When a butterfly startles a young rabbit and the rabbit makes a horse rear, it starts a chain of events and a rollercoaster ride to the heart of Chaos Theory.
Heart-stopping and high-adrenaline, Mortal Chaos flashes between numerous locations and characters around the world: to the woods of Wiltshire where two young boys are deer hunting - to the perilous North Face of Mount Everest where an 18-year-old Japanese climber is approaching the summit - to a dusty field in Malawi where six-year-old Bakili is desperately guarding what's left of his starving family's crops from vicious baboons - and to Washington DC where an unhinged father, hooked on revenge, is building a bomb…
One beat of a butterfly's wings sets in motion a global chain of events that links all of these individual lives, and many more besides, for one day. And as each of their lives connect, they hurtle towards a nerve-jangling climax of mayhem and destruction where chaos knows no bounds. Some will live. Some will die. All are connected.
Pre-publication praise:
'The time frame - a single day - and the adrenaline-filled plotline make the story a cross between the television series "24" and an Andy McNab adventure - an ideal read for teenage boys.' The Bookseller (Read the full article here).
' The rapidly alternating narrative makes for a compelling and very fast-paced read… I found it to be a thrilling ride, with an unexpected conclusion that hammered home the fascinating concept of the story.' The Bookbag
'[An} intriguing take on a fascinating concept... I'll be checking out the other books in the series as and when they're published.'
A Dream of Books
'[A] powerful and engrossing YA début… I can't wait to see the finished book and would definitely recommend that you pick up a copy!' Read Between The Lines
Matt Dickinson is a writer and film-maker with an enduring (and sometimes dangerous) passion for wild places and people who push themselves to their limits. He was trained as a film maker at the BBC and has subsequently filmed many award-winning documentaries for National Geographic Television, Discovery Channel and Channel 4.
As a director and cameraman he has worked with some of the world's top climbers and adventurers, joining them on their expeditions to the Himalayas and beyond. Along the way he has survived some life-threatening dramas including an avalanche in Antarctica and a killer storm on Everest.
Matt's proudest moment was filming on the summit of Mount Everest having successfully scaled the treacherous North Face of the world's highest peak. He is only the fifth British climber ever to do so, and his account of his ascent - The Death Zone - was a bestselling book, selling over 250,00 copies. His writing credits also include two novels for adults, High Risk and Black Ice, both published in the UK and in numerous foreign editions. Mortal Chaos is the first book in Matt's adrenaline-fuelled three-book series for teens.
Mortal Chaos is published by Oxford University Press in trade paperback and eBook on
2nd February 2012, priced £6.99. For ages 12+