The Secret History Of James Cobalt

Nothing is what it seems...

Jun 12, 2025

UNLOCK THE SECRET HISTORY

This isn’t just a thriller. It’s a transmission.

Subscribe now to get:
– Early access to unreleased chapters
– Tarot breakdowns that decode the deeper layers
– Exclusive drops from the Cobalt archives

📬 Delivered direct. No algorithms. No noise.

➤ [Click Subscribe above to enter the mission. Nothing is what it seems.]

Hello and welcome. I’m John Rebell — novelist, Merchant Marine, Private Investigator, Teacher, traveler, observer, and chronicler of one man’s strange and dangerous journey through the shadows of modern South East Asia.

You’ve just stepped into the world of James Cobalt, embassy brat turned orphan, ghetto rat turned monk, a soldier turned mercenary, mercenary turned burned out ghost seeking redemption, whose story begins in the chaos of the 1970s and unfolds into something far more mythic, mystical, and personal than you’d expect.

🔍 What is this?

This is a serialized fiction project published twice weekly on Substack: on Mondays and Thursdays. Think of it like the old radio dramas or pulp chapters—except smarter, stranger, and full of buried secrets.

You’ll get:

Twice Weekly chapters of my novel, Shock and Awe
Tarot spreads at the start of each chapter — symbolic, mysterious, sometimes prophetic
A chance to read and discuss each episode as it unfolds
Behind-the-scenes lore, art, and author notes

This isn’t just a thriller. It’s a spiritual war story. A redemption arc. A myth told in the language of secret wars, slums, betrayal, and strange grace.

🔮 Why Tarot?

At the beginning of each chapter, you’ll see a three-card Tarot spread.
These aren’t random — each spread represents the inner forces shaping that chapter’s events. A childlike fool. A crumbling tower. A death and rebirth.

The cards echo what the characters don’t say out loud.
Sometimes they even predict what’s coming.

✍️ Who am I?

You can call me John Rebell, or just a guy who’s seen too much and writes to make sense of it. As a way to deal with his PTSD.
These stories have lived inside me for a long time. Maybe they live in you, too.

📬 Subscribe Free — or Go Deeper

You can read for free — or become a paid subscriber to support the mission and get access to deeper notes, full archives, bonus chapters, and early release episodes.

🧧 Founding Members will get permanent credit in the printed edition and insider lore not shared anywhere else.

🕶️ Start Here

👉 Read Chapter 1: “The Fool, the Tower, and the End of Innocence”

Thank you for walking this road with me.
Let’s remember together what the world tried to make us forget.

— John Rebell

The Secret History of James Cobalt is unfolding now. Weekly. Here.
Nothing is what it seems…