler about how to fix his V2 or not to invade Russia). Shakespeare comes to mine: 'Much to do about nothing."
April 16, 2018
Good story
This is one of the types of books I hate to read. However by staying with it I found it to be a really good story. It left me wanting to read more I hope this book is the first of a series.
This is one of the types of books I hate to read. However by staying with it I found it to be a really good story. It left me wanting to read more I hope this book is the first of a series.
July 2, 2017
An excitingly fast-paced story with a great deal of intriguing and thought-provoking subtext. Chapter 25 was probably the best, but I enjoyed this one quite well.
November 22, 2018
Fun sci-fun adventure!
The past being present tense, and the present being past tense, is a marvelous bit of writer humor to go along with and exciting story.
The past being present tense, and the present being past tense, is a marvelous bit of writer humor to go along with and exciting story.
September 2, 2015
This is an ideal read for sci-fi nerds which mixes a fair dash of action-adventure in with his near-future ‘what if?’ thought experiment.
So if the idea of stroking Schrödinger's cat for a couple of hundred pages fills you with dread then don’t worry: there’s ultra-fast jets, trips to the ISS, semi-psychotic FBI agents (chosen for their limited empathy cos that makes them more efficient in the field), and über-nerds who not only figure out how to send messages back in time, but also happen to be top-dan martial artists and zen philosophers to boot.
The writing is crisp and accessible, the characters and situations lightly sketched with just enough detail to grab the gist of the plot without being weighed down by stacks of back-story. The bantering dialogue between the FBI guys is crisp and witty; the exposition about time paradoxes – and how they can’t happen – is less digestible, but it’s a necessary part of the plot. The dazzlingly attractive protagonists, all white teeth, square jaws and high IQs, all came straight out of central casting…
Landfall neatly jumps back n forth between two narratives in time, the later one picking up the threads of what happened 30 years earlier. The mystery itself isn’t too puzzling, but the gradual reveal of the stages leading up to the Big Moment is a lot of fun. There’s scope for the author to play around with some interesting debates provoked by future knowledge.
The writing doesn’t go kneedeep into equations, but you do get the impression this story could’ve started out as a late-night debate between mildly spliffed-up post-grads, with much scribbling on serviettes and earnest scratching of beards.
The plot, dialogue and central conceit were more than enough to keep me entertained and to see past the occasional moments of short-cut characterisation which stretch credibility. I definitely enjoyed the intellectual debate, jazzed up in its action-adventure wrapper, and will happily read more by this author.
7/10
There's some more thoughts on the book over at
https://murdermayhemandmore.wordpress...
So if the idea of stroking Schrödinger's cat for a couple of hundred pages fills you with dread then don’t worry: there’s ultra-fast jets, trips to the ISS, semi-psychotic FBI agents (chosen for their limited empathy cos that makes them more efficient in the field), and über-nerds who not only figure out how to send messages back in time, but also happen to be top-dan martial artists and zen philosophers to boot.
The writing is crisp and accessible, the characters and situations lightly sketched with just enough detail to grab the gist of the plot without being weighed down by stacks of back-story. The bantering dialogue between the FBI guys is crisp and witty; the exposition about time paradoxes – and how they can’t happen – is less digestible, but it’s a necessary part of the plot. The dazzlingly attractive protagonists, all white teeth, square jaws and high IQs, all came straight out of central casting…
Landfall neatly jumps back n forth between two narratives in time, the later one picking up the threads of what happened 30 years earlier. The mystery itself isn’t too puzzling, but the gradual reveal of the stages leading up to the Big Moment is a lot of fun. There’s scope for the author to play around with some interesting debates provoked by future knowledge.
The writing doesn’t go kneedeep into equations, but you do get the impression this story could’ve started out as a late-night debate between mildly spliffed-up post-grads, with much scribbling on serviettes and earnest scratching of beards.
The plot, dialogue and central conceit were more than enough to keep me entertained and to see past the occasional moments of short-cut characterisation which stretch credibility. I definitely enjoyed the intellectual debate, jazzed up in its action-adventure wrapper, and will happily read more by this author.
7/10
There's some more thoughts on the book over at
https://murdermayhemandmore.wordpress...
December 31, 2015
This time-bending thriller will have you asking questions with every turn
4.5 out of 5 stars
In Landfall, we follow two Special Agents as they discover more then they thought they would when they come across a crashed space capsule. A capsule that was thought to have been destroyed when the space station blew up nearly 30 years ago. Follow Lauren Madison and Ellis Cole as they discover what really happened on that fateful day nearly 30 years ago and try and prevent WWIII at the same time.
Paul Heitsch does the narration for this and he has a great voice for a thriller novel. It's pacing is great and he just has a way of becoming the characters. I've listened to books that he's narrated before and I will continue to seek out his books because he does such a great job with them. Quality was perfect, listened very smooth with no hiccups at all.
The story, while confusing due to the time-changing aspect of it was a blast. I like the ideas that the authors writes about within, they are very "this could happen." Which, to me, makes a story just that much more interesting.
The two main characters had really great chemistry, both seperate and together. I hope that McWilliams will write other stories with these two.
I always enjoy a 6 hour run-time audiobook because there's enough time to develop characters, find out who the enemie(s) are, and conclude. Usually this "conclusion" is just a "end of part 1" type. Not with Landfall, which makes my heart flutter with excitement. McWilliams concluded the story (to some degree), and didn't leave it hanging super open ended like some books are. Now, with that being said; he could easily continue the story and let us know what happens after the fact.
Overall, a unique journey across space and time, without feeling like we've been there before. McWilliams is definitely an author I will be looking out for from now on.
One of my only complaints was that the "mysterious virus" that is spoken of numerous times (to the point where no one shakes hands anymore) wasn't really explained at all. I'm a bio-thriller fan. I would have really, really liked to see a little more on the virus.
4.5 out of 5 stars
In Landfall, we follow two Special Agents as they discover more then they thought they would when they come across a crashed space capsule. A capsule that was thought to have been destroyed when the space station blew up nearly 30 years ago. Follow Lauren Madison and Ellis Cole as they discover what really happened on that fateful day nearly 30 years ago and try and prevent WWIII at the same time.
Paul Heitsch does the narration for this and he has a great voice for a thriller novel. It's pacing is great and he just has a way of becoming the characters. I've listened to books that he's narrated before and I will continue to seek out his books because he does such a great job with them. Quality was perfect, listened very smooth with no hiccups at all.
The story, while confusing due to the time-changing aspect of it was a blast. I like the ideas that the authors writes about within, they are very "this could happen." Which, to me, makes a story just that much more interesting.
The two main characters had really great chemistry, both seperate and together. I hope that McWilliams will write other stories with these two.
I always enjoy a 6 hour run-time audiobook because there's enough time to develop characters, find out who the enemie(s) are, and conclude. Usually this "conclusion" is just a "end of part 1" type. Not with Landfall, which makes my heart flutter with excitement. McWilliams concluded the story (to some degree), and didn't leave it hanging super open ended like some books are. Now, with that being said; he could easily continue the story and let us know what happens after the fact.
Overall, a unique journey across space and time, without feeling like we've been there before. McWilliams is definitely an author I will be looking out for from now on.
One of my only complaints was that the "mysterious virus" that is spoken of numerous times (to the point where no one shakes hands anymore) wasn't really explained at all. I'm a bio-thriller fan. I would have really, really liked to see a little more on the virus.
March 24, 2016
A SIMPLE MAN'S REVIEW:
This book was a fun read! First, it involves time travel, sort of. There are two timelines running simultaneously (one in our near future and one in our present) bridged by a message. You'll be trying to guess the message the whole time, and even if you do, it doesn't take anything away from the story.
Second, the characters are great. The FBI agents are interesting and funny enough for their own series. The doctor and his friends are pretty engaging too. Plus you come away with the feeling that none of the main characters takes themselves too seriously.
Third, the science behind the technology is fascinating. Not only how it works, but also the explanation of why there are no time-travel paradoxes. You may have to pause for a moment to let it really sink in. They refer to the "probability curve" quite a bit.
If you like mystery, action, and a bit of sci-fi, you'll enjoy this book. Read it!
This book was a fun read! First, it involves time travel, sort of. There are two timelines running simultaneously (one in our near future and one in our present) bridged by a message. You'll be trying to guess the message the whole time, and even if you do, it doesn't take anything away from the story.
Second, the characters are great. The FBI agents are interesting and funny enough for their own series. The doctor and his friends are pretty engaging too. Plus you come away with the feeling that none of the main characters takes themselves too seriously.
Third, the science behind the technology is fascinating. Not only how it works, but also the explanation of why there are no time-travel paradoxes. You may have to pause for a moment to let it really sink in. They refer to the "probability curve" quite a bit.
If you like mystery, action, and a bit of sci-fi, you'll enjoy this book. Read it!
February 16, 2016
You do not see a true science fiction book often these days but this one is. The story is told from two view points - the participants in the past and the two FBI agents in the present who are trying to discover the truth of what happened 30 years previous. I loved the fact that the characters were all unique and not cookie cutter types for their role in the story. The touches of humor in the book make it a wonderful read and kept the characters real. You knew that the message would be sent when it was supposed to be and that it was received in the past but what that message was - that was an 'oh yes' moment. I am going to have to get the second book as I want to go on another adventure with these characters.
June 22, 2016
3.5 stars
Paradoxes (or lack thereof), fixed events, causality and conspiracies abound. With the past and the present stories being told in opposing chapters and running parallel, it felt really exciting to finally have them intersecting near the end. Though the end just feels like the beginning, there could have been so much more. I really loved that in this book with the Novikov self-consistency principle they say that paradoxes aren’t possible. Usually everyone is going the opposite way in preventing them. So while this wasn't quite the time travel story I thought it would be, I really liked the characters and probably wouldn't have enjoyed the book as much if not for them.
Paradoxes (or lack thereof), fixed events, causality and conspiracies abound. With the past and the present stories being told in opposing chapters and running parallel, it felt really exciting to finally have them intersecting near the end. Though the end just feels like the beginning, there could have been so much more. I really loved that in this book with the Novikov self-consistency principle they say that paradoxes aren’t possible. Usually everyone is going the opposite way in preventing them. So while this wasn't quite the time travel story I thought it would be, I really liked the characters and probably wouldn't have enjoyed the book as much if not for them.
October 2, 2015
Better!
Book 1 got my partial attention, and this latest, book 2 even more so. It's definitely worth the money but could be better with just a bit of editing. I recommend both books highly in any case, if you like sci-fi, time 'travel' and hard science then McWilliams is your man. Erm ... author. I have a feeling he wears many hats and brings a lot of goodies to his books from many interests.
Read it!
Book 1 got my partial attention, and this latest, book 2 even more so. It's definitely worth the money but could be better with just a bit of editing. I recommend both books highly in any case, if you like sci-fi, time 'travel' and hard science then McWilliams is your man. Erm ... author. I have a feeling he wears many hats and brings a lot of goodies to his books from many interests.
Read it!
October 26, 2015
Very enjoyable read
I loved that Asheville and Iceland were used in the story - two places I am familiar with. There is intrigue and suspense to keep the story moving along without over complicating the plot. Though the personalities are developed they don't drive the story line. It's interesting how what appears to be a minor side story completes the book at the very end. Nicely done. It would make a good movie.
I loved that Asheville and Iceland were used in the story - two places I am familiar with. There is intrigue and suspense to keep the story moving along without over complicating the plot. Though the personalities are developed they don't drive the story line. It's interesting how what appears to be a minor side story completes the book at the very end. Nicely done. It would make a good movie.
July 10, 2016
The book flowed really well, especially for being so short. Much better detail than a lot of shorter books that just skip over any sort of depth at all.
Until the ending.
It went from "telling a story" to "the book is done" in a single letdown of a sentence. Especially after all the other ways it could have gone from what was built up in the story, it felt like the author hit the publication deadline and said, "ah well, better throw an ending in there so it can print."
Until the ending.
It went from "telling a story" to "the book is done" in a single letdown of a sentence. Especially after all the other ways it could have gone from what was built up in the story, it felt like the author hit the publication deadline and said, "ah well, better throw an ending in there so it can print."
November 28, 2015
"This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of Audiobook Blast."
I like sci-fi. I like time travel. This book has a slow pace that was hard to get into. The plot was interesting BUT... the ending left me going ......HUH???
Overall it was ok.
I like sci-fi. I like time travel. This book has a slow pace that was hard to get into. The plot was interesting BUT... the ending left me going ......HUH???
Overall it was ok.
November 30, 2015
It is a good story but I became kind of overwhelmed by the numerous character names that got folded into it, and kept losing track of the plot. It is an interesting, light-hearted read which could benefit from some editing.
"This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of Audiobook Blast."
"This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of Audiobook Blast."
July 13, 2015
Landfall
I definitely enjoyed reading this book. Loved the relationship between the two detectives and enjoyed the humorous exchanges between them. I would definitely read a follow-up book from this author. I received a copy of this book in exchange for a review.
I definitely enjoyed reading this book. Loved the relationship between the two detectives and enjoyed the humorous exchanges between them. I would definitely read a follow-up book from this author. I received a copy of this book in exchange for a review.
June 29, 2015
Great read but...
A please to all published authors: please stop using "he/she quipped." Just stop it. It comes across as amateurish. That is why I marked this book down one star.
A please to all published authors: please stop using "he/she quipped." Just stop it. It comes across as amateurish. That is why I marked this book down one star.
July 17, 2015
Finished reading this tonight. Interesting characters and a good plot. The one thing I didn't like was the ending. Too abrupt for my taste.
July 8, 2015
Interesting, and I kept reading it. But ended up scratching my head at the end more than feeling satisfied. I think the denouement needed work.
End date is approximate.
End date is approximate.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews