James Follett (1939-2021) was an English author and screenwriter. Follett became a full-time fiction writer in 1976, after resigning as a technical writer for the Ministry of Defence.

He wrote over 20 novels, several television plays and more than 30 radio dramas, predominantly in the 1970s.

His most famous radio plays were the serials Earthsearch and The Destruction Factor, which are presented elsewhere. This collection includes twelve other full-cast dramas, written by Follett.

The Bionic Blob – A ‘Thing’ from outer space accidentally arrives on Earth. Its greatest ambition is to become a side-kick to a private-eye.

The Doppelganger Machine – Christmas, 1933: a plane is due to fly mail from France to England. The Armstrong Whitworth Argosy takes off from Paris Orly Airport en-route to Croydon aerodrome. But their unexpected actual destination – and time-zone – astounds both the aircraft’s occupants and the authorities on the ground.

Ice – Eight thousand square miles of solid ice, which have become detached from the Antarctic, are drifting inexorably towards New York Harbor. The combined might of the US military seems powerless to avert the collision, but if it occurs, the whole city will ‘ring like a bell’.

Jumbo – When Transatlantic Airlines flight No TA 510 leaves Kennedy Airport for London it seems just another routine flight, but many tricks of fate are in store.

The Light of a Thousand Suns – A bizarre chain of unforeseen coincidences sparks a 1990s British nuclear submarine to prepare to launch an all-out attack. Devastating, unpreventable, unless…

The Man Who Invented Yesterday – Like so many scientists before him, Sir Max is delighted when his experiments come to fruition. His most recent, however, takes him slightly by surprise…

The Rabid Summer – On a hot August Bank Holiday in a small seaside town, panic and disaster strike when it is discovered that rabies has broken out. How did it enter the country? The outbreak must be controlled, people must be protected, the culprit must be found …

Rules of Asylum – ‘This is the first escape from one of our maximum security sanatoriums. And there might be another…. Are all the prisoners housed in this block?’ ‘We prefer to call them patients.’

The Spanish Package – Peter and Jane have retired to Spain. Each year they look forward to a visit from their daughter, Clare. She was unable to come last year, but this year when they go to meet her at Alicante Airport….

The Twisted Image – Two police officers discover the body of a local businessman’s wife in the boot of his car. The Rolls-Royce was stolen from outside his shop in the new town centre.
It should be an open and shut case. The trouble is – the new town centre won’t be built for another five years..?

The U-boat That Lost Its Nerve – A trial is taking place in a PoW camp for German officers, and a surrendered U-boat is lying off Barrow about to be refitted as a fighting ship for the Royal Navy …

Vendetta for a Judge – I’m going to ruin that judge’s life, just as he’s ruined ours. I don’t know how, but I’ll think of something. After all, I’ve got plenty of time, haven’t I? Plenty of time. Nine years.’ Plenty of time for a prisoner with an obsession and sufficient enterprise to prepare the ground for total war.