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Lord of the Lightning
The poet Homer says the Greek gods made androids, replica humans able to speak and move and think. Consider that…
The ancient Greek gods, Zeus and the rest, weren't gods at all. They were aliens, travellers in space and time, who chanced upon planet Earth when their vehicle broke down. We were a handy emergency stop. Their technology was taken for divine magic so they were taken for gods.
Earth was a disappointment. The science the Olympians needed to mend their vehicle was unknown to the ancient Greeks. And the Olympians were falling sick. So they entered suspended animation.
In 1996 they awoke. Now they've done a deal with a global tycoon. Fix the ship, cure the illnesses and the Olympians will depart, leaving the tycoon equipped with the same technology the Greeks mistook for divine power.
Planet Earth may fall under the dictatorship of a single business leader, Malvol. If some of the Olympians have their way, worse fates may await humanity, including the theft of the planet. An alien shape-shifter named Demogorgon has equally menacing plans.
Leadership in the battle to save the human race falls by chance to an unemployed journalist, an American professor, a female aboriginal Australian diplomat, a quartet of first year university students led by a young woman in a wheelchair - oh yes, and a hyper-intelligent Siamese cat whose interests include geometry and Latin poetry. Can Earth be saved?
The ancient Greek gods, Zeus and the rest, weren't gods at all. They were aliens, travellers in space and time, who chanced upon planet Earth when their vehicle broke down. We were a handy emergency stop. Their technology was taken for divine magic so they were taken for gods.
Earth was a disappointment. The science the Olympians needed to mend their vehicle was unknown to the ancient Greeks. And the Olympians were falling sick. So they entered suspended animation.
In 1996 they awoke. Now they've done a deal with a global tycoon. Fix the ship, cure the illnesses and the Olympians will depart, leaving the tycoon equipped with the same technology the Greeks mistook for divine power.
Planet Earth may fall under the dictatorship of a single business leader, Malvol. If some of the Olympians have their way, worse fates may await humanity, including the theft of the planet. An alien shape-shifter named Demogorgon has equally menacing plans.
Leadership in the battle to save the human race falls by chance to an unemployed journalist, an American professor, a female aboriginal Australian diplomat, a quartet of first year university students led by a young woman in a wheelchair - oh yes, and a hyper-intelligent Siamese cat whose interests include geometry and Latin poetry. Can Earth be saved?
297 pages, Hardcover
First published November 24, 2011
14 people want to read
About the author
David Butler
2 books2 followersMy novels aim to appeal both to young readers and older readers. When I was a schoolboy I surprised my friends by the way I spent my pocket money. While they headed for the sweetshop I made for a second-hand bookshop in North London where I bought books by writers like H.G. Wells, Jules Verne and H. Rider Haggard. I could buy old copies of these sensational books for six old pennies, 2½ pence in new money!
I remember lying in bed and reading When Worlds Collide by Philip Wylie and Edwin Balmer, in which another planet collides with the Earth. It frightened me so much I had to read a page, put the book down, calm down, read another page… and so on. It took me ages to get through the book.
I also remember vividly the moment when I first came across the mention of robots in the ancient Greek poem the Iliad. It says human-like androids were fabricated in about 800 BC! How did that happen?
My first book The Men who Mastered Time described two scientists who create a time machine. One of them decides to use the machine to re-engineer human history. The other must decide whether to use the machine to foil his colleague’s plan. My book was named by Books and Bookmen magazine as the best first novel of the month when it was published, which made me proud.
In my new book Lord of the Lightning a group of teenagers face the task of saving the world. Penelope Wainwright is a university student and a wheelchair user. Her circle includes Blake Harmon, a brilliant athlete of Caribbean origin, Patsy McGuire, an Irish-American girl who is a computer whizz, Monty Freedman, a boy who knows more about physics than his lecturers, and a hyper-intelligent Siamese cat named Leonardo. Leo reads books, understands ancient scripts and sends emails.
Penelope and her friends have to stop Adolf Hitler being given a weapon of mass destruction during World War 2. They have to prevent planet Earth being stolen and sold for scrap. Can they do it?
I remember lying in bed and reading When Worlds Collide by Philip Wylie and Edwin Balmer, in which another planet collides with the Earth. It frightened me so much I had to read a page, put the book down, calm down, read another page… and so on. It took me ages to get through the book.
I also remember vividly the moment when I first came across the mention of robots in the ancient Greek poem the Iliad. It says human-like androids were fabricated in about 800 BC! How did that happen?
My first book The Men who Mastered Time described two scientists who create a time machine. One of them decides to use the machine to re-engineer human history. The other must decide whether to use the machine to foil his colleague’s plan. My book was named by Books and Bookmen magazine as the best first novel of the month when it was published, which made me proud.
In my new book Lord of the Lightning a group of teenagers face the task of saving the world. Penelope Wainwright is a university student and a wheelchair user. Her circle includes Blake Harmon, a brilliant athlete of Caribbean origin, Patsy McGuire, an Irish-American girl who is a computer whizz, Monty Freedman, a boy who knows more about physics than his lecturers, and a hyper-intelligent Siamese cat named Leonardo. Leo reads books, understands ancient scripts and sends emails.
Penelope and her friends have to stop Adolf Hitler being given a weapon of mass destruction during World War 2. They have to prevent planet Earth being stolen and sold for scrap. Can they do it?
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
October 5, 2012
A real roller coaster of a read that involves so many contrasting elements: ancient and contemporary history, politics, conglomerate power, disability, racial discrimination, science, Greek mythology and more, all wrapped up with a narrative that has good momentum while providing plenty of opportunity for learning and reflection. Should go down well with both younger and mature readers.
October 9, 2012
This is the first book I have read where one of the protagonists has a physical disabilies. I found it challenged my preconceptions about the physical possibilities for this section of society. References to Ther Classics were very interesting and prompted me to explore this area.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews