The Darwin Variant

“Johnson channels Stephen King with this summer thriller…The Darwin Variant divides families, lovers, and colleagues working toward the same goals in a nerve-wracking race to an unexpected conclusion.” —Booklist

When the icy shards of a rogue comet fall to Earth, they bring an unknown virus that accelerates evolution to extremes. Suddenly, infected plants grow stronger, choking out those uninfected. Animals turn aggressive and deadly. The eyes of loved ones go cold, and infected neighbors begin exhibiting signs of brutal domination.

In a small Georgia town, fourteen-year-old Katie McLane sees her neighbors changing, one by one.

Dr. Susan Perry, an epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, uncovers the frightening scope of the menace. The infected aren’t just evolving. They’re conspiring to alter the very nature of what it means to be human.

Katie and Susan become fugitives because of what they know, encountering bitter betrayals and lethal dangers, but also loves ignited and inspiring camaraderie, as they fight to prevent a viral conspiracy from creating a terrifying brave new world.

Kenneth Johnson has been a successful writer-producer-director of film and television for more than four decades. Creator of the landmark original miniseries V, he also produced The Six Million Dollar Man and created iconic Emmy-winning shows such as The Bionic Woman, The Incredible Hulk, and Alien Nation. In addition, he directed numerous TV movies as well as the feature films Short Circuit 2 and Steel. Johnson has received multiple Saturn Awards from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films, as well as the Sci-Fi Universe Lifetime Achievement Award and the prestigious Founders Award from the Viewers for Quality Television. He has presented his unique graduate-level seminar, The Filmmaking Experience, at UCLA, USC, NYU, Loyola, the New York Film Academy, the National Film and Television School (UK), Moscow State University, and many others. The author of the recent bestseller The Man of Legends and V: The Second Generation, Kenneth and his wife, Susan, who have been married for forty-one years, live in Los Angeles with their latest two golden-retriever rescues. Visit Johnson at kennethjohnson.us and www.facebook.com/KennethJohnsonAuthor.