Paul McAuley won the PHILIP K. DICK AWARD for his first novel and has gone on to win the ARTHUR C. CLARKE, BRITISH FANTASY, SIDEWISE and JOHN W. CAMPBELL AWARDs. He gave up his position as a research biologist to write full-time. He lives in London. You can find his blog at: http://www.unlikelyworlds.blogspot.com
"""McAuley has created a vivid, hard-SF space opera filled with plausible technology... while this is the fourth book in the series, readers who begin the saga here will find an immersive, complex, and exciting story that will pique interest in the earlier novels."" ""Booklist"""""