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Chronicler of imminent chaos
Trevor Hoyle’s books may be set in futuristic or dystopian worlds but they tackle the big issues confronting us now, says ANDY HEDGECOCK

WHEN the original version of Trevor Hoyle’s The Last Gasp was published in 1983, it read like a prophetic SF thriller.

Hoyle blended a taut near-future plot with an epic thought experiment to challenge complacency about the consequences of global pollution. He flung down a gauntlet to his readers, daring them to contemplate the kind of ecological apocalypse that might result from the relentless abuse of military might, technological power and greed.

At the time the book gained a cult readership. But it drew little critical attention from a media more interested in celebrity, fashion and the cold war.

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