We have received and approve of a print copy of Blind Jump. All is 'go' for the October 31 2025 release of this fourth Jack Mack sci-fi novel; in fact, we could put it out there right now but we'll wait for the official date! Expect notices to go up here and there over the next couple weeks, reviews from pre-release readers, and so on. As ever, the ebook versions will be free to download.
Here is the finalized cover:
We have an official release date for Blind Jump: Friday October 31, 2025. Yes, Halloween. It should hold; unexpected problems with printers do have a way of popping up but if anything holds up the print edition, we would still release the ebooks on time.
Those will be in PDF and EPUB, and, as always, free. Of course, the print version costs! All from Arachis Press (arachispress.com).
I have a finished draft of Blind Jump. It came to about 59,000 words total, which not at all a surprising number and fairly much in line with the three previous Jack Mack novels:
Among the Many Worlds 53,800 words
Jumping Jack 70,000 words
Dim Distant Stars 56,100 words
It is, of course, likely my count will change with revisions, especially during the first run through. My books typically grow at that stage as I find things that need a tad more explanation or description; I do tend to emphasize dialog in my initial drafting.
But the story is set. No revisions to the plot will be necessary, no plot holes need filled. I do catch those things as I go and its only the language that needs a little polishing. Expect a release date to be announced soon.
I came up with a tentative back cover blurb for BLIND JUMP:
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Blind Jump: a leap into space toward an unknown star
‘Jumping Jack’ McFee and deadly Thulean agent Anna Gallen are finally wed and off on a tour of the ‘old worlds.’ But conspiracies continue to fester behind them and enemies pursue them even to their honeymoon on Earth.
They must unravel the tangled plots of espionage and betrayal, and their own future together, as Anna and Jack take their blind jump into a new life.
Mock-ups of a couple possible covers for the upcoming Jack Mack novel, BLIND JUMP. I may use one of these (with possible further refinement) or be inspired to go some completely different direction.
addendum, Sept 23: I went to a completely different cover illustration. I'll reveal that in a bit.
Up until now, I haven't needed to concern myself with 'known' stars in the Jack McFee novels, nor with those that lie close to Earth. Scotia and the other places we visit are quite far from 'the old worlds.' The only known stars I've named were Sol itself and Sirius. I expect to visit both in the current novel in progress, during Anna and Jack's honeymoon voyage.
This means I've needed to research the stellar systems close to Earth, particularly Tau Ceti, Alpha Centauri, and Epsilon Eridani. Do they have habitable planets? Which would be on Jack's route to Earth? He can jump to red dwarfs rather than any of these, so I don't necessarily have to commit to anything when it comes to human colonies or even a human presence anywhere.
I doubt I will posit preexisting life in any of those three systems. None seem particularly suitable to its development. I could change my mind about that. At this point, my 'canon' is that nothing more advances than microbes has been found on any planet humans have explored.
I do intend to visit Sirius. Jack is interested in it from an historical standpoint, as the system where serious mining of ultra-massive elements began, fueling further travel outward. He is working on his dissertation, after all, even if Anna should rightfully get most of his attention!
Jack McFee’s family is wealthy and influential, but its members have always eschewed direct politics. They do not run for office. They have, however, sometimes served in bureaucratic and diplomatic roles. Both of Jack’s parents became part of the wartime bureaucracy — which served to pull Jack into his own roles during the war.
Similarly, his cousin Errol fills a diplomatic role in the immediate postwar period, establishing trade agreements between the now-neutral Scotian Group and other organizations and associations. He may well continue in an occasional trouble-shooter role but is more likely to be looking out for his family’s interests.
And what of Jack? Officially, he furthers his education for four years or so after the end of the war, while still doing the occasional bit of espionage. As for his employment after that, nothing is set. He could well end up a diplomat himself — or the husband of one. Anna Gallen, whom he marries in ‘Blind Jump,’ (WIP) does have her connections to the Thulean government. Or he could teach in some college or another, a la Indiana Jones, between adventures. He could even end up at the helm of the McFee Concern down the line.
But be assured, he will never run for public office. McFees don’t do that.
My Jack Mack novels focused on AI and its use from the start (2021), and how my characters' lives fitted around the ubiquitous machine intelligences and robots. It's frightening to watch 'real life' catching up with and maybe surpassing what I was able to imagine.
I think the questions raised are as valid now as in my fictional future universe. Most importantly, can the line between man and machine ever be erased? As incredibly capable as the AIs in my books may be, they remain something other than human.
As for the combining of man and machine, that is a subject I have (wisely, I think) avoided, except for the sort of neural linkage that is required to pilot a jump ship. And that is not permanent. I just might introduce some mention of a pretty much universal condemnation of the concept (as did Herbert in 'Dune'). That, of course, would allow someone to break the rule and open up new plot directions.
I generated a simple (via LibreOffice) EPUB of the Jack Mack sci-fi novelette Mission Delayed. The plan is to someday include it in a longer book but for now feel free to download or read. This is a more domesticated Jack, a few years after the events in the novels.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1DuRCa0vqSTaCWykXOXhf_br3ynQKgWbG/view?usp=drive_link
SPOILERS HERE — if you haven’t read DIM DISTANT STARS (and intend to), you might not want to read this post!
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A confession: when I began writing Dim Distant Stars, I had no idea which of his many female friends Jack McFee might end up with. Nor did I intend him to have made any decisions by the end. Vili — Princess Vilma Lempsen — remained the strongest contender. I did know Policewoman Veronika ‘Niki’ O’Toole would be taken out of the running.
The first thought there was that she would fall for Jack’s college friend, Father John Barbosa, and join him as a colonist. That felt clunky by the time I reached that point in the story. It would have added irrelevant narrative. So I simply said she had already emigrated, creating a sort of foreshadowing, and decided Anna Gallen would be the one to marry John and go off to a ‘new world.’ This way of removing her from contention seemed good until I was almost to the end of the book.
When a radical shift of direction presented itself — and I went with it. John is killed*, Jack proposes to Anna, she accepts. All tied up, no more doubt and indecision from our hero. About time! I’d always truly wanted the two to end up together but I just couldn’t see a clear route to it. This presented the perfect one.
He would never have been quite right for Vili anyway, would he? Jack would have been restless. Anna is the one woman with whom he can truly share his life.
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*A shocker for many readers, I’m sure. It even shocked me that I could treat such a sympathetic character so badly.
Dim Distant Stars may now be purchased in print at our online store or go to arachispress.com for both print and free ebooks.
https://www.lulu.com/shop/stephen-brooke/dim-distant-stars/paperback/product-5762kkg.html
We have received and approve of a print copy of Blind Jump. All is 'go' for the October 31 2025 release of this fourth Jack Mack sci...
