Simon Morden

Samuil Petrovitch is a survivor. He survived the nuclear fallout in St. Petersburg and hid in the London Metrozone - the last city in England. He's lived this long because he's a man of rules and logic. For example: GETTING INVOLVED = A BAD IDEA. But when he stumbles into a kidnapping in progress, he acts without even thinking. Before he can stop himself, he's saved the daughter of the most dangerous man in London. And clearly: SAVING THE GIRL = GETTING INVOLVED. Now, the equation of Petrovitch's life is looking increasingly complex: RUSSIAN MOBSTERS + YAKUZA + SOMETHING CALLED THE NEW MACHINE JIHAD = ONE DEAD PETROVITCH. But Petrovitch has a plan - he always has a plan - he's just not sure it's a good one.

THEOREM: Petrovitch has a lot of secrets. PROOF: Secrets like how to make anti-gravity for one. For another, he's keeping a sentient computer program on a secret server farm - the same program that nearly destroyed the Metrozone a few months back. TH EOREM: The city is broken. PROOF: The people of the OutZone want what the citizens of the Metrozone have. And then to burn it to the ground. Now, with the heart of the city destroyed by the New Machine Jihad, the Outies finally see their chance. THEO REM: These events are not unconnected. PROOF: Someone is trying to kill Petrovitch and they're willing to sink the whole city to do it.

The Six Degrees of Samuel Petrovitch: * Michael is an AI of incalculable complexity trapped under the remains of Oshicora Tower. Petrovitch will free him one day; he just has to trust Michael will still be sane by the time he does. * Maddy and Petrov itch have trust issues. But Petrovitch is pretty sure she loves him. * Sonja Oshicora loves Petrovitch too. But she's playing a complicated game and it's not clear that she means to save him from what's coming. * The CIA wants to save the world. Well , just America, but they'll call it what they like. * The New Machine Jihad is calling. But Petrovitch killed it. Didn't he? * And the Armageddonists tried to kill pretty much everyone by blowing the world up. Now, they want to do it again. Once agai n, all roads lead back to Petrovitch. Everyone wants something from him, but all he wants is to be free ...

Mars is never far from our news Mars is never far from our news headlines or imaginations: there has never been a better time to acquaint never been a better time to acquaint ourselves with its dramatic history and astonishing present. The history of Mars is drawn not just on its surface, but also down into its broken bedrock and up into its frigid air. Most of all, it stretches back into deep time, where the trackways of the past have been obliterated and there is no discernible trace of where they started from or how they travelled, only where they ended up. From the planet’s formation 4.5 billion years ago, through eras that featured cataclysmic meteor strikes, explosive volcanoes and a vast ocean that spanned the entire upper hemisphere, to the long, frozen ages that saw its atmosphere steadily thinning and leaking away into space, Dr Simon Morden presents a tantalising vision of our nearest neighbour. Piecing together the latest research, data, theories and informed speculation, The Red Planet is as close as we can get to an eye-witness account of this incredible place.