Atomfall: The Secrets of Windscale

by Jonathan L. Howard

Jenny Coggins, a reporter for the London-based National Argus newspaper, has an important meeting. A secret informant claims to have evidence of misdoings at the Windscale atomic plant, in the remote village of Wyndham. Sensing a hot story, she sets off for the Cumberland countryside. Quickly upon arriving at the village Jenny gets the sense that something is seriously wrong. People seem really shifty. The atomic plant seems to be glowing blue in the distance. And there's a phonebox that rings only when Jenny walks by.

Windscale was supposed to be built on the coast at Sellafield, but at the 11th hour it was relocated to the northern shore of Wyndhamere. The more Jenny learns from the locals about the Windscale atomic plant, the less things make sense. Why is the military involved? And why did the government buy up all the land nearby? Why are some of the staff called cyberneticians? Jenny must get into the plant one way or another to get her answers.

Then, Windscale explodes. And their world changes forever.

168 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 28, 2026

About the author

Jonathan L Howard is a game designer, scriptwriter, and a veteran of the computer games industry since the early 1990s, with titles such as the 'Broken Sword' series to his credit.

After publishing two short stories featuring Johannes Cabal (Johannes Cabal and the Blustery Day and Exeunt Demon King) in H. P. Lovecraft's Magazine of Horror, Johannes Cabal the Necromancer was published in 2009 as his first novel.

Since then there have been three sequels, with a fourth due in 2016. He has also written two novels in the YA SF "Russalka Chronicles" series, and the ongoing "Goon Squad" serial of superhero stories. October 2015 will see the publication of "Carter & Lovecraft," the first in a new series of novels.

He lives with his wife and daughter near Bristol.

http://www.jonathanlhoward.com/
https://twitter.com/#!/JonathanLHoward
http://jonathanlhoward.livejournal.com/