JFK and the price of a free media highlighted in ‘The Orphan Conspiracies’

Posted: February 3, 2026 in The Orphan Conspiracies, Underground Knowledge
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Few journalists ever seriously challenge the Establishment. Why? Because it’s usually not in the best interests of their employers – the select few media barons who run mainstream media these days.

“No President should fear public scrutiny of his program. For from that scrutiny comes understanding.” That’s a comment President John F. Kennedy made in a speech to the American Newspaper Publishers Assn. on April 27, 1961.

We include highlights of that speech in a chapter titled ‘The price of a free media’ in our contentious book ‘The Orphan Conspiracies’.

JFK’s speech continues:

“No President should fear public scrutiny of his program. For from that scrutiny comes understanding; and from that understanding comes support or opposition. And both are necessary. I am not asking your newspapers to support the Administration, but I am asking your help in the tremendous task of informing and alerting the American people. For I have complete confidence in the response and dedication of our citizens whenever they are fully informed. I not only could not stifle controversy among your readers–I welcome it. This Administration intends to be candid about its errors; for as a wise man once said: “An error does not become a mistake until you refuse to correct it.” We intend to accept full responsibility for our errors; and we expect you to point them out when we miss them.”

We resonate with Kennedy’s comments. He was a true champion of both free speech and freedom of the press – unlike other US presidents before and especially since.

In ‘The Orphan Conspiracies’ we remind readers that if media in all its forms is compromised then frankly, we’re screwed! You don’t need to be a former journalist to realize that manipulating the media is akin to poisoning a nation’s water supply; it affects all of our lives in unimaginable ways.

Journalists are the barometer of a nation’s freedom of speech. If they are threatened, gagged or otherwise silenced then who is going to ask the tough questions and keep the authorities honest?

There’s commonly held belief that here in the West we have a free press. However, one only needs to consider the standard of reporting of recent world events including the Covid-19 pandemic to know that ain’t remotely the case.

So, what’s the truth? Do we really have a free press or are our journos being dictated to and told what they can and can’t report on? Are certain topics suppressed from the public’s consciousness by those who own or greatly influence the media? Are there any free-thinking, free-speaking journos left – alive and not retired that is?

We can only repeat: Few journalists ever seriously challenge the Establishment.

The upshot of this is, while their turn of phrase may be eloquent, most journos just report on issues their masters are happy to allow to be aired publicly. This makes them little more than parrots for the Establishment. Unfortunately, few realize that.

The tragedy is major issues remain hidden and the public are continually denied access to the truth. Worse, free-speaking individuals are labeled conspiracy theorists and purveyors of misinformation. Their accusers should remember that, since 2020 at least, the difference between conspiracy theory and conspiracy fact has shrunk to around six months.

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‘The Orphan Conspiracies’ is available as an audiobook courtesy of Amazon’s Audible Audiobooks initiative. (Listening time: 13hrs. 44mins.). The paperback is available from Harvard Book Store, Barnes & Noble, Waterstones UK & Europe bookstores, Amazon and via public libraries…

https://www.amazon.com/Orphan-Conspiracies-Conspiracy-Theories-Trilogy/dp/B08BWGPM6K/

#News #JFK #FreeSpeech #FreePress #Journalists #Reporters

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What’s all the fuss about Greenland? This key question is addressed in ‘The Orphan Conspiracies’

Posted: January 28, 2026 in The Orphan Conspiracies, Underground Knowledge
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It was over a decade ago when we, the Morcans, began researching the many unusual and unexplained events that have occurred in Greenland throughout its colorful history. Events that have fueled many a conspiracy theory.

The results of our research are included in a chapter titled ‘Greenland aka Conspiracyland’ in our book The Orphan Conspiracies. It’s interesting that at least one of the conspiracy theories (Thulegate) is now rightly referred to as conspiracy fact.

Thulegate would have to be one of Greenland’s most intriguing conspiracy theories, which is appropriate because it’s centered on Thule Air Base (now Pituffik Space Base) that just happens to be the US Air Force’s northernmost base located as it is above the Arctic Circle in Greenland’s northwest.

Then home to the 21st Space Wing’s space surveillance and missile warning sensors, the base has attracted its share of controversy – as has Thule itself with conspiracy theories dating back to ancient times.

The location’s name itself is shrouded in mystery. Various interpretations of Thule have confused it with other northern destinations including Iceland and Scandinavia, and in medieval times Thule was associated with distant places beyond the known world. So, it’s ripe for conspiracy theories, mired as it is in ancient mythology.

Thulegate relates to the documented January 1968 crash of an American B-52 nuclear bomber on the ice sheet near the Thule Air Base. Apparently, the bomber was carrying four nuclear warheads, which the Pentagon maintained were destroyed in the crash. However, a Daily Mail report (updated on November 11, 2008 in its Mail Online site) debunks this, confirming what conspiracy theorists had speculated all along – that one or more of the warheads hadn’t been destroyed.

The report stated, “…the carrying of nuclear weapons over Danish territory was kept secret, according to the BBC investigation…One of the missions went wrong and a bomber crashed into the ice a few miles from the air base.

“A declassified US government video, obtained by the BBC, documents the clear-up and gives some idea of the scale of the operation.”

Political science academic Scott Sagan postulated that “If the aircraft had crashed into Thule Air Base, the missile early warning system and the redundant warning aircraft would have been knocked out simultaneously, potentially leading NORAD to conclude incorrectly that a nuclear attack had started.”

Other Greenland conspiracy theories covered in this book include: Project Iceworm, the Thule Society, Korean War vets, alien artifacts and The Hollow Theory.  

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The Orphan Conspiracies: 29 Conspiracy Theories from The Orphan Trilogy is available as an audiobook courtesy of Amazon’s Audible initiative. (Listening time: 13hrs. 44mins.).

The paperback version of this book is available from Harvard Book Store, Barnes & Noble, Waterstones UK & Europe bookstores, Amazon and via public libraries…

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Tasman’s sighting of New Zealand in 1642 features in historical adventure ‘New Zealand: A Novel’

Posted: December 16, 2025 in New Zealand: A Novel
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This month, in 1642, Dutch explorer Abel Tasman sighted New Zealand from his flagship the Heemskerck – a momentous event that features in the historical adventure New Zealand: A Novel by Lance Morcan.  

An appropriate excerpt from the novel follows:

(It’s Dec. 13, 1642). The Heemskerck responded slowly in the heavy seas and several tense minutes passed before she was safely sailing north and parallel to the coast. At the same time, the squall eased and the clouds and mist lifted to reveal a rugged, forbidding coastline. Dark, green, bush-covered hills rose steeply beyond the rocky shore, and beyond them fleeting glimpses of majestic alps could be seen through breaks in the cloud. There was summer snow on some of the higher peaks.

Tasman was immediately struck by the majesty of the new land he’d discovered. It seemed prehistoric, but beautiful at the same time. The captain could see his men had been similarly affected. They lined the starboard rail, oblivious to the light rain that still fell and seemingly lost for words as they gazed at the coastline.

It was some moments before it dawned on Tasman that he had achieved his expedition’s main goal: he’d discovered the Great Southern Continent, or so he believed, for he was convinced the shoreline he was now looking at was that continent’s western edge. The realisation almost brought him to tears, and thoughts of great reserves of gold and other treasures flashed through his mind. He wondered whether the land was inhabited. First impressions were that this was virginal land, uninhabited and unoccupied. If he was right that would mean Holland would have unobstructed and unrivalled access to its resources.  

The captain thought how proud his family and friends would be back in his home province of Zeeland when they learned of his discovery. Looking at the coastline beyond the starboard rail, he murmured, “I name this new land Nieuw Zeeland.”

Tasman would soon learn – to his cost – that the land he’d discovered was occupied by warlike peoples who called themselves Maoris. However, he would go to his deathbed mistakenly believing the new land was the Great Southern Continent.

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New Zealand: A Novel is available now from Harvard Book Store, Mighty Ape NZ, Waterstones UK & Europe bookstores, Barnes & Noble, Kete Books NZ, Amazon and via public libraries.

The audiobook version is available via Amazon (listening time: 11hrs. 25mins.).

Amazon paperback link: https://www.amazon.com/New-Zealand-Novel-Lance-Morcan/dp/0473728524/

Goodreads review rating: 4.7 out of 5 stars

Amazon review rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

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Vietnam War debacle another false flag that features in ‘The Orphan Conspiracies’

Posted: November 25, 2025 in The Orphan Conspiracies, Underground Knowledge
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In a chapter titled ‘False Flag operations’ in our book The Orphan Conspiracies, readers’ attention is drawn to the false flag that began the Vietnam War in a chapter titled ‘False Flag operations’.

An excerpt from the above-mentioned chapter follows:

On August 4, 1964, President Lyndon Johnson alerted his fellow Americans on national television that North Vietnam had attacked the American destroyer USS Maddox (pictured below) in the Gulf of Tonkin.

Not long after, Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, which gave Johnson the green light to begin military operations against North Vietnam. American troops were soon stationed in Vietnam and neighboring countries, and the war that would dominate an era began.

However, President Johnson and his Secretary of Defense, Robert McNamara, successfully hoodwinked the American people because North Vietnam never initiated a sea battle with the USS Maddox as the Pentagon had claimed, and the so-called unequivocal evidence of a second attack by the North Vietnamese is now commonly acknowledged as being a false report.

A National Security Agency (NSA) report on the Gulf of Tonkin Incident, declassified in 2005, concluded that USS Maddox had engaged the North Vietnamese Navy on August 2, 1964, but (and this is a big but) “The Maddox fired three rounds to warn off the communist boats. This initial action was never reported by the Johnson administration, which insisted that the Vietnamese boats fired first.”

Regarding the all-important second attack on August 4 – which effectively caused the Vietnam War – the NSA report concluded there were no North Vietnamese Naval vessels present during the entire incident: “It is not simply that there is a different story as to what happened; it is that no attack happened that night.”

If an organization as biased as the NSA says no attack ever happened then it seems very safe to say the Gulf of Tonkin Incident was nothing but a phantom attack on the US Military. It was carefully crafted propaganda devised to manufacture consent for all-out war.

In this instance that propaganda ended up costing approximately 60,000 American lives and three million Vietnamese lives.

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The Orphan Conspiracies: 29 Conspiracy Theories from The Orphan Trilogy is available as an audiobook courtesy of Amazon’s Audible initiative. (Listening time: 13hrs. 44mins.).

For those who prefer the printed word, the paperback version of this book is available from Harvard Book Store, Barnes & Noble, Waterstones UK & Europe bookstores, Amazon and via public libraries.

Amazon link:

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Book highlights eerie echoes of Operation Northwoods on 9/11

Posted: November 22, 2025 in The Orphan Conspiracies
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Conspiracy theorists insist 9/11 was an inside job – the suggestion being it was a US Government ploy to justify the invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq. Too much of a stretch? Consider Operation Northwoods…

In 1962, the US Government’s Department of Defense and Joint Chiefs of Staff proposed carrying out acts of terrorism on American soil to justify military intervention in Cuba. They called it Operation Northwoods.

Hard to swallow? For sure, but it’s on the record. Numerous military and intelligence documents recording these disturbing false flag proposals have since been declassified.

In the interests of full disclosure, you are reading an excerpt from a chapter titled ‘False Flag operations’ in our book The Orphan Conspiracies.

Excerpt continues:

Operation Northwoods remained a secret for 35 years. The sinister proposal first came to the public’s attention in November 1997 when The John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Review Board declassified various top secret military records, which included the Northwoods documents. The following year, the National Security Archive published further revealing information on Northwoods.

A (since declassified) ‘Top Secret’ memo dated March 13, 1962, addressed to the Secretary of Defense and signed by then-Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff makes for interesting reading. Its subject line reads: Justification for US Military Intervention in Cuba.

Item No. 1 on that memo reads: “The Joint Chiefs of Staff have considered the attached Memorandum for the Chief of Operations, Cuba Project, which responds to a request of that office for brief but precise description of pretexts which would provide justification for US military intervention in Cuba.”

Operation Northwoods’ plans included the sinking of US war ships, shooting down hijacked passenger planes, killing innocent American citizens, letting off bombs and orchestrating other violent terrorist acts in major cities including Washington DC and Miami.

Every event would be blamed on Fidel Castro and the Cuban regime. The Joint Chiefs of Staff’s logic was that these events would help gain enough support from the American public and the world at large for a US military invasion of Cuba.

Fortunately, President Kennedy immediately rejected the Northwoods proposal and fired one of its main proponents, Lyman Lemnitzer, who was then Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

The following year, Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas, while Lemnitzer was appointed Supreme Allied Commander of NATO. Go figure!

Operation Northwoods is one of several proven False Flag schemes revealed in our book and one of numerous so-called conspiracy theories since revealed as conspiracy fact.

For the skeptics, here’s the (since declassified) ‘Top Secret’ memo relating to Operation Northwoods dated March 13, 1962, addressed to the Secretary of Defense and signed by then-Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.


Does Northwoods have echoes of 9/11? You decide.

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Links to The Orphan Conspiracies audio, print and ebooks follow below.

The Orphan Conspiracies: 29 Conspiracy Theories from The Orphan Trilogy is available as an audiobook courtesy of Amazon’s Audible initiative. (Listening time: 13hrs. 44mins.).

https://www.audible.com/pd/The-Orphan-Conspiracies-29-Conspiracy-Theories-from-The-Orphan-Trilogy-Audiobook/B0FDKZCFRB?srsltid=AfmBOooLzuQW1LKGd0JIe1M1-MX0AIrTIU7sRuWAe8zVAT414mbKcEjk
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For those who prefer the printed word, the paperback version of this book is available from Harvard Book Store, Barnes & Noble, Waterstones UK & Europe bookstores, Amazon and via public libraries.

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Billy Yfantis celebrates a decade of cosmic soundscapes with new album

Posted: November 17, 2025 in music
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Experimental electronic composer Billy Yfantis proudly presents his new double-length anthology album “2015–2025 The First Years in Space.” 

Spanning a full decade of sonic experimentation, this 30-track release represents Yfantis’ artistic evolution through ambient, electronic, and noise-based soundscapes inspired by the mysteries of the cosmos.

The album compiles highlights from Yfantis’ previous releases along with nine previously unreleased compositions, forming a complete chronicle of his creative journey across the past ten years. Each piece reveals a unique approach to sound design, mixing music technology with conceptual art and a fascination for scientific exploration.

Among the most distinctive pieces:

• “The Electric Drill Session” features real sounds of an electric drill, turned into rhythmic, industrial elements that blur the boundaries between man-made tools and music.

• “Landing” incorporates authentic NASA spaceship sounds, carefully edited and arranged to recreate the sensation of landing onto an unknown planet.

• “Dust Not Found” includes real vacuum cleaner recordings, turning the chaos into an experimental metaphor for the emptiness and silence of space.

Other highlights include the meditative “Ionosphere Reverie,” the expansive “Cosmic Noise” and “Planetary Noise,” and “The Universe Collapses (Live at Norcal Noisefest 2022),” a 15-minute improvisational performance recorded at one of the world’s leading experimental music festivals.

“I am pleased to present you my compilation which is a fair synopsis of my recordings and comprises eight full albums and five singles between 2015 and 2025,” says Yfantis. “This is a reference point on the evolution of my music.”

The second part of the album introduces nine previously unreleased tracks, including “The Journey,” “Dreaming Among Planets,” and “Behind the Eye of the Universe,” which explore new territories of analog synthesis, lo-fi atmospheres, and ambient acid tones.

Watch the Official Video Teaser:

YouTube (Shorts): https://www.youtube.com/shorts/4jSajQY4Gzs

Listen to the New Album:

• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/4IL0S3CN6QYVn77seqENqc?si=oMDWcRTFSNy2YSSzyX_vUQ

• YouTube Music: https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_k2XhV-8YDvbWGHULUpbixaCxydMUO02BA

• Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/album/2015-2025-the-first-years-in-space/1825805358

• Bandcamp: https://billyyfantis.bandcamp.com/album/2015-2025-the-first-years-in-space

Album Details:

• Title: 2015–2025 The First Years in Space

• Artist: Billy Yfantis

• Release Year: 2025

• Format: Digital Album (30 Tracks)

• Genre: Experimental / Ambient / Space Music / Noise

• Label: Independent

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Spy thriller series ‘The Orphan Trilogy’ now available as an audiobook

Posted: October 27, 2025 in Audiobooks, The Orphan Trilogy
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Our bestselling international spy thriller series THE ORPHAN TRILOGY (The Ninth Orphan, The Orphan Factory, The Orphan Uprising) is now available as an audiobook courtesy of Amazon’s Audible initiative.

Listening time for this box set audiobook is 31hrs. 52mins. To listen to the Prologue, click on “Virtual voice sample” at: https://www.audible.com/pd/The-Orphan-Trilogy-The-Ninth-Orphan-The-Orphan-Factory-The-Orphan-Uprising-Audiobook/B0FLK6WV6P?srsltid=AfmBOooCW9aIPeGvWgV5LKcdC4TWek4R1vs-cRoLaSdPOkZ8ndDrPcML

Meet Number Nine – an orphan, a spy, a lover…a master of disguise, an assassin, a shapeshifter…a freedom fighter, a human chameleon, a reformed contract killer.

He’s all of the above. He’s none of the above. It’s his story we tell in our international thriller series.

Here’s what Amazon reviewers are saying about The Orphan Trilogy:

★★★★★ “Intrigue, mystery, deceit, coverup, black hat, special ops, conspiracy – you name it, you’re pretty much going to find it here in these exciting three books.” –Greg Kuhn (author & quantum physicist)

★★★★★ “The Orphan Trilogy is the best of the best in thrillers!” –J.B. DiNizo (author of ‘Comings and Goings’)

★★★★★ “An epic thriller trilogy.” –SJ Hailey (author of ‘The 5th Amulet’)

★★★★★ “Wonderful conspiracy trilogy.” –A Bit Of Everything Reviews

★★★★★ “Morcan fans will enjoy the books.” –Jerome Brooke (author of ‘City of the Mirage’)

★★★★★ “This is a fast paced, high action story line with enough truth in it to rattle you.” –WelcomeHomeSoldier Reviews

★★★★★ “I can’t say enough about this international conspiracy thriller series…Fast paced action and an extremely thought provoking premise.” –Phoenix Book Review

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For those who prefer the printed word, THE ORPHAN TRILOGY is available as a paperback via Harvard Book Store, Barnes & Noble, Waterstones UK & Europe bookstores, Amazon and via public libraries.

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‘WHITE SPIRIT (A novel based on a true story)’ now available as an epic audiobook

Posted: October 16, 2025 in Audiobooks, white spirit
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Our historical adventure WHITE SPIRIT is now available as an audiobook courtesy of Amazon’s Audible initiative. Listening time for this epic is 32hrs. 46mins. To listen to the Prologue, click on “Virtual voice sample” at: https://www.amazon.com/White-Spirit-novel-based-story/dp/B0CY9HM9NZ/

WHITE SPIRIT is consistently one of our bestselling historical novels. It’s based on the remarkable true story of Irish convict John Graham who escaped from Australia’s notorious Moreton Bay Penal Settlement in the early 1800s and found refuge with the Kabi, a tribe of Aborigines who eventually accept him as one of their own.

Here’s what book critics say about this novel:

★★★★★ “Disturbing, brutal, honest, unputdownable. It is real, very, very real with fascinating characters at the helm. Very highly recommended! Both men and women will enjoy the story.” –‘History and Women’ org.

★★★★★  “This is a tour de force of a book… every page and chapter is riveting.” –Amazon Reviews

★★★★★  “An outstanding work of historical fiction.” –Book critic Howard Lipman

★★★★★ “I couldn’t put the book down.” –Mary L. Traylor Reviews

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For those who prefer the printed word, WHITE SPIRIT is available as a paperback via Harvard Book Store, Barnes & Noble, Waterstones UK & Europe bookstores, Amazon and via public libraries.

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Contentious mystery-drama novel & movie adaptation ANNO 2020 now an audiobook

Posted: October 14, 2025 in ANNO 2020, Audiobooks
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James Morcan’s ANNO 2020, the novel some would prefer no-one ever reads and the feature film some would prefer no-one ever sees is now an audiobook, which no doubt some would prefer no-one ever hears!

Think you know what 2020 was all about? Think again…

Spanning 17 cities on four continents, ANNO 2020 is a global kaleidoscope of interconnected characters seeking redemption, answers and justice amidst the chaos of Anno MMXX (Year 2020).

The audiobook is available courtesy of Amazon’s Audible initiative. (Listening time: 4hrs. 43mins.)  To listen to a sample, click on the audiobook’s Amazon page at: https://www.amazon.com/ITEM_NAME/dp/B0DJCGCYTR/

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For those who prefer the printed word, ANNO 2020 is available as a paperback via Harvard Book Store, Barnes & Noble, Waterstones UK & Europe bookstores, Amazon and via public libraries.

For those keen to view James Morcan’s movie adaptation, ANNO 2020, also directed by James, is screening now on YouTube. Free to view, it is suitable for family viewing. Go to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Nr2h-AMV-c&t=344s

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‘New Zealand: A Novel’ is publisher’s bestseller in print, ebook and audiobook formats

Posted: October 7, 2025 in New Zealand: A Novel
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Publisher Sterling Gate Books announced the historical adventure New Zealand: A Novel by Lance Morcan was its bestselling novel last month in all formats – audiobook, paperback, hardcover and Kindle ebook.

‘New Zealand: A Novel’ is a sweeping drama spanning 500 years. It’s a tale of discovery, destiny, and forbidden love in which the old and new worlds collide. The arrival of Europeans heralds a clash of vastly different ideologies as European civilization collides head on with indigenous Maori.

-Acclaimed U.S. arts and book critic Grady Harp asks, “Could this be ‘The Great New Zealand Novel?’”

-“’New Zealand: A Novel’ is more than just a historical saga,” according to US book critic Elisabet Norris whose review featured recently in ‘Top reviews from the United States’.

 -To see what other book critics are saying about this novel go to: https://www.amazon.com/New-Zealand-Novel-Lance-Morcan-ebook/dp/B0DPTJTDCQ/

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The paperback version of New Zealand: A Novel is available from via Harvard Book Store, Mighty Ape NZ, Waterstones UK & Europe bookstores, Kete Books NZ, Amazon and via public libraries. The audiobook version is available via Amazon (listening time: 11hrs. 25mins.)

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