The initial idea for the novel The Pulse came from the 2001 film Ocean’s Eleven. Prior to a daring casino robbery, a huge exotic device in a big van creates a massive Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP), shutting down all of the electrical power and electronics in a casino in Las Vegas. Whilst the technology to do this using an EMP does exist, using it in this way was nonsense. But it did get me thinking. Like many authors before me, and I’m sure in the future, I first fixated on some type of man-made doomsday device that could create an EMP to trigger Armageddon in society.

The Electromagnetic Pulse has long been a fascinating subject in the media, especially in disaster movies. The big challenge is, apart from very few exceptions, much of the effects of an EMP portrayed to date have been wildly sensationalist, unscientific and often completely wrong. Not surprisingly, most authors also focus on some psychopathic baddie or criminal creating a man-made EMP, either as a global weapon of mass destruction, or to wreak havoc on society. Then, during a sideways research phase I came across the ‘1859 Carrington Event’ an EMP created by the sun, a “solar pulse”. This was real, had happened many times before, and it could have really dramatic effects on all life here on Earth.

The core idea for the novel was born…

• Read more about the 1859 Carrington event – click here