ALLISON & BUSBY
Press Release
The
Lazarus Strain
By Ken McClure
Publication Date: 25 June 2007 Price: £9.99 Paperback
- A Scottish writer to rival Michael Crichton, Ken McClure is an award-winning medical scientist as well as a global selling author.
- Blending fiction with scientific fact he creates a
chilling thriller and an all-too credible scenario. The scientific plausibility of his plots has in fact seen
his books turn into predictions. His older novel for example, Crisis,
explored the possibility of a sheep’s brain disease mutating to infect humans, which
eventually took shape in reality in the form of mad cow disease.
- McClure’s hero, ex-Special
Forces Dr Steven Dunbar, works for an elite government agency investigating
high-tech crime in the world of science and medicine.
- Sir Sean Connery has shown great interest in McClure’s work and it might not be long until McClure’s novels are made into films.
·
The terrifying factual background…
In T
In
The
Gulf Conspiracy McClure probed the possible causes and military cover-ups
revolving around the Gulf War Syndrome. In Eye of the Raven he made us question
our belief that DNA evidence is indisputable. Now, in The Lazarus Strain, he taps
into today’s underlying fear of terrorism and biochemical warfare, opening our
eyes to the unnerving side of viral research (which means monster viruses still
survive, or indeed are created, in top research labs in order to better
understand how we might fight them) and the terrifying scenario of what would
happen if a deadly virus was unleashed into our midst.
He
highlights the chilling reality that as the influenza virus constantly develops
new mutations, even vaccines are educated guesses and we can never safe-guard
against new fatal strains. In 1914 a strain of flu virus killed 40 million
people worldwide - more than the worst plagues of the Middle Ages. The virus caused its
victims’ lungs to fill with blood, effectively drowning them in their own
secretions. Such an outbreak might occur due to an unexpected mutation in the current
human flu strain’s continuing evolution. Or it may result from a genetic
variation of, for example, the bird flu. Or it could be caused through
malicious intent…
It
is less a question of “if” a grand scale epidemic could happen again…and more a
question of “when”. What is certain is that in this world of ever-faster
transportation and increased contact, the consequences of another epidemic
would be far worse than ever before.
'McClure's forte is to take an outside medical possibility, decide on the worst possible outcome...and write a book' The Scotsman
‘Well-wrought, plausible and unnerving' The Times
In Th
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ken McClure is an award-winning medical
scientist as well as a global selling author
He was
born and brought up in Edinburgh, where he studied medical sciences. He initially began
making a living as a guitarist, touring with several pop groups and jazz
combos, before parental pressure led him to find a “proper job”. He worked in
several hospitals before moving into research in molecular genetics and into a
career that has seen him become a prize-winning researcher in his field. He
cultivated his expertise across universities in France, Spain, Japan and the USA and an adventure-strewn visit to Tel Aviv University in Israel gave birth to his writing career. Using this strong
background to base his thrillers in the intriguing world of medicine, he is now
the author of over fifteen novels and his work is available in over twenty
languages, from Chinese to Finnish. He still lives in Edinburgh and is available for interview.
