Leonard Sanders Books In Order

Publication Order of Clay Loomis Books

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books

Leonard M. Sanders, Jr was a US author who wrote under the name of Leonard Sanders and Dan Thomas, under which he wrote a science fiction novel. He was born in Denver, Colorado on January 15, 1929 and died just over a month after his 76th birthday.

He worked as a journalist in Oklahoma and Texas, and was a long-time books editor of The Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Here, he wrote book reviews and a weekly column.

Sanders wrote some stand alone work and four books starring Clay Loomis. His work is from the thriller, non-fiction, and historical genres. His debut novel was released in the year 1964, and was called “The Wooden Horseshoe”. Sanders’ last novel, “In the Valley of the Shadow” was released in the year 1996.

“The Hamlet Warning” is the first novel in the “Clay Loomis” series, which was released in the year 1976. A half dozen wars, taking place from Vietnam to Africa to Cuba, have made Clay Loomis over into a master of survival and combat, as well as an expatriate with few regrets. Now, he has gotten a job as a top military adviser to a Third World Dictator. And the CIA wants to get him back.

When he gets contacted by an old buddy who is now a Company guy, his days as a renegade have ended. A shadowy terrorist organization has got a nuclear device going to a Caribbean country that is already being ravaged by civil war. The US is expecting Loomis to locate the bomb.

While the CIA’s foot soldiers go into action all over the world, and the local rebels begin to close in, Loomis is standing right at ground zero. He faces the biggest threat the Western Hemisphere has known.

This novel is full-throttle action thrill ride that is sure to keep readers gripped right from the start until the very end. The book’s denouement is even sure to make the reader’s hair stand on end. Clay is a fascinating and highly credible lead character, and this whole book is frighteningly realistic.

“The Hamlet Ultimatum” is the second novel in the “Clay Loomis” series, which was released in the year 1979. Some mysterious terrorist group has sabotaged all the computer networks it required already, even the CIA’s. Now the group is ready to deliver its Ultimatum to the US government. Surrender, or watch the entire Northeast burn due to a nuclear disaster. Only Loomis, an ex-agent, will be able to save them. Only Loomis and the rest of his team have got the guts to oppose the president as well as fight the world that they are looking to save.

“The Wooden Horseshoe” is the first stand alone novel, which was released in the year 1964. This novel is about a tiny Texas city and the guys that run it. Sanders combined the fight for power in a local city government and human-interest side in order to show the effects on the people close to the inside. It makes for a revealing and appealing story that centers around an ambitious water project that is designed to further the growth of the city.

Different views about a city’s future pop up from those who have to decide. Certain council members, like Max Berger (a local businessman) put personal agendas before what should be done for the sake of the city. Other people like Dr. Travis McNeil and Cal Masters (a wealthy rancher) actually have the best interest of the city at heart and have to stand their own ground in order to fight for what they think is right.

By working through all the plans for city expansion, the guys who sit around the horseshoe shaped council table realize the strains they have been under from working with the council. David Hartwell, city manager, knows that the hours he spends at the office affect his family and caused the problems that they face. Tom Kencaide, a newspaper reporter, finds that his commitment to covering everything council does and revealing the truth has kept him from committing to his fiancee as well as reporting only the news that he feels the people need to hear.

“Act of War” is the third stand alone novel, which was released in the year 1982. The Normandie was once a symbol of opulence and glamour, but the mighty luxury cruise ship found herself berthed at Pier 88 in New York after France’s fall. It slowly fell into decay while everyone from Hitler to the FBI attempted to figure out what exactly to do with her.

Seeing the danger the Normandie posed as a warship, capable of carrying fifteen thousand troops from one side of the Atlantic to the other at a speed that would be able to outpace all the other seagoing vessel in service. For this, Hitler gives the order for the Normandie to be sunk, come hell or high water.

Walther Von Beck, an ex U-boat captain with some misgivings about the war, has grown to love the Normandie deeply. Picked to execute the plan, Von Beck shows up and enlists Rachael’s aid. She is a German Jew that is spying for the Nazis and in return, she gets a guarantee that her family is going to be safe.

Von Beck and Rachael start to make plans, their lives intertwine with Captain Maurice Raynal’s, who would rather destroy the Normandie, his beloved, than see it fall into Nazi hands. There is also an FBI agent named Bonham, who is determined to prove himself by finding German spies on American soil.

While their paths cross, they find their way on board the Normandie during a time when their loyalties, and what type of men they are is going to be tested.

The novel is packed with vivid characters, heated passions, and a lot of action, making this a chilling wartime masterpiece. Leonard Sanders penned one of his richest and most complex novels of his entire career. He does a great job of combining fiction with history that features historical figures, romance, and sabotage.