The Oxford Virus is a novel by Adam Kolczynski. It was published in October 2010 by Polybius Books.
The novel explores the inherent conflict between conventional medicine and vanguard therapy, all through the medium of a murder mystery. The plot centres on a single Oxford-based cancer trial and its many unforeseen repercussions. Other themes examined include thwarted ambition, growing internationalism in academia, the dehumanising effects of the digital age, and the impact of defection on one’s psychological makeup.
=Plot introduction=
Dr. Lomana Olembé of Lorenex Biotherapeutics believes he has the cure for cancer – albeit in its infancy. He finds himself on the brink of his first human trial. Things do not go to plan, reawakening old enmities between conventional medicine and vanguard therapy. DCI Dárdai of Thames Valley Police investigates. Barely has he finished questioning Dr. Olembé, when a body is discovered in a terraced house in Jericho, Oxford. Was it suicide? Does it relate to the Olembé affair? Are there deeper, darker elements at work? Dárdai reluctantly enlists the help of Professor Konstantin Vadimovich Zolotov – failed medical student, former samizdat dissident, part-time epicure, incumbent Head of Russian and East European Studies at Clapperton College. Two distinct methodologies collide. But just how much does Zolotov already know about the case? And what is his real reason for wanting it resolved? The stakes are high, the dénouement chilling…
=Critical reception=
"The Oxford Virus is at once heartfelt and topical as medical minds continue to do pioneering research into cures for cancer. Adam Kolczynski has a really unique voice and is certainly a writer to watch" Ealing Times
"Unlike many books of this genre, The Oxford Virus is refreshingly well-written, with a clever and sometimes unorthodox use of the English language, with a subtle approach to background research...and with an unexpectedly mature assessment of his larger-than-life international characters" Russian London Courier
"The Oxford Virus is an intriguing blend of speculative fiction and murder mystery with an international cast of characters. A confident writing style ensures reader interest is held until the final revelations" 'John Curran, author of Agatha Christie's Secret Notebooks
"...an engaging modern take on the cozy, combining academic satire with the contemporary theme of cutting-edge medical research" Euro Crime
"...set in contemporary Oxford with an international cast of characters, the dénouement is both unexpected and ingenious" Catherine Andreyev, author of Vlasov and the Russian Liberation Movement'''''
Development
Lone Wolf 2 was written in Free Pascal and uses software rendering. According to the game documentation the development took two years including the software 3D engine VGFX which is open source and mainly written in assembler using MMX instructions. Lone Wolf 2 uses the third party software components FMOD for music and sound playback, and the dynamic-link library fpcx.dll which is used to switch into a DirectDraw fullscreen mode.
Gameplay
Lone Wolf 2 is a single-player game and contains 3 levels which are Lost City, Forest and Desert. The player controls a 3D space ship on a 2D terrain and must defend himself against 3 different hostile space ships. There are 3 power-ups (Health, Immortality and Invisibility) and 9 different weapon systems which spawn randomly on the map. After a certain score the game speed increases. The ultimate goal is a place in the Top 8 high score list. The game difficulty is very high but it is possible to reach the high score by following the Tips and Tricks mentioned in the game documentation.
Critical reception
Lone Wolf 2 was reviewed by PCWelt and other popular websites like AOL according to screenshots on the developer website. In August 2003, Lone Wolf 2 was the winner of the Softgames Game Contest and received the Game Of The Month Award.
Local features and history
The Police Building is located at 240 Centre Street, between Broome and Grand. The building opened in 1909 as the New York Police headquarters. It was designed by the firm of Hoppin & Koen in an Edwardian Baroque style influenced by the Beaux Arts movement, which was popular at the time. The New York Police Department. moved out in 1973 and the building was converted to luxury condominiums in 1987. There are 55 apartments on six floors. The building is known as the residence of several high-profile celebrities. An apartment in the Police building was the setting for short-lived sitcom Off Centre, that aired on The WB network. The show is based on director years sharing an apartment in the building with his friend, banker Euan Rellie.
The proposed neighborhood includes the Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA), situated on Centre Street between Hester Street and Grand. The museum was founded in 1980 to promote a better understanding of Chinese American history.
At the south-western intersection of Centre and Grand Streets stands one of the oldest working examples of New York City lamppost, the Bishop Crook Type 1BC. It is recognized for several archaic elements that later Crooks dispensed with and is one of just three Type 1BC's still in active use in Manhattan. According to the historian Henry Hope Reed, the Bishop's Crook lamppost was designed in 1896 by Richard Rogers Bowker, an Edison Company executive, and several were erected on Broadway and other major avenues, often exactly at the corner, pointing diagonally into the intersection.
The area was once home to the first Singer sewing machine factory in New York. It was a room 25 x 50 feet on Centre Street. Business soon outgrew the facilities at Centre Street and in 1858, new factories were operated at Mott, Spring, Delancey and Broome streets, until in 1872, all these were combined on the location of the present factory at Elizabethport, N. J.
The area is home to many restaurants, bars and nightclubs including La Esquina, Brinkley's, Kenmare and Southside.
Background
Kolczynski was born in Leytonstone in October 1985. He attended St Benedict’s School, Ealing, from 1990 to 2004, and the Royal College of Music on Saturdays. In 2004, he was awarded a bronze medal for outstanding performance at the 36th International Chemistry Olympiad. He read Biochemistry at St Peter's College, Oxford, and Modern History at St Benet's Hall. A third-generation Pole, he is bilingual and retains a strong affinity with the country of his grandparents' birth. He divides his time between London, Warsaw and Jávea, Spain.
Works
Kolczynski, Adam (2010). The Oxford Virus. London: Polybius Books. ISBN 978-0-9565880-0-5