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Deadlight
Hardcover
First published January 1, 1968
About the author
Archie Roy
10 books4 followersAka: A.E. Roy
Professor Archie Edminston Roy, was educated at Hillhead High School and the University of Glasgow. He was married to Frances with three sons; Dr. Archie W N Roy, Ian Roy and David Roy.
Professor Roy was a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, the Royal Astronomical Society, and the British Interplanetary Society. He was also a Member and past President of the Society for Psychical Research and Founding President of The Scottish Society for Psychical Research.
The asteroid (5806) Archieroy is named after him, with a registration in the IAU's Minor planet center. He has also been elected a member of the European Academy of Arts, Sciences and the Humanities. He was a Patron of the Churches Fellowship (Scotland) for Psychical and Spiritual Studies and a member of the Scientific and Medical Network. Archie Roy conducted research in astrodynamics, celestial mechanics, archaeoastronomy, psychical research, and neural networks.
In addition Roy has published 20 books, six of them novels, some 70 scientific papers and scores of articles. His books have been published in the United Kingdom, United States, France, Russia, Italy and India.
In 2004 he was awarded the Myers Memorial Medal for outstanding contributions to psychical research by the Society for Psychical Research.
Professor Archie Edminston Roy, was educated at Hillhead High School and the University of Glasgow. He was married to Frances with three sons; Dr. Archie W N Roy, Ian Roy and David Roy.
Professor Roy was a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, the Royal Astronomical Society, and the British Interplanetary Society. He was also a Member and past President of the Society for Psychical Research and Founding President of The Scottish Society for Psychical Research.
The asteroid (5806) Archieroy is named after him, with a registration in the IAU's Minor planet center. He has also been elected a member of the European Academy of Arts, Sciences and the Humanities. He was a Patron of the Churches Fellowship (Scotland) for Psychical and Spiritual Studies and a member of the Scientific and Medical Network. Archie Roy conducted research in astrodynamics, celestial mechanics, archaeoastronomy, psychical research, and neural networks.
In addition Roy has published 20 books, six of them novels, some 70 scientific papers and scores of articles. His books have been published in the United Kingdom, United States, France, Russia, Italy and India.
In 2004 he was awarded the Myers Memorial Medal for outstanding contributions to psychical research by the Society for Psychical Research.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
April 21, 2026
Archie Roy’s Deadlight (1968) is a sophisticated "techno-thriller" that stands at the crossroads of classic British adventure and speculative science fiction. It successfully blends the rugged, atmospheric pursuit of the Scottish Highlands with the existential dread of the nuclear age.
The novel’s most immediate DNA can be traced to John Buchan’s The Thirty-Nine Steps. Like Richard Hannay, Roger Arran is an ordinary man thrust into a vast conspiracy involving shadow organizations that threaten the stability of Western civilization by stopping at nothing to strengthen societal stability.
The geography of Arran Island serves a similar function to Buchan’s moors; it is a character in itself, providing a treacherous, rain-swept stage for the "man on the run" morif. Where Buchan’s villains are often caricatures of foreign subversion, Roy’s antagonists—ISGAR-2—are more modern and chilling. They represent the "technocratic elite," a theme further explored in Geoffrey Household’s Rogue Male.
The middle chapters, featuring Roger’s grueling escape across Ben Nuis and Ben Tarsuinn, mirror the visceral, animalistic survivalism of Rogue Male. Roy captures that same sense of a protagonist being reduced to "the hunted". Yet, while Household’s hero is a hunter seeking vengeance, Roger is a scientist seeking to protect a paradigm-shifting truth.
This shift from physical stakes to intellectual ones brings Deadlight into conversation with Peter Ackroyd’s First Light. Both novels deal with the intersection of archaeology, deep time, and the weight of the past. Johnny Marshall’s interest in the Tormore megaliths and the eventually revealed "timescope" echo Ackroyd’s preoccupation with how the ancient world continues to pulse beneath the surface of the modern.
Deadlight is a gripping synthesis: it has the bones of a Buchan chase, the grit of Household’s survivalism, and the intellectual haunting of Ackroyd’s historical mysteries, all serving a warning that the truth is a light that can both guide and blind.
The novel’s most immediate DNA can be traced to John Buchan’s The Thirty-Nine Steps. Like Richard Hannay, Roger Arran is an ordinary man thrust into a vast conspiracy involving shadow organizations that threaten the stability of Western civilization by stopping at nothing to strengthen societal stability.
The geography of Arran Island serves a similar function to Buchan’s moors; it is a character in itself, providing a treacherous, rain-swept stage for the "man on the run" morif. Where Buchan’s villains are often caricatures of foreign subversion, Roy’s antagonists—ISGAR-2—are more modern and chilling. They represent the "technocratic elite," a theme further explored in Geoffrey Household’s Rogue Male.
The middle chapters, featuring Roger’s grueling escape across Ben Nuis and Ben Tarsuinn, mirror the visceral, animalistic survivalism of Rogue Male. Roy captures that same sense of a protagonist being reduced to "the hunted". Yet, while Household’s hero is a hunter seeking vengeance, Roger is a scientist seeking to protect a paradigm-shifting truth.
This shift from physical stakes to intellectual ones brings Deadlight into conversation with Peter Ackroyd’s First Light. Both novels deal with the intersection of archaeology, deep time, and the weight of the past. Johnny Marshall’s interest in the Tormore megaliths and the eventually revealed "timescope" echo Ackroyd’s preoccupation with how the ancient world continues to pulse beneath the surface of the modern.
Deadlight is a gripping synthesis: it has the bones of a Buchan chase, the grit of Household’s survivalism, and the intellectual haunting of Ackroyd’s historical mysteries, all serving a warning that the truth is a light that can both guide and blind.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 of 1 review