The Omega Factor book

A quick look at The Omega Factor paperback published in 1979.

The back cover text:

There is a highly-secret government organisation called Department 7. Its existence is known only to the Prime Minister and some members of the Cabinet. Its brief is to investigate the Supernatural—to discover the Omega Factor. Journalist Tom Crane has been given the same brief by a Sunday newspaper and suddenly finds himself confronting inexplicable and even terrifying situations.

THE OMEGA FACTOR is a stunning new thriller based on a BBC-1 TV series, which explores the eerie world of the occult and the paranormal.

THE OMEGA FACTOR is about the mysteries behind the seeming normality of everyday modern life; the night and darkness of human experience.

THE OMEGA FACTOR will appeal to the nervous child in us all, determined to conquer fear and find out what is hidden inside a darkened room.

Cover photograph shows from left to right JAMES HAZELDINE as Tom Crane, LOUISE JAMESON as Anne Reynolds, JOHN CARLISLE as Roy Martindale in the BBC-TV series THE OMEGA FACTOR produced by GEORGE GALLACIO.

The book was written by Jack Gerson, who also created and wrote the television series which was broadcast on BBC1 in the UK. It contains a faithful adaptation of the first episode (“The Undiscovered Country”) and covers Crane’s initial search for Edward Drexel in Edinburgh, his introduction to Department 7, and the fatal car crash that kills his wife, Julia. The novel subsequently branches off into an expanded narrative focusing on Crane’s hunt for Drexel and the broader “Omega” conspiracy, diverging significantly from the plotlines broadcast in the TV episodes.

BBC Copyright. Cover photograph by Douglas Playle

This paperback was published by Sphere Books in 1979 to coincide with the broadcast of the series made by BBC television. A hardback edition was produced later the same year as a limited first edition hardcover print (for libraries rather than the general retail public). As the TV series was a short-lived, single-season broadcast primarily in the UK, the book was limited to English-language markets such as Australia, Canada and New Zealand.

Although there are no direct sequels to this novelization, Louise Jameson recorded an unabridged audiobook released by Big Finish Productions in 2014. Big Finish subsequently licensed the property and created an official continuation series in audio format (as well as companion short story ebooks) featuring Louise Jameson, reprising her role alongside new cast members and picking up the story over thirty years after the original events.

The book is commercially available as an ebook and the unabridged audiobook of Jack Gerson’s original novelization is available to stream or buy as a digital download directly through the Big Finish website and on platforms such as Apple Books, AudiobooksNow and Libro. (Note: If you are looking on Audible, it is occasionally restricted by regional publishing rights)

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