Ian McKinley Books

Combat engineer Dr. Bruce Roberts is tasked with collecting special microbes for a formula that can reverse the effects of aging and extend human life. These extremophiles thrive in blistering temperatures and high radioactivity. The best candidate for such a place is the nuclear waste storage caverns below Japan's crippled Fukushima power plant, one of the most hazardous environments on earth. Normally he'd never accept such a dangerous assignment, but his team is comprised of three contrasting women: a fiery turncoat mercenary, a buxom professor and Nobel-laureate, and a leggy blonde scientist, an endearing combination he's compelled to protect. Opposing them is a powerful network of corporations and governments who would kill to steal the formula. As the team travels from Glasgow to Japan, attacks become more savage, forging strong emotional and sexual relationships between the team members. With the enemy at every turn, life and death is on the line for those seeking a technological Holy Grail that could further damage an already overpopulated world.

What would it be like if you woke up tomorrow morning and all computing infrastructure had vanished? It's a scary thought! Now move forward three decades, when quantum computing and artificial intelligence prevents collapse as the result of unsustainable development of an over-populated planet. A hacker attack that destroys this isn't scary, it's apocalyptic! Billions die and survivors are thrown back to a Stone Age hunter/gatherer existence. Well, most of the survivors. Cof had created one of the few communities that retained technology and was set to be a center of a new renaissance. He would do anything to protect this commune and his plan for the future, including mass murder and use of weapons that would have convicted him for crimes against humanity in earlier days. But did the end really justify the means and would his leadership be accepted if anyone found out the scale of the slaughter that it was based on?

Emergence is a science fiction thriller set in the near future, when supercomputers are ubiquitous and the knowledge engineers who manage them have inordinate power. Two such engineers, Fallon and O'Neil, are the main protagonists in a battle to control "backdoors" that allow computer systems to be hacked without trace. These are used by O'Neil to combat the many threats to a grossly over-populated planet on the brink of environmental collapse, but initiate violent responses from the organizations hacked, which catch Fallon in the crossfire. Fallon's increasingly intimate use of a neural link to communicate with his computer when he is under threat - and to facilitate his sexual conquests - has the by-product of catalyzing emergence of a conscious artificial intelligence in his computer system. With such assistance, he has a hidden advantage that may allow him to take over O'Neil's invaluable hacking toolkit. Can a man like Fallon be trusted with such power and, indeed, could machine consciousness present a greater threat to mankind than any environmental hazard?

Set in the mid-21st century, a catastrophic solar electro-magnetic pulse devastates all unprotected electronic systems, crippling urban life where 70% of the population resides. The immediate aftermath sees significant population loss, but the long-term effects are dire: urban areas become uninhabitable, essential services like agriculture and healthcare collapse, and communication and transport networks disappear. This societal breakdown triggers famine, disease, and regional conflicts, embodying the chaos of an apocalyptic scenario reminiscent of the Four Horsemen.

Detective Jim Holmes relocates to Tokyo to gain experience alongside the renowned Chief Inspector Stella Koide. His assignment quickly escalates when the murder of a Kabuki-cho prostitute unveils a string of horrific killings. As Holmes and Koide delve deeper, they uncover connections to the yakuza and a lavish nightclub catering to the elite's darkest desires, putting their lives at risk. The investigation challenges Holmes's limits and reveals a shocking underbelly of crime in the city.

The book explores the fear surrounding pandemics, particularly in the wake of COVID-19, while highlighting the potential dangers of genetically engineered diseases. It contrasts the mildness of COVID with the severity of past pandemics like Ebola and the Black Plague, warning that future engineered pathogens could have catastrophic effects on global populations and threaten the very foundations of civilization. The narrative emphasizes the urgent need to understand and prepare for these emerging threats.

A horrifying rugby injury left McKinley blind in his left eye, forcing him into early retirement. After moving to Italy and rebuilding himself as a youth rugby coach, he vowed to do whatever it took to play rugby again. For the first time, he explains how he endlessly researched specialist goggles and fought his case, until one day he came back.