Strangled Silence (38 page)

You can't create a story from the outside. So when you've
finished it, you need someone to take a look at it and tell
you whether the tale you've woven in your head is the
same as the one you're weaving in the heads of others.
Before any editors get involved, my family are my first
critics and I'd like to thank all of them, particularly my
wife Maedhbh, for their sound advice, passion and their
(mostly!) constructive criticism. They keep my feet on the
ground.

My brother, Marek, does much of the work on my
website (www. Oisinmcgann. Com) and keeps me up-todate
with any online developments, gossip and scandal. I
tap his brain on regular occasions and basically treat him
like a free technical support centre for a range of issues.

Thanks also to my agent, Sophie Hicks, who, with the
help of Edina Imrik and everyone at Ed Victor Ltd, guides
me through the minefield of contract negotiations. Such
straight-talking and diplomacy so rarely go hand in hand.

I've had conversations with many people about the
subjects dealt with in this book – too many to name here
– but they have all helped to hone and focus my ideas.
The worst conspiracies are the ordinary, down-to-earth
ones whose results we see around us every day. And there
is more than enough truth being told about them if we
know where to look. Thanks to all the writers, journalists
and film-makers who've asked the awkward questions on
behalf of ordinary people, and all those who've made me
question my own perceptions of the world.

As ever, the staff at Random House made great contributions
during the production of this book and the
promotion of the last one. I'm grateful to Nina Douglas
and Lauren Bennett for all their help with the publicity
for
Ancient Appetites
, and for their patience, efficiency and
pleasant demeanours over long, long days of travelling and
talks, even when they know they'll be doing it all again
next week. James Fraser continues to accept my design
input with remarkably good grace and always knows how
to do it better.

Clare Argar took over from Shannon Park as editor on this
book at relatively short notice, and did so without missing
a beat. Changing editor is an unsettling experience for any
writer and I'm happy to say that Clare made it an absolute
pleasure.

Oisín McGann

Beyond the huge domed roof of Ash Harbour, deadly storms
and Arctic temperatures have stripped the Earth bare. Sixteen-year-old
boxing enthusiast Solomon Wheat is thrust into a
dangerous underworld when his father – a daylighter who clears
ice from the dome – goes missing and is accused of murder.

As Sol uncovers the mystery surrounding his father's
disappearance, he gradually exposes more sinister secrets when
it becomes clear that the Machine which keeps the city alive is
running out of power. Strange messages start appearing from
the rebellious Dark-Day Fatalists, warning inhabitants of their
inevitable fate, while the elusive and dangerous Clockworkers
seem intent on protecting the ailing Machine at any cost.

Sol's search leads him into the bowels of Ash Harbour, where
street-fights and black-market deals rule its skeletal maze, and
the giants of industry who run the city bury their dirty secrets.
Along with rebellious classmate Cleo, and Maslow, an unlikely
accomplice, Sol faces the match of his life to uncover the truth.

The fight is on . . .

978 0 552 55473 2

Oisín McGann

Nate Wildenstern's brother has been killed,
and the finger is pointed at him . . .

After nearly two years, eighteen-year-old Nate returns home to
the family empire ruled by his father – the ruthless Wildenstern
Patriarch. But Nate's life is soon shattered by his brother's
death, and the Rules of Ascension, allowing the assassination
of one male family member by another, means he's being
blamed. He knows that he is not the murderer, but who is?

With the aid of his troublesome sister-in-law, Daisy, and his
cousin Gerald, he means to find out. But when the victims of
the family's tyrannical regime choose the funeral to seek their
revenge, they accidently uncover the bodies of some ancient
Wildenstern ancestors, one of whom bears a Patriarch's ring.
The lives of Nate and his family are about to take a
strange and horrifying turn . . .

SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2007
WATERSTONE'S BOOK PRIZE

978 0 552 55499 2