Midnight Black by R.J. Eastwood

Release: April 14, 2021
Format: Ebook
Publisher: Indies United Publishing House, LLC
Source: RABT Book Tours
Find it at: Goodreads, Amazon, Kindle, Audible, B&N, iBooks, Kobo, Smashwords

Billy Russell’s career as a narcotics officer abruptly ends when he executes the man who committed a heinous crime against him. Sentenced to 20 years hard labor in total isolation from the outside world, he’s suddenly, and without explanation, released on parole five years early.

Returning to society, he learns that an isolated nuclear attack spread primal fear of a nuclear holocaust, allowing autocratic billionaires to seize control of the world. But their faulty economic policies have caused rampant poverty, crime, disease, and drug addiction.

As a condition of his parole, Billy is assigned to government drug enforcement unit in Boston but soon makes a gruesome discovery of the unit’s true mission. Approached by a secret underground dissident group planning to overthrow the authoritarian world government, Billy joins them to end the demonic reign of tyranny, only to discover the shocking details of what is really taking place.

About the Author:

About Robert J. Emery (Pen Name R. J. Eastwood)
Member Directors Guild of America, American Association of Writers & Authors. The National Association of authors & Editors.

During his film and television career he has written, produced, and directed feature motion pictures and television documentaries and well as national television commercials and industrial films. He created and produced the award winning ninety one episode television series The Directors, the most extensive examination of film directors and the behind the scenes making of feature films. His award winning four part mini series, The Genocide Factor, played to rave reviews on PBS stations across the country, and his 2007 MSNBC documentary For God & Country: A Marine Sniper’s Story was honored with both the National Headliner Award and the Cine Special Jury Award.

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Midnight Black Review:

“Midnight Black” is a disturbing yet very creative and gripping dystopian novel that had me engrossed.

I enjoyed the concept of the story. A man sentenced for seventeen years to another planet finds life on Earth completely different when he returns. Even though this is a science fiction, dystopian novel, some elements connect to us. Moments like when Billy witnesses officials attacking protestors with batons remind us of what we have seen in the news for the last few years. Some scenes shocked me, like the ones involving Rubio and Alvera.

Billy is gripping in the lead, and I liked how the author wrote him. From the beginning, Billy comes off as a no-nonsense guy eat how he reacts with his fellow inmates like Quasi and the annoying Donald P. Costigan. There were moments when I could connect when him, especially when he lands on Earth and finds how much it has changed. I also liked his interactions with Hank and Chris. I also enjoyed how the author wrote his chemistry with Jade and was not fond of Chernov and Gustav.

Moreover, the author also adds personal moments like when Billy contemplates how the human relationship matters in the end. The author also nicely throws in some humor in the dialogues to balance the seriousness of the tale. For instance, it was a nice touch with Billy reunites with someone from his past to work on the assignment. Even though the story is dark and graphic, I admired how the author inserts moments of hope and gratitude for us to appreciate the world we live in and make the most of it.

Overall, “Midnight Black” is an intriguing novel, and I recommend it to those who love a gripping Dystopian science fiction crime story.