Palm Beach County novelist James O’Neal, who has written several popular mystery novels under the name James O. Born, is now writing science fiction. The author is also a special agent with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and in his free time mountain bikes, runs and windsurfs.

The Human Disguise (June 2009) earned a starred review in Publishers Weekly, which stated, “This near-future page-turner debut amalgamates apocalyptic science fiction, police procedural and thematic dashes of alien invasion and vampire mythos. Fighting wars in Syria, Iraq and the Balkans, the U.S. is on the precipice of anarchy. Manhattan is a radioactive wasteland, sprawling plague quarantine zones are commonplace and lawlessness is rampant. When Tom Wilner, a detective with Florida’s underfunded Unified Police Force, witnesses a bloody shootout at a roadhouse, he becomes entangled in a vast conspiracy involving his estranged wife and her crime lord lover, a terrorist plot to detonate a dirty bomb in Florida and speculation about a race of godlike hominids and a looming alien invasion. O’Neal provides the postapocalyptic genre with few innovations, but his self-assured, hard-edged writing style, solid characters and wildly entertaining thriller plot will keep readers enthralled.”

Mystery and science fiction readers with a sense of humor will enjoy the author’s short movie Dense Books and Hollow Bullets at YouTube.com.