Lightning Strikes

About the Book

This dazzling collection of short stories can be read as a modern fairy tale or as a series of extraordinary episodes that serve to shape the unusual philosophy of the central character, Joe Pharma.  He believes that life is simply a game of chess played out within a giant goldfish bowl and that everything inside the bowl is empowered and facilitated by the creator’s master invention; electricity.

The secret role of electricity in our lives and the Universe is unravelled through a string of uncanny events focused around an ancient market town on the South coast of England.  Joe is the eternal student and the book follows his attempts to satisfy his thirst for knowledge and answer life’s big questions.  Along the way he encounters violent electrical storms, witches, terrorists, village cricket, TV quiz shows, Swiss cheese pirates, mind-bending drugs and coded messages from Biblical times.  For Joe there has always been a thin line between fact and fiction, reality and imagination.  However, amongst these flights of fancy, Joe is blessed with flashes of real inspiration.  But will these ‘lightning strikes’ allow him to see the overall master plan and answer his questions once and for all?

About the Author

Caspian Ashworth was born the year The Beatles recorded ‘Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds’.  He studied Biochemistry at St. Andrews University before reading Forensic Science and pursuing his doctorate in Cell Biology at Cambridge while serving in the Royal Naval Reserve.  After working in an IVF clinic in Harley Street he moved into the Pharmaceutical Industry where he is currently a Competitive Intelligence Analyst for a Swiss drug company.  His interest in Science, Astronomy, Philosophy and Theology has led to many of the theories set out in this book and he has written numerous scientific research papers as well as four original musicals.  Caspian lives with his wife Lucy and son Phoenix in West Sussex where they share the riverbank with Kingfishers and Oyster Catchers.