New Thriller by Observatory Astronomer Explores the Lure of Alien Life

How would you react to a coded message from aliens containing a recipe for genetically modifying your DNA to boost your life-span, increase your intelligence and strength, and make you proof against a host of deadly diseases? Would you reply and hope to receive more revolutionary new knowledge, or would it be too dangerous to handle? And would you or could you trust the motives of the signallers?

Armagh Observatory astronomer and author Bill Napier explores these and other questions in his gripping new thriller The Lure, published by Headline on Wednesday 5th June. The story revolves around Tom Petrie, a Dublin student, and Freya Stormer, a young astronomer from Norway, who suddenly find themselves at the heart of a global conspiracy, on the run from forces determined to suppress the message or claim its benefits for themselves.

Bill Napier's new novel is both timely and topical. Astronomers have already discovered nearly a hundred planets around other stars, and are actively seeking evidence for life on other worlds. Researchers at the Observatory are participating in the Beagle 2 project, whose main aim is to determine whether life exists on Mars, while others have recently discovered water on Mars. These facts, and the knowledge that our civilization is likely to be very young compared to any others that may exist in the Galaxy, should give us pause for thought. As humankind begins to explore the solar system and beyond, others may already have their eyes on us!

Bill Napier combines his work at Armagh, his background as an honorary professor in the Astrobiology Institute of Cardiff University, and his experience as a novelist to produce a high-paced tale with many exciting twists. The Lure is his third novel, and seems destined to follow his previous thrillers, Nemesis and Revelation, in reaching the best-seller lists. Nemesis won acclaim from the world famous author Arthur C. Clarke as The most exciting book I have ever read, and Revelation was described in the London Literary Review as an outrageously exciting, cunningly devised tale.

See also:

Amazon Bookshop - The Lure (hardback)
Amazon Bookshop - Nemesis (paperback)
Amazon Bookshop - Revelation (paperback)

Last Revised: 2002 June 5th WWW contact: webmaster@star.arm.ac.uk

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