YUMA, Ariz. (AP) -- People are dropped dead left and right at Yuma Proving Ground these days, not in reality, but in the pages of a new science fiction book written by an artillery tester at the base.

First-time author Thomas Brown says quite a few co-workers asked to somehow be included in the plot of his book, "Allergen Eve." But it turns out that not everyone's character gets to see the final page.

"When people ask to be in my book, they're usually going to be cannon fodder," Brown said, chuckling. "I warned everybody 'Chances are you are going to end up dead!'"

But Brown's friends - bumped off and otherwise - are all raving about "Allergen Eve" and Brown says he's hoping for the same response from readers coast to coast as his book continues to spread to more store and Web sites.

"This is all really exciting for me," said, Brown, who goes by his middle name, Marvin, for his byline. "I was working on my book for three years. It just feels awesome to get to this point."

"Allergen Eve" was released two weeks ago by a Pennsylvania company that publishes books on a demand basis. So far the book is available from BuyBooksOnTheWeb.com and Brown says he expects the title will be added soon to WalMart.com.

"It's science fiction, but it's got action, it's got romance, it's got government conspiracies," Brown said. "It's got a whole bunch of elements. I tried to put in a little bit of everything."

He's already working on a second book, one with a superhero theme.

The Marine Corps brought the Philadelphia native to Yuma 18 years ago.

Prior to writing his first book, the single father of two kids mostly wrote narration for his own comic books, which he still loves to dream up and draw.

He dreamed up a pretty colorful sci-fi plot for his book, too.

"Without giving away too much, it's what would happen if men were catastrophically allergic to women. People are going to have to read to find out what happens next.

"Just know that men and women can't interact without some sort of protection for the men. There's no holding hands, no kissing, no snuggling. There's no male babies being born. The only thing being produced are girls and they are by way of artificial insemination."

Good-natured Brown laughs and defends his plot, stressing that the story line certainly doesn't reflect some degree of ill will toward the opposite sex.

"You know, I see women just I like see guys. You've got good ones and you've got bad ones. Some you hang around and some you don't" he said, still laughing.

"I have a lot of female friends and I'm very glad they're my friends ... Maybe I was going through a bad time when I thought of this!"

Inspiration for the book was actually born when Brown visited his childhood and suddenly found himself allergic to the family dog.

"If he licks my hand, it burns like I don't know what. I just thought it was pretty jacked up how that happened to me and my dog and I just wondered, what if that happened between men and women?"

Brown's goal for the book actually runs pretty deep.

"Sure, I want to entertain people, but I also want to make them think. I want them to put themselves into my book and think about choices they would make, see who they really are.

"I want them to ask 'Man, what would I do if that was me? Would the end justify the means?' It's about who you are and what you're willing to do to accomplish what you want."

"Allergen Eve" provides some pretty action-filled scenarios for those moral quandaries, too.

"I like science fiction with some action to it. Without anyone dying it gets kind of boring!" Brown said. "This book has got some scenes, I guess, where it's pretty bloody, where people get killed - a bunch of people get killed - and it can be a little gruesome.

"I didn't write it to be gross or anything, but you will be going 'Ew!'"

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Information from: The Sun, http://www.yumasun.com

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