Paul has written over 140 books including The Jelindel Chronicles, The Warlock's Child series (with Sean McMullen), The Maximus Black Files, The Earthborn Wars and seven titles in The Quentaris Chronicles. He is the recipient of both the A Bertram Chandler and the Peter McNamara awards, the William Atheling and Aurealis awards and a number of short-listings. His latest book is Harry Kruize, Born to Lose.

Special Agent Maximus Black isn’t your average 18-year-old. Charming, brilliant and deeply ambitious, he’s one of the rising stars within the galaxy’s powerful and mysterious law enforcement agency, RIM. But Maximus is also not what he seems. Black in both name and character, he’s a cold-blooded sociopath working on a plan that will plunge the universe into chaos and allow him to seize control. Only one person can stop him—the equally clever and fearless agent, Anneke Longshadow. The question is, who will reach who first? While the title of book one in Paul Collins’s futuristic action series for teenagers may sound like junior fiction, it’s anything but. Bitingly clever and imaginative, it’s like a cross between The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Total Recall and Dexter. Cutting back and forth between the two rivals, the plot twists and turns in a thrilling cat-and-mouse chase as each tries to outwit the other, while dodging all manner of obstacles like assassins and alien bounty hunters. It all amounts to compelling on-your-toes reading that will appeal to high-tech dystopian sci-fi fans, as well as those looking for a spy or psycho-thriller with a difference, and a feisty heroine to boot. - Meredith Tate, Bookseller + Publisher.