Maxine Justice: Galactic Attorney

by Daniel Schwabauer

Overview

Can Justice Save the Earth from Extinction?

Maxine Justice is an ambulance-chasing lawyer desperate for relevance and cash when aliens hire her to represent them before the United Nations. An off-planet consortium wants to heal humanity of every natural disease in exchange for 30% of Earth’s gold reserves.

The deal launches Max to legal stardom and makes her an international target for assassins. MediCorp, Star Cross, PharFuture—the big medical companies all have good reasons to want Max out of the way. Worse, she discovers her alien clients may be planning something more sinister than anyone has imagined.

Can a lawyer who failed the bar exam three times find some way to save the world from global and interstellar conspiracies? Or will humankind’s future end in a galactic courtroom?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781621842224
Publisher:	Enclave Publishing
Publication date:	03/08/2022
Pages:	304
Sales rank:	299,031
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.00(d)
Age Range:	3 Months to 18 Years

About the Author

Daniel Schwabauer, MA, is a lifelong reader of speculative fiction. His professional work includes stage plays, radio scripts, short stories, newspaper columns, comic books, and telescripting. Daniel’s middle-grade fantasy series, The Legends of Tira-Nor, has received numerous awards, including the 2005 Ben Franklin Award for Best New Voice in Children’s Literature and the 2008 Eric Hoffer Award.He studied science fiction under science-fiction-great James Gunn before graduating from Kansas University’s master’s program in Creative Writing in 1995. He lives in Olathe, Kansas, with his wife and dog.

Editorial Reviews

★ 12/06/2021

The eponymous heroine of this electrifying speculative legal thriller from Schwabauer (Operation Grendel) navigates a corporatized near-future dystopia. Maxine, a down-on-her-luck rookie lawyer hoping for a big break to launch her personal-injury firm, reluctantly accepts a stint as a public defender only to wind up on probation after a rigged trial in which her client is wrongly convicted. A desperate Maxine is then approached by Ibit Arounais, an alien scientist who claims his miracle health serum can cure any natural human flaw. Though she doesn’t believe the serum can possibly work, she’s swayed by lavish compensation and a desire to keep her dream afloat, and agrees to broker a deal with the UN on behalf of Ibit, who hopes for 30% of Earth’s gold reserves in exchange for this miracle cure. As evidence mounts that the serum is the real deal, Maxine is kidnapped and drawn into a web of pulse-pounding intrigue and thorny moral questions about what health is worth. Schwabauer hooks readers from the start with immersive worldbuilding and a feisty, determined heroine, and keeps the pages turning with consistently rising stakes. This is a winner. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

"An unputdownable, utterly addictive tale that is pure fun to read." — Tosca Lee, New York Times bestselling author 

Tosca Lee

“Between the intergalactic courtroom drama and her talent as an attorney, Maxine Justice is formidable. Who better to defend Earth when the chips are down?” — Kevin Ikenberry, author of Peacemaker and The Protocol War

Kevin Ikenberry

Maxine Justice was fun, funny, and truly showed us that humanity, no matter how flawed, is worth saving.

Manhattan Book Review

"John Grisham meets Galaxy Quest in Daniel Schwabauer’s whimsy-gilded sci-fi tale, featuring robot judges, secretive aliens, and a truly flawed human heroine."

Lorehaven

“The intriguing sci-fi of Kerry Neitz blended with the legal intrigue of John Grisham. A gripping page-turner that will keep you reading into the wee hours of the morning.” — Jill Williamson, award-winning author of the Blood of Kings trilogy and Thirst

Jill Williamson

“An incredibly fun read! Delightfully witty and surprisingly heartwarming.” — S.D. Grimm, author of the Children of the Blood Moon series and A Dragon by Any Other Name

S.D. Grimm

There can be no doubt that narrator Aimee Lilly is having fun portraying Maxine Justice, who is feisty, resilient, and a bit down on her luck. Lilly captures all of Max’s dry wit, which makes this whimsical sci-fi story even more effective. In addition to humans, Lilly has a broad cast of nonhumans to depict, including robot judges and aliens who tempt Earthlings with an offer that is too good to be true. Lilly handles both heroes and villains with nuance and lets listeners decide who falls into which category. Among the supporting “characters,” Lilly imbues an AI counselor and a cell phone with so much personality that listeners will wish they could actually meet them. J.E.M. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award, 2022 Best Audiobook © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine

APRIL 2022 - AudioFile