The Andromeda Strain to the upper atmosphere, where the oxygen content is lower, better suiting its growth. The novel's epilogue reveals that a manned spacecraft, "Andros V", was incinerated during atmospheric re-entry, presumably because Andromeda had eaten its tungsten/plastic laminate heat shield and caused it to burn up. Crichton was inspired to write the novel after reading "The IPCRESS File" by Len Deighton while studying in England. Crichton says he was "terrifically impressed" by the book - "a lot of "Andromeda" is traceable to "Ipcress" in terms of trying to create an imaginary world using recogniseable techniques and real people." He wrote the
Terry Pratchett First Novel Award was won jointly by David Logan, for "Half Sick of Shadows" and Michael Logan for "Apocalypse Cow". "Postponing Armageddon" also went on to be published by Barking Rain Press. In 2013 the nominees were: The award was won by Alexander Maskill's "The Hive Construct". "A Kill in the Morning" also went on to be published by Transworld. Terry Pratchett First Novel Award The Terry Pratchett First Novel Award is a biennial award for the best unpublished science fiction novel in the Commonwealth of Nations. It is named after British author Terry Pratchett. The book is chosen by a panel of