The author of Birdsong, Charlotte Gray, A Week in December and Bond novel Devil May Care, Sebastian Faulks is as close to a Renaissance Man as English fiction comes - he talks to RTÉ Arena above.
His latest novel, The Seventh Son, marks his first foray into speculative fiction.
When a young American academic Talissa Adam offers to carry another woman's child, she has no idea of the life-changing consequences. Behind the doors of the Parn Institute, a billionaire entrepreneur plans to stretch the boundaries of ethics as never before. Through a series of IVF treatments, which they hope to keep secret, they propose an experiment that will upend the human race as we know it.
Seth, the baby, is delivered to hopeful parents Mary and Alaric, but when his differences start to mark him out from his peers, he begins to attract unwanted attention.
The tale unfolds between 2030 and 2056, and asks what it means to be human.
The Seventh Son is published by Penguin. Listen to more from RTÉ Arena here.
