Twenty Twenty

"Viral apocalypse, virtual reality, Buddhist enlightenment . . . A book to make the pulse race, the mind dance and the heart sink." The Times, 1995. First published in 1995, Twenty Twenty eerily foretells the events of the year 2020. An ageing writer infected with a deadly virus and despairing of mankind's continuing damage to the planet retreats to a derelict factory in the icy wastes of northern Canada. Meanwhile, at a remote research institute in the Californian desert, William Morrison, a virtual reality test pilot, and Julia O'Brien, a British anthropologist, are working on a VR simulation of the Amazonian Kogi tribe. William and Julia appear to have little in common, until they discover an uncanny connection that finds them being drawn towards a derelict factory in northern Canada...As the story escalates to its dramatic conclusion, Watts powerfully manipulates our perceptions of reality, whilst blurring the boundary between creator and created. "Intelligent science fiction seasoned with a dash of old-fashioned technophobia." - Sunday Times, 1995 "Literary thriller that bewilders and enthrals in equal measure." - Time Out, 1995"Reminiscent in its coolness of another more famous dystopic novel . . . Nineteen Eighty-Four." - Interzone, 1995