Ian McKinley is a Scot living in Switzerland, working in the rather esoteric field of radioactive waste management. He assesses the safety of disposal sites a million years in the future and analyses how the Oklo reactors operated two billion years ago – which is often hard to distinguish from science fiction.

Ian’s experience ensures sound backdrops to his hard science fiction. Adult action thrillers showcase the evolution of society in the face of major technological advances and a degrading natural environment. All extrapolations over the next century are credible, maybe frighteningly so, given their dystopian nature. 

Previously published novels offer offbeat takes on the impact of the collapse of a future, an even more ubiquitous Internet, and the emergence of artificial intelligence. 

Author Ian McKinley

This snap was taken in the Fukushima evacuated zone during the first winter after the accident, when we were testing different clean-up approaches. The Japanese are very cautious when it comes to radiation, hence the protective clothing. In this particular village, however, the dose rates were not very different to the fallout levels when I was growing up in Scotland in the 60s (from atmospheric bomb testing). Levels then were, of course, much higher in places like Nevada! Something to think about next time you visit Las Vegas...