Our Price: AUD$22.95 (USD$)* ISBN: 978-1-920764-43-2 Subject: Fiction/Thriller Publication Date: June 2003

Synopsis
Miracle Medicine...

When Annette Banks, a pretty young scientist, finds a biological fortune in the sweltering Amazon jungle, she sets off a chain of events that will catch the attention - and the imagination - of the world.

Used by primitive natives for generations, the exotic Manhand drug seems a miraculous antidote for a variety of deadly conditions. What do the natives know about it, and what can modern researchers learn? Could this rare organic compound really hold the secret of the cure for such deadly scourges as SARS, or even AIDS?

Follow the development of this mysterious medicine from the South American tropics to the seats of power in Washington, D.C.; from the Seattle research labs to the shores of the Caribbean, and discover the shocking truth...

About The Author
Brad Lewis has managed corporate recycling programs in the aerospace industry for many years, and once served as a law enforcement officer in northern California. He and his beautiful wife, Kathryn (a New Zealand citizen), currently live near Seattle, Washington.

Brad’s inspiration for writing Manhand was a simple need to celebrate the awesome and ever-fascinating variety of life, with an irresistible desire to wink at advanced technology...

From The Book
Near the manhand grove, a tiny iridescent blue and red hummingbird flits across the surface of the Telejanus. A chance wind current brings it the scent of smoke from the distant fires. The smell evokes a danger response hard-wired into the bird’s consciousness through the primordial experiences of countless ancestors. The already blurring wings accelerate with an extra burst of speed and the bird darts inland and away from the possible threat. It flies directly over the plants.

The bird is suddenly swimming in air laden with the alluring scent of sweet nectar. The overwhelming odours emanating from the manhands hit the hummingbird’s nasal receptors so sharply that it halts in midair ecstasy. It instantly focuses its senses on the red flowers and their enticing promise of delicious food.

The bird hovers for an instant, automatically scanning the plants for the characteristic movements, colours and shapes of known predators. It sees no threat.

So quickly that only another hummingbird could duplicate the movement, the bird darts down and just inside an open hand. Hovering in excitement, it plunges its long beak into the blossom at the apex of the middle leaf. Intoxicated by the delectable drink, it flits a few inches sideways to tap the next flower. The hummingbird carelessly brushes its right wing against a thick strand of the unnoticed spider-web linking the long leaves. Silken ropes cling tenaciously to the feathers, interrupting the rapid wing-beat. Losing flight stability, the bird swerves fully into the cobweb.

The bird goes into a paroxysm of activity, expending a massive amount of energy in a frantic effort to break free. It succeeds only in dislodging feathers along the way to utter entanglement. During the fierce struggle the manhand plant flexes on its stem as the bird futilely throws itself around, the hand-shaped leaves seeming to frantically wave for help.

Now the spider reveals itself. It arises from its position and relentlessly approaches the terrified bird with mechanical jerks of its multiple hairy legs...

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