Project Notebook

by Jason McCuiston

In the summer of 1947--weeks before something fell to Earth near Roswell, New Mexico-- the skies above the Pacific Northwest were filled with mysterious lights and strange phenomena. Members of a top-secret organization are dispatched to investigate the Maury Island Incident, where their first encounter with the unknown results in the team being scattered across Seattle and Tacoma, disarmed and suffering from amnesia. As eyewitnesses to the strange events begin turning up as apparent suicides, the team of elite WWII veterans must regroup and uncover the truth behind these extraordinary circumstances... even if it means facing their own self destruction. * “A tight, taut, tense thriller packed with action and ominous overtones sure to cast shadows on the world as we know it.” ~ Christine Morgan, The Horror Fiction Review and author of White Death * “In Project Notebook, author-to-watch Jason J. McCuiston has mined some long-standing UFO conspiracies, made them his own, then set a masterfully realized cast of complex characters on a wild ride through a flying saucer-haunted Seattle of the 1950s. Highly recommended!” ~ Philip Athans, New York Times Bestselling Author of Annihilation and the Fantasy Author’s Handbook blog “McCuiston has delivered a fast-paced and richly-textured debut novel; a noirish sci-fi mystery steeped in UFO lore and oozing post-WWII paranoia. Highly recommended.” ~ Tom English, Editor of Black Infinity Magazine * “Project Notebook transported me back to an overcast late summer day in 1977, when, looking up at the trees across our rural road, I saw something saucer-shaped and shadowy rotate through the mist for all of one second that has stayed with me since. Like that memory, McCuiston delivers an unforgettable page-turner. Moody, gorgeously written, Notebook reads like a dark dream and deserves a place on every bookshelf.” ~ Gregory L. Norris, Author of the Gerry Anderson Into Infinity novels

261 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 30, 2020

Reviews

[S. Pierzchala · Rating 5 out of 5]

This novel is so fun! It does a great job of capturing the era (1947), through historically accurate details and characterizations that ring true. The action focuses on a small team of WWII vets working for a top secret group to investigate the rash of mysterious objects reported in the skies of the Pacifica NW.

McCuiston skillfully incorporates what's known about the U.S. Government's actual response to the UFO phenomena into his fictional world---thus, the engaging plot unfolds in way that's very credible without being bogged down by too much detail or speculation.

While the fast-paced story contains plenty of thrills and danger, it also has a lot of unexpected depth as the narrator, Elzabad Summers, deals with past trauma and current family challenges. The threads of mystery, danger and personal choices are woven ever more tightly until they resolve in an unexpectedly sober and bittersweet conclusion. Recommended.