My writing has always occupied a unique space.
As a boy, like so many of my generation, I was brought up on stories of derring-do and World War 2. Stories were a big part of my life whether they were about members of my own family (many of whom had fought in famous battles), the legends and myths of ancient Greece and Rome or what was to me the magical era of 1960’s television: The Saint, The Man from Uncle, Dangerman, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea …
Years later, I was able to merge my love of stories with my fascination for technology and flying when I joined the world-renowned Jane’s Defence Weekly as a reporter in the late 1980s – rising quickly to become its Aviation Editor. It was during my first years at Jane’s that I started to write books, my first novel, Angel, Archangel, being published in the UK and the US in 1989 to critical acclaim. I followed this up in 1991 with my second novel, Aggressor, which was set in the turbulent world of the Middle East.
With the post-Cold War 1990s a period of high demand, I throttled back on the novels to ghost-write a number of Sunday Times bestsellers whilst simultaneously delivering a series of exclusives for Jane’s, many of which made headline news around the world.
In 2001, my first non-fiction title, The Hunt For Zero Point, reached No 3 in the Amazon general list and Number 1 in its non-fiction charts. The Hunt was the culmination of a decade-long investigation into a heretical idea that anti-gravity technology could have been buried under decades of secret military development.
After leaving Jane’s in 2008 to set up a consultancy that worked with aerospace and defence companies to find solutions for grand/global challenges such as climate change, I wrote my last ‘ghosted’ book in 2011.
2018 saw my return to non-fiction with Monopoli Blues, the true story of my co-author Tim Clark’s parents’ secret work with SOE in Italy during WW2.
After four years’ research and writing, 2019 saw my return to fiction with the publication of my new novel The Grid. Described by Terry Hayes, author of I Am Pilgrim, as, “Stunning … A relentless thriller that grabs hold and never lets go.” I am currently in the throes of writing its sequel.
Alongside my book-writing, 2019 also saw me bring together a phenomenal team of storytellers, motivational speakers and business consultants to bring the power of story to the corporate world. Through NickCook.Works, this team creates purpose-driven narrative strategy to help clients shape new thinking, unite employees and reach customers in today’s complex, fast-changing world.
In 2020, in response to the coronavirus pandemic, Nick launched, via NickCook.Works, a ‘Call to Action’ for cross-sector solutions to Global Challenges fuelled by the power of Aerospace and Defence sector science and technology. For more on this, please click here.
Books by Nick Cook
PRAISE FOR NICK's BOOKS
