Hear the word ‘apocalypse’ and many of us will immediately think of cataclysmic
global events, or horrors such as those depicted in Francis Ford Coppola’s 1979
classic Apocalypse Now. The word has become tangled up with the last book in the
Bible and, loaded with grim prophecies, it now has a grim ‘end of the world’ ring to it.
But the last book of the Bible is actually entitled, ‘The Revelation of John’ and
‘apocalypse’ – derived from an Ancient Greek word – simply means an uncovering or
revealing.

The three books in the Soft Apocalypse trilogy, Redeemed from Time, The Net and
Clouds Unfold, are set towards the end of the 21 st century. Britain is a recognisable
place. People are much the same. Technological advances have, of course, changed
the way we live, day to day (it would be odd if they hadn’t) and society has evolved in
response to the inevitable pressures – social, political, environmental – that are
always with us.

Stories which look into the future always pose certain questions: Is this future
credible? If it’s fantasy, does that fantasy play out as a metaphor for fundamental
truths? To what extent can we see ourselves in this future scenario?
Soft Apocalypse sets out to ask questions like these, as the stories track the main
protagonist, Pee-Bee. In Redeemed from Time, he leaves adolescence behind. In The
Net, he confronts adulthood at a time of considerable personal, social and political
upheaval. Clouds Unfold will take him into a new chapter in his life.

The novels’ plots move at speed. There is emotional and physical jeopardy. But the
reader should still be left pondering the biggest questions of all: Why are we here?
What is it all about? Where are we heading?
Soft Apocalypse suggests the answers to these questions do not have to be burdened
with hopelessness or a sense of inescapable doom. We are faced with major
challenges – that’s undeniable – but homo sapiens is by no means condemned to be
the agent of its own destruction.