The Essence
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There is a phenomenon - a force, a spirit, a flaw in Reality - known as the Essence, which can manifest at random, often with dire effect.
Michael Brookes, an economist working for a small outstation of MI6 attached to the Treasury, is sent to the Netherlands by his department, where he narrowly escapes being kidnapped; and that's just the start of his problems. Michael has never heard of the Essence, but some very powerful people believe otherwise. Despite his protestations, they will stop at nothing to discover what he knows.
The problem is that Michael, who is recovering from a catastrophic breakdown, has large gaps in his memory... So he can't rule out the possibility that they might be right.
Dave Hutchinson
Dave Hutchinson was born in Sheffield. After reading American Studies at the University of Nottingham, he became a journalist. He's the author of five collections of short stories and one novel, and his novella The Push was shortlisted for the 2010 BSFA award for short fiction. He has also edited two anthologies and co-edited a third. His short story The Incredible Exploding Man featured in the first Solaris Rising anthology, and appeared in the Year's Best Science Fiction collection. He lives in north London with his wife and several cats.
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