Below, I provide selected quotes from six of the professional reviews I recently received for “Demons, the Great White North and the Blind Detective”, my second book with Atmosphere Press published 1/15/22. As I have said elsewhere, at my advanced age of 72, I need objective and timely feedback regarding my ability to write compelling sci fi/fantasy/mystery novels before the final grains of sand exit the top half of my personal hourglass. These reviews suggest that I am on the right track and I invite you to purchase a copy of this book for significant entertainment and edification.
After the reviews, you will see my bio.
Reviews: Diane Donovan, Midwest Book review, slated for publication April 2022: ”Although ‘Demons, The Great White North and the Blind Detective’ is set in the future, it is especially recommended for thriller and mystery readers because its suspense element is particularly well done. Enhancing its futuristic backdrop in a manner that will attract a much larger audience than either traditional sci fi or mystery readers alone…Shawn Adair Johnston weaves the culture of the Canadian Inuit people into the threat of a rogue a.i. and a demon that could introduce the downfall of humankind if famous blind detective Peter Straw cannot find the clues to confront these dual threats.”
Amy Lignor, Feathered Quill : “I commend the author immensely for his imagination, dry wit and the ability to weave very real topics of worry into the story…Each chapter brought about a new character for me to study and with interesting scenes and intense thrills and chills, he most certainly drew gasps from this reader.”
Alexandria Duckworth, Independent Book Review.com: “This original mystery has super geniuses, talking animals, blind detectives, demons and your name written all over it. Shawn Adair Johnston knows how to pen something unique …One of the first captivating images Johnston manifests is the setting: Inupiak, an Inuit settlement in the Canadian Yukon territory …One of the best elements of Johnston’s story is his characters, they are not all the same and they are definitely not all humans...Another great aspect of Johnston’s book is the mix of the paranormal, mystery and sci fi all in one big pot …It is a delightful mix making the book all the more appealing…”
Anne Marie Reynolds, review for Reader’s Favorite: “’Demons, the Great White North and the Blind Detective’ by Shawn Adair Johnston is a very different kind of story, part sci fi, part crime thriller, it offers a tantalizing, potentially horrific, glimpse into what the future may hold. This is a gripping story with a pretty diverse collection of characters, a unique combination that works well…The plot is thick with action and plenty of twists and turns that keep you guessing and some heart thumping moments that keep you on the edge of your seat. A thrilling story and I look forward to reading more from Mr. Johnston.”
Rabia Tanveer, review for Reader’s Favorite: “’Demons, the Great White North and the Blind Detective,’ by Shawn Adair Johnston is a modern age Sherlock Holmes with supernatural elements and high-tech innovation. …The cover of the novel is deceptively simple, but the story is anything but that. The novel is surprisingly existential at times while always focusing on the mystery at hand. The synergy between Watson and Peter is fantastic…Author Shawn Adair Johnston beautifully integrates murder mystery and science fiction to develop an entertaining story …I would not be surprised if this becomes a movie one day…The author is a genius with words . He knows which characters to boost, and which characters should take a step back …I love the dry humor and the intensity of the chase, this is perfect.”
K.C. Finn, review for Reader’s Favorite: “The book continues the adventures of Peter Straw, a blind detective, with an augmented seeing eye dog named Watson, who struggle to keep conflict from breaking out in the Arctic when an Inuit teenager, a rogue A.I. and a demon start threatening the lives of local villagers…Science fiction should always be pushing itself and its readers to ask big questions about the world in which it exists, and author Shawn Adair Johnston does not shy away from this legacy in this novel. Asking questions about the nature of the soul itself and what having one means for a creature, this book does not waste an ounce of potential in exploring the idea as the story unfolds. Peter Straw is a fascinating and compelling lead character and his unusual relationship with his dog Watson makes for some witty relief from the larger philosophical ideas on show throughout the book…a master stroke of pacing that keeps the debate easy to digest for readers. Overall, I highly recommend ‘Demons, the Great White North and the Blind Detective’ as a compelling thriller with high stakes and excellently considered supporting characters scattered throughout. It explores deep and complex philosophic and moral questions without allowing the heaviness of the ideas to slow the story down.”
Bio: Shawn was born May 6, 1949, in a small town in Ontario, Canada. At the age of eight, he lost 90% of his
vision, rendering him legally blind. At the age of 58, Shawn lost 90% of his remaining vision, rendering
him walking-into-walls blind. To date, he retains a very small amount of vision. He can see light and dark
and, in the right lighting , can make out some shapes. He hopes to live long enough to acquire retinal
implants, though this is totally in the hands of fate.
At the age of 11, Shawn’s parents moved the family to Los Angeles where he learned how to, among
other things, body surf and win trophies in debate tournaments. After graduating from high school, he
attended three different colleges, ending up at UCLA in his junior year. Sometime between his senior
year in high school and his freshman year in college, he decided that he would become a psychologist.
He never wavered in that decision. When he got to UCLA in the spring of 1969, he immediately fell in
love with the university and its fabulous psychology department. He received his B.A. in psychology
there in 1971, his M.A. there in 1973 and his Ph.D. there in Experimental Social Psychology in 1977. He
reveled in being a psychology graduate student at UCLA and he is certain he would still be taking classes
there if the faculty had not forced him to get his doctorate and go out into the cold cruel world to work.
After a short time at the Rand Corporation working as a research psychologist, Shawn attended the
California School of Professional Psychology in Los Angeles where in 1980 he obtained at Doctoral
Specialty Certificate in Clinical Psychology. He went on to obtain his Psychology License in California in
1982. When it came time for his post-doctoral internships, he had his choice of three different possible
placements.
The first internship involved working with physically handicapped clients in East L.A. Since it would have
been a six-hour round trip bus ride to that clinic, he declined it.
The second internship involved working with alcoholics and drug addicts in Santa Monica. Since he lived
in Santa Monica with roommates and neighbors who were alcoholics and drug addicts, this internship
did not seem sufficiently interesting, and he declined it.
The third internship involved evaluation and treatment of clients found to have been not guilty by
reason of insanity and clients deemed to be mentally disordered sex offenders by the L.A. County
superior court. This internship sounded interesting and for the next thirty-five years, Shawn mostly
conducted psychological evaluations of juvenile and adult criminal offenders for superior court judges,
probation departments and defense attorneys.
During that time Shawn evaluated every type of criminal offender imaginable, going from petty thieves
to some serial killers and mass murderers. For most of that time Shawn evaluated approximately ten to
twelve clients a week. While it is difficult to estimate, Shawn believes he conducted over fifteen
thousand psychological evaluations of judicially referred clients in his career. He qualified at least a
couple of hundred times as an expert witness testifying in court in California and Oregon. With the further loss of his vision, though, conducting evaluations in jails and prisons became no longer feasible.
At this time in his life, he limits his practice to disability evaluations for the Social Security Administration
in Oregon. He also, of course, is attempting to write sci fi/fantasy books, though the jury is still out as to
how successful he will be in this endeavor.
In addition to his clinical work as a forensic psychologist, Shawn has taught part-time at numerous
colleges and universities. A partial list includes UCLA, California State Universities at Northridge and
Sacramento, the University of California at Davis, the University of San Francisco, Oregon State
University and Portland State University in Oregon.
Shawn has also published considerable research regarding psychological characteristics of sex offenders
and how to detect deception in court ordered psychological evaluations of criminal defendants. He is
now, however, having a great time writing about the blind detective Peter Straw and his intellectually
augmented dog Watson. Shawn writes about the world sixty years in the future when intellectual
augmentation of dogs, porpoises and chimpanzees has been perfected. The world of Peter Straw is an interesting and entertaining one, indeed!
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