Carroll, Michael 1966- (Jaye Carroll)

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Carroll, Michael 1966- (Jaye Carroll)

PERSONAL:

Born March 21, 1966, in Dublin, Ireland; son of Patrick and Patricia Carroll; married Leonia Mooney.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Dublin, Ireland. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Writer. Postman, c. 1982-85; computer programmer, 1985-1999; full-time writer, 1999—.

WRITINGS:

WRITING AS MICHAEL CARROLL

Moonlight, O'Brien Press (Dublin, Ireland), 1993.

She Fades Away, Poolbeg Press (Dublin, Ireland), 1996.

The Throwback, Cosmos Books (Rockville, MD), 2001.

Renegade, Cosmos Books (Rockville, MD), 2001.

"PELICOS" SERIES; WRITING AS MICHAEL CARROLL

Last Starship, Aran Book (Dublin, Ireland), 1993.

Reclaiming the Earth, Cosmos Books (Rockville, MD), 2001.

The Dead Colony, Cosmos Books (Rockville, MD), 2001.

"NEW HEROES" SERIES (ALSO CALLED "QUANTUM PROPHECY" SERIES); WRITING AS MICHAEL CARROLL

Quantum Prophecy, HarperCollins (London, England), 2006, also published as Quantum Prophecy: The Awakening, Philomel (New York, NY), 2007.

Sakkara, HarperCollins (London, England), 2006.

Absolute Power, HarperCollins (London, England), 2007.

WRITING AS JAYE CARROLL

If the Shoe Fits, Poolbeg Press (Dublin, Ireland), 2000.

Sweetest Feeling, Poolbeg Press (Dublin, Ireland), 2001.

Loving the Stars, Poolbeg Press (Dublin, Ireland), 2002.

Looking for Mr. Wrong, Poolbeg Press (Dublin, Ireland), 2004.

SIDELIGHTS:

Michael Carroll is an Irish writer. He also writes under the pseudonym Jaye Carroll. Carroll dropped out of high school and began working as a postman. After a few years, he decided to work as a computer programmer. He remained in that position for nearly fifteen years when boredom due to the repetitive nature of the work compelled him to seek more creative outlets. He found that in writing.

One of the first books Carroll published was Moonlight in 1993. The plot involves the discovery of a perfectly preserved, 10,000-year-old headless horse in a Norwegian glacier which excites the scientific community. An Irish genetic engineer, working for a callous businessman, is charged with creating the world's fastest racehorse ever through genetic engineering and a bit of magic.

Carroll started the "Pelicos" series in 1993 with Last Starship. Set in the year 2365, the novel introduces the distant Pelicos planet, home of the only human colony away from Earth. Pelicos's inhabitants learn of a large-scale war on their home planet and must survive and flourish without the help of Earth. The starship Constantine arrives, providing some assistance to the colony but also brings with it a dark secret that threatens their very survival.

Reclaiming the Earth, the second book in the series, was published eight years later in 2001. The human inhabitants of Pelicos are still unaware of the situation on Earth one year later. The Hofstadter spaceship near the colony has lost its crew due to a malfunction, but the colonists decide that they can salvage it and return to Earth to offer their assistance.

The Dead Colony, the third novel in the series, was also published in 2001. The year has progressed to 2458 and the Hofstadter starship has returned from its mission back to Earth to find that the Pelicos colony is in ruins. They find the colony ruled by an evil dictator after an aggressive civil war destroyed all forms of technology on the planet.

In 2001, Carroll published another freestanding novel called Renegade. The story is set in the distant future, when city inhabitants find that they have everything they want, from jobs and entertainment to great education, low crime, and all the public services they desire. But this comes at the cost of their freedom. As teenage Dominic finds, his life will be just like everyone else's life: graduate, enter the workforce, marry, and live happily until he dies. After a freak accident, however, he receives the ability to read other people's minds. This gives him a new insight on the city and just how much of a dystopia it actually is.

In 2006, Carroll started the "New Heroes" series, known as the "Quantum Prophecy" series in the United States. The opening novel, Quantum Prophecy, was published in the United States as Quantum Prophecy: The Awakening. Ten years after an explosion caused the disappearance of every superhero and villain in New York, English teens Danny and Colin begin to suspect that they have super powers. Mysterious figures also suspect this and kidnap them both to drain their powers with a new invention and give heir power to the inventor. Colin escapes, with the help of Razor, and attempts to save his family and destroy the machine. He struggles, however, with uncovering who the good guys are and who the villains are throughout his quest.

Richmond Clements, writing in 2000 AD Review, commented that the novel "is written with a brilliant economy, and fairly rattles along from one action scene to the next. It is funny and inventive, with the descriptions of the superpowers being of particular note." Clements remarked that "Carroll ends this book at just the right point to leave the reader desperate to find out what happens next." In conclusion, Clements stated: "I can't recommend this enough." John Leighton, writing in School Librarian, observed that the character names weren't "entirely inspired." Leighton noted that "the simplicity of the story, the chumminess of the boys, and the strong plot outweigh any literary concerns." Lesley Farmer, reviewing the novel in Kliatt, worried that some "may get confused along the way trying to figure out who" is a good character and who is a villain. Farmer mentioned that "the story is fast-paced, and builds on the current interest in super figures." A contributor to Kirkus Reviews remarked that this "coming-of-age story with a delightful twist" moves at a "fast" pace. The same contributor found "the story more than credible and the characters appealing."

Carroll published If the Shoe Fits in 2000. Twenty-five-year-old Susan desperately wants to find a good boyfriend. Despite her paranoia, she believes she has found one when she meets the fun, smart, and good-looking Sam. They even share a passion for movies. When her boss leaves her in charge at the office and she is forced to find a new place to live, her seemingly perfect life is turned upside down. Rachel Taylor, writing on Fiction-Net, found that "on the negative side, the plot comes across as very contrived and unconvincing." Taylor conceded, however, that the novel "is not all that bad really and if you're after a nice easy read, it's probably as good as many others like it."