Generally Sheldon prefers giving women the chief roles in his books.

Robert Bellamy is the first male protagonist since Stranger in the Mirror (1976).

Several times a year he has a column in The Writer, in which he explains his choice of main characters: "I really enjoy writing about women. I think they are more interesting than men, more complex and more vulnerable.

Since my novels have an element of suspense and danger in them, vulnerability is important." (August 1994: 5-6.)

Of course, as in most of his novels, in The Doomsday Conspiracy he is using a familiar pattern: the woman in distress, victimized by brutal sadistic males.

Bellamy as a target of a murderous conspiracy is also highly vulnerable.

Sheldon would be a good ally in the cause of environmental protection. He has already shown himself to be an able fighter against censorship, defending his books against...