He studied sciences and music at
Pulteney Grammar School and matriculated third in his year (1984), topping the state for Musical composition. That same year, he won the Young Composer's Award for a theme and three variations for
string quartet with
flute,
oboe and
trumpet soloists called "Release of Anger".[1]
He then went to
Adelaide University and studied a Bachelor of Economics and wrote for the student newspaper On Dit. He completed a
Master of Arts in Creative Writing at
Adelaide University in 2005 and was in 2010 a PhD candidate at the same institution.[1]
Writing career
He is the author of over eighty published short stories and thirty-nine novels, including Twinmaker and (with
Garth Nix) the Troubletwisters series. He has co-written three books in the Star Wars: New Jedi Order series. His novelisation of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed was the first novelisation of a computer game to debut at #1 on the "New York Times" bestseller list.[citation needed]