Most Popular Books by Paul Collins

A narrative history of the origins of Western civilization argues that Europe was transformed in the tenth century from a continent rife with violence and ignorance to a continent on the rise.

Quentaris is at war with Tolrush, draining the city of every able bodied fighter. Famous Quentaran rift guide, Rad de La’rel, is shocked to discover that his beloved city has been left wide open to attack by vampires. Other cities have already fallen to the scourge and Quentaris is next in line. Rad prepares Quentaris for its greatest onslaught yet. But how can a ragtag army stop vampires who suck the souls from their victims, leaving zombie-like remains? Quentaris is fast filling up with the walking dead ...

When Jack Sligo runs away from his loving Boston-Irish family, he hopes to get a summer job on a cruise ship. His dream becomes a nightmare when he meets two strangers who give him mysterious drinks in a waterfront saloon. Jack wakes up, far at sea, shanghaied aboard the African freighter, SS Iron Prince. The ship’s first call is a remote jungle port in Venezuela where there’s plenty of rum, women, and thieves, but no opportunity for escape.

Not since Garth Nix and Sean Williams joined forces has there been such a great collaboration! The warlock Calbaras wants to revive the ancient, forbidden magic of dragons, and his son Dantar is vital to his plans. Dantar is on the run in an enemy kingdom, unaware that he is so important. Worse, his sister Velza is now working for the enemy king.

A view into the tumultuous and creative life of Edgar Allan Poe.

Calbaras has knowledge that the dragons of Dracondas desperately want. As payment, they are willing to grant him his wish to become the greatest warlock of all time. But can Calbaras handle this power? Or will it ultimately destroy him?

The “enormously entertaining” (The Wall Street Journal) account of a shocking 1897 murder mystery that “artfully re-create[s] the era, the crime, and the newspaper wars it touched off” (The New York Times) AN EDGAR NOMINEE FOR BEST FACT CRIME • “Fascinating . . . won’t disappoint readers in search of a book like Erik Larson’s The Devil in the White City.”—The Washington Post On Long Island, a farmer finds a duck pond turned red with blood. On the Lower East Side, two boys discover a floating human torso wrapped tightly in oilcloth. Blueberry pickers near Harlem stumble upon neatly severed limbs in an overgrown ditch. The police are baffled: There are no witnesses, no motives, no suspects. The grisly finds that began on the afternoon of June 26, 1897, plunged detectives headlong into the era’s most perplexing murder mystery. Seized upon by battling media moguls Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst, the case became a publicity circus, as their rival newspapers the World and the Journal raced to solve the crime. What emerged was a sensational love triangle and an even more sensational trial. The Murder of the Century is a rollicking tale—a rich evocation of America during the Gilded Age and a colorful re-creation of the tabloid wars that forever changed newspaper journalism.

Ted moves to a new town and tries to be friendly with the bully next door, but mean Jim Green has a big surprise coming his way.

When the spaceship Colony crash lands on Earth, the Skyborn elders aboard decide to exterminate the Earthborn, whom they believe to be no better than animals, before recolonizing the planet. On a reconnaisance mission, however, fourteen-year-old Welkin Quinn discovers that the "barbarians" possess skills essential to the space travelers' survival. Includes Reader's guide.

The Sumerians are widely believed to have created the world’s earliest civilization on the fertile floodplains of southern Iraq from about 3500 to 2000 BCE. They have been credited with the invention of nothing less than cities, writing, and the wheel, and therefore hold an ancient mirror to our own urban, literate world. But is this picture correct? Paul Collins reveals how the idea of a Sumerian people was assembled from the archaeological and textual evidence uncovered in Iraq and Syria over the last one hundred fifty years. Reconstructed through the biases of those who unearthed them, the Sumerians were never simply lost and found, but reinvented a number of times, both in antiquity and in the more recent past.

The dramatic events leading up to the appearance of white smoke over the Vatican and the public declaration from the balcony of St Peters- Habemus Papam- has been the most remarkable yet in the election of any Pontiff. The demise of Pope John Paul II was anticipated ever since he was rushed to Gemelli hospital on February 1st. Now he has died the legacy of this outstanding Pontiff is already the matter of fierce debate. A number of his closest advisers like Cardinals Ratzinger and Sodano are already fairly powerless as the Conclave has chosen a Pontiff more interested in the North South axis than that of East West. The final part of this important new book is an in-depth profile of the new Pope, His Holines Pope XXX. The middle part of the book is an account of the Conclave, the poiliticing and the jockeying for position. But it also contains character sketches of those who have been serious contenders for the See of Peter- Cardinal Walter Kasper, Cardinal Tettramanga of Florence, Cardinal Christoph von Schonborn of Vienna, Cardinal Arinze of Nigeria , Cardinal Claudio Hummes of Sao Paolo and Cardinal Rodriguez Madariaga of Honduras. There is also a sketch of some of the complete outsiders. Nobody could be more suited that Paul Collins to werite this incisive and informative account. he has already published books on the History of the Papacy.

The remarkable true story of a turn-of-the-19th century murder and the trial that ensued—a showdown in which iconic political rivals Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr joined forces to make sure justice was served—from bestselling author of the Edgar finalist, Murder of the Century. In the closing days of 1799, the United States was still a young republic. Waging a fierce battle for its uncertain future were two political parties: the well-moneyed Federalists, led by Alexander Hamilton, and the populist Republicans, led by Aaron Burr. The two finest lawyers in New York, Burr and Hamilton were bitter rivals both in and out of the courtroom, and as the next election approached, their animosity reached a crescendo. But everything changed when a young Quaker woman, Elma Sands, was found dead in Burr's newly constructed Manhattan Well. The horrific crime quickly gripped the nation, and before long accusations settled on one of Elma’s suitors: a handsome young carpenter named Levi Weeks. As the enraged city demanded a noose be draped around his neck, Week's only hope was to hire a legal dream team. And thus it was that New York’s most bitter political rivals and greatest attorneys did the unthinkable—they teamed up. Our nation’s longest running cold case, Duel with the Devil delivers the first substantial break in the case in over 200 years. At once an absorbing legal thriller and an expertly crafted portrait of the United States in the time of the Founding Fathers, Duel with the Devil is a masterpiece of narrative nonfiction.

Mack Max Dunstan has played Moses, Marc Anthony, Ben-Hur, President Andrew Jackson, and Long John Silver. He has starred in The Ten Commandments, Ben-Hur, El Cid, 55 Days in Peking, Planet of the Apes, Omega Man, and Soylent Green, to name a few. Sadly, in this age of social media, reality television, and political correctness, todays generation know him only for his hard right point of views and his outspoken nature. Mack Dunstans Inferno was written as a satirical, fantasy work, where Mr. Dunstan succumbed to Alzheimers, went through the death process, and descended into hell, where he met victims of his pro-gun policy. Collins was a fan of Mack Dunstan. This manuscript was actually inspired when the author viewed Michael Moore, who challenged Mr. Dunstan in Bowling for Columbine. The author did not support Mr. Moores penchant for skewing the facts, or promoting his own agenda, but has acknowledged the filmmaker for providing the inspiration for Mack Dunstans Inferno. Collins was never a fan of filmmaker Michael Moore. In fact he was utterly appalled and disgusted to hear how Mr. Moore accepted the academy award. The American Academy awards were about Gucci shoes, who was wearing what, and who's sleeping with whom. It was never about social issues. Collins never understood how a movie director could become infamous through documentary filmmaking. Only in America! Mack Dunstans Inferno began with Mack Dunstan going through and experiencing the death process. As he journeyed, he met Virgil, who guided him through hell, heaven, and eventual illumination. In his journey, Mr. Dunstan met the many victims of his pro-gun policy. Many were Hispanic and African-Americans, all of whom were from the poorer classes. It was in this scenario of the underworld; Mr. Dunstan was confronted with the many sad and tragic stories, leaving him to go through the process of expurgation of guilt, anger, and elimination of the ego. Mr. Dunstan, however, did meet a lot of celebrities in his journey of the underworld. Some were from the silent era, golden age of cinema, and classic, American TV shows. Mack Dunstans Inferno was not only a satire on those who enjoy distinction in the modern era, but a parity, or update, of The Divine Comedy. Within in the perimeters of fiction, Collins satirized and the so-called pillars of the communities and media darlings. He lampooned present actors, dead actors, present/past members of the political and business elite. Therefore, instead of mentioning long, dead ancient figures of history, Collins sketched in Kelsey Grammar, Sally Struthers, or JK Rowlings. Mack Dunstans Inferno does not promote a dogmatic, Christian belief system, but an Eastern point of view. Find out more by reading Mack Dunstans Inferno, where sci fi adventure fantasy and religious superstitions will collide.

In a galaxy where the Balance binds the stars, a curious alien named Troyt sets out from his humble home on Proxima b to uncover the mysteries of the universe. Armed with a homemade space billy cart and an unyielding determination, Troyt answers the call of a mysterious signal that leads him to a vast network of interconnected shards—fragments of an ancient system designed to unite the cosmos. But all is not as it seems. As Troyt journeys across breathtaking worlds, from glowing crystalline forests to desolate rogue planets, he discovers the remnants of a dark force: the Whisperer, a shadow of chaos determined to consume the network and unravel the Balance. Joined by a diverse band of Watchers—guardians drawn from across the galaxy—Troyt faces relentless challenges to restore harmony to the network. Together, they confront corruption, repair fractured shards, and battle the Whisperer in its lair. An epic tale of resilience, unity, and courage, The Adventures of Troyt and the Network blends cosmic wonder with heartfelt adventure. Follow Troyt as he rises from a humble tinkerer to a legendary protector of the stars, proving that even the smallest spark of curiosity can illuminate the universe.

The long-awaited sequel to Dragonfang Three mercenaries Poison coursing through their veins And only six weeks to find a stolen dragon relic ... “The action never stops in Dragonsight. Countess Jelindel dek Mediesar, Daretor and Zimak are sent on a desperate quest to recover a stolen jade talisman called the dragonsight. With a slow-acting poison ticking through their veins, they have only six weeks to find the talisman and take the antidote. There’s magic and mayhem aplenty as they’re hunted through the paraworlds, before the final violent confrontation at the Tower Inviolate. And them in sight of their goal, the ultimate treachery. A terrific page-turner, crammed full of action, intrigue and lashings of magic.” IAN IRVINE

Follows the trail of the corpse of the author of "Common Sense," who was shunned as an infidel by the church, buried in an open field on a New York farm, and whose body was later dug up and moved to Britain years later by a well-meaning admirer who nevergot around to burying the remains.

An accessible guide to the history of the Assyrian empire from the perspective of its powerful elites. At the height of its power near 660 BC, the Assyrian empire, centered in northern Iraq, wielded dominance from Egypt to Iran. This vast region was ruled by a series of kings who demonstrated their power with magnificent palaces adorned by sculptures depicting rituals, battles, and hunts. Established by military might, the empire thrived under the guidance of scholars who interpreted divine will and administrators who relocated tens of thousands of people to serve the state. This book relates the history of Assyria through the lens of its royal family and the officials who commissioned its buildings, art, and literature—each a critical part of the foundation for the later Babylonian and Persian empires.

They hold in common the silenced aftermath of failure, the name that rings no bells.".