Written by Damien Smith | 02 December 2011

Ford Street Publishing 2011, ISBN 9781921665264

Mole Hunt is the first instalment in The Maximus Black Files by Paul Collins, author of a huge number of speculative fiction and non-fiction books, the best-known of which include The Jelindel Chronicles and The Quentaris Chronicles.

Molehunt is set in the far-future where a galaxy-wide civilisation exists under the galactic law organisation the Regis Imperium Mentatis (RIM). Maximus Black is the star cadet and youngest ever certified agent who rises rapidly through the ranks to find himself hunting for a suspected mole within RIM who could potentially destabilise the galaxy. Unfortunately for RIM, the mole is in fact Maximus himself, who has carefully and occasionally brutally manipulated the organisation around him to grant himself power by any means.

As a self-confessed sociopath and murderer, Maximus makes an interesting anti-hero and unorthodox protagonist. He finds little to impede his progress towards his ultimate goal of controlling the galaxy until some of his activities are uncovered by fellow RIM agent Anneke Longshadow.

What follows is a galaxy-wide game of cat and mouse, where hunter becomes hunted and back again. Maximus uses his brilliant strategic mind and total lack of qualms to push his agenda whilst simultaneously attempting to trap and destroy Anneke by discrediting, trapping and eventually setting assassins on her. Anneke, meanwhile, uses her own razor-sharp wits and powerful physique honed on a high-gravity home world to evade, thwart and slowly close in the shadowy mole.

With any high-octane space opera there will naturally be a large number of highly varied settings across numerous planets, all suitably populated by unusual characters and races. Happily, Collins provides enough background and description at important points to paint a vivid picture in the reader’s mind without slowing down the pace of the story, which was often so fast an astute reader might require running shoes. Likewise, there is a huge variety of mind-boggling technology on hand to accomplish almost any goal and overcome almost any obstacle.

Visualising these settings and the corresponding techs used to scale, penetrate and occasionally destroy them was a hugely enjoyable part of the story; however, I did find some gadgets a little over the top and unbelievable at times, and felt like they were there purely to overcome the impossible. I also found myself looking for plot twists that weren’t there in what proved to be a fairly linear story.

These points are minor in the scheme of things though. Mole hunt: The Maximus Black Files is like a high-tech, high powered tennis match bouncing between hero and anti-hero that I would highly recommend to anyone who enjoys a good chase, a bit of space and a fast pace, and is not deterred by a bit of violence.

Head over to Paul’s website at http://www.paulcollins.com.au for everything you could possibly want to know about his many books along with news, writing tips and much more from the man himself.