I.W. MACDONALD
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Over ninety per cent of all the species that have ever lived on planet Earth are extinct. Yet humanity is asleep at the wheel, complacent in the belief that borders, governments, and technology will prevent it from heading the way of the dodo.
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A select few, inside and outside of the halls of power, have known that it was only a matter of time before the instrument of our destruction would spawn from a breeding ground of our own creation. They prepared the best they could, and now have one chance to protect what is sacred to them from the ravages of the Z-Pathogen.
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Dr Robert Wallace fights for himself and his family. Captain Coulter fights for her men and her country. From the shadows, Mr Lydon calmly implements the Continuation of Government protocols, regardless of the cost in terms of lives and liberty.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Born in the remote north of Scotland, I.W. MacDonald enjoyed a challenging childhood within a small-town community. He started working as a butcher’s boy at fourteen, a step up from doing odd jobs for pensioners and collecting glass bottles for pennies.
Leaving home at seventeen, I.W. MacDonald ventured out into the wider world, achieving an honours degree at University in Aberdeen. This, combined with his entrepreneurial spirit, saw him start a sales and marketing company while backpacking around Australia, the country he now proudly calls home.
The textbook life of marriage, buying a house, children all played out until September 11th, 2001; 9/11. This event, that seemingly came out of the blue, had a profound effect on I.W. MacDonald’s perception of reality and a search for answers began. A decade and a half deep dive into geo-politics, metaphysics, epistemology, psychology and ethics ensued.
Now emerged out the other side of the rabbit hole he’d tumbled down. I.W. MacDonald is ready to share with the world what he discovered, through a series of novels that make up the trilogy ‘A Step Ahead of the Fall’.
When he is not researching or writing I.W. MacDonald enjoys chess, table tennis, supporting Arsenal Football Club and playing PUBG with his friends in the online gaming community.
His greatest source of pride is his wonderful wife of nineteen years and his two peacefully raised children, who themselves are ready to take their first steps into the wider world; a world where the light of Liberty is dim and diminishing.
Come on a journey of discovery as I.W. MacDonald attempts to illuminate the principles of freedom, free speech and individual rights; all through stirring and inspired storytelling.
"The story of A Step Ahead of the Fall is brilliant, and I adored the journey the wonderful author took me on. I.W. MacDonald managed to incorporate many unexpected twists effortlessly so that the readers will turn the page with haste! As I read this book, I found myself re-reading parts because of how shocking it was! It was magnificent to feel this, and I love it when an author does this to a reader, this is how reading should be! Full of shocks and surprises and great thrilling moments that you will remember for a long time; if not forever!"
See the full book review, here.
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Red Headed Book Lover
'Scarily accurate and frighteningly real, this is a novel that will keep you up at night. It was so riveting that I didn’t want to put it down. Author I.W. MacDonald creates real-life scenarios that you know to exist in real life and he makes you wonder what would happen if all of them came true. There are a lot of characters in the story, yet they all have a purpose.
They have their own dilemmas and their own progress that furthers the plot. However, out of all characters, I found Captain Coulter to be the most relatable. She is someone right in the thick of things, yet she keeps her cool and guides her team. Mr. Lydon is a really hard to like character, but even he is a strong one that makes the story interesting. The descriptions are great, the action is so intense that it had me biting my nails, and the imagery was so vivid that I felt like I was transported in the world of A Step Ahead of the Fall. This is brilliant and exceptional! Even the cover is amazing. I cannot wait for the next novel in the series and I hope I.W. MacDonald releases it soon.'
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Rabia Tanveer of Readers’ Favourite - 5 Stars
The plot moves between four different aspects and their points of view. The perspectives represented are scientists, citizens, armed forces, and the government. Even though settings and characters change, the storyline flows flawlessly. The writing and character development are comparable to a James Rollins novel or even possibly better.
As this is the first instalment of a series, the exponential advancement of the apocalypse continues to hold the reader spellbound to the final riveting page. The story ends at an excellent place, leaving the reader anticipating the thrilling sequel, Deep State.
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Susan Sewell of Readers’ Favourite – 5 Stars.
'Author I. W. MacDonald has crafted a stellar opening to what promises to be a thrilling science fiction plot, traversing the delicate intrigues of the modern political sphere and exploring how human nature itself and our own hubris can get in the way of something as innate as survival.
The zombie virus trope is well used and intelligently conceptualized to form the base of the plot, with some really exciting military conflicts and action scenes that are viscerally atmospheric. Wallace and Coulter form the backbone of the lead characters, but I’d have to say my favorite was the quiet and unassuming Mr. Lydon who truly had the most devastating impact on the plot as it wound and wove through its many twists. Overall, A Step Ahead of the Fall is a tense and suspenseful read that develops into a thought-provoking and emotive disaster novel the more you delve into it.'
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K.C. Finn of Readers’ Favourite – 5 Stars.
A Step Ahead of the Fall is deftly written with a cunning plot.
It is fast-paced and has characters that are as interesting as they are real.
Ruffina Oserio of Readers’ Favourite – 5 Stars.
