Press Release - The first Bird Flu thriller, The Lazarus Strain, launches in the US
The Lazarus Strain
By Ken McClure
The First Bird Flu Thriller!
Publication Date: September 2007 Price: $14.95 Trade Paperback
• A Scottish writer to rival Michael Crichton, Ken McClure is an award-winning medical scientist as well as a global selling author. This is his 19th novel!
• 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 science fact! A previous novel for example, Crisis, explored the possibility of a sheep’s brain disease mutating to infect humans i.e. what later became 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 expressed great interest in McClure’s work, so it may not be long before his books hit the silver screen.
(See this story on Blockbusterbooks.co.uk )
• Continuing news stories about the latest viral outbreak of BIRD FLU makes this book very topical (e.g. 15 July 2007, an Angus-Reid poll showed 59 per cent of respondents expressed little confidence in the US Administration’s preparedness to handle a major outbreak of the infectious disease.)
The factual background…
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.
In the prologue, 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 1918 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”.
'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
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 19 novels and his work is available in 21 languages.
He still lives in Edinburgh and is available for interview.
For more information, a review copy or an interview with the author, contact Jean Westcott at jean.westcott.booksintl.com or 703.661.1541.
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