Mowll's book The Great Space Race was published in the UK on 2 August 2010 The trilogy was the subject of an international bidding war in 2004.
The writer's experience as a graphic artist for one of the UK's national newspapers, The Mail on Sunday, is evinced by an abundance of pullout illustrations, cutaway technical drawings, sketches, and maps.
The Guild of Specialists trilogy is set in Asia in 1920 and follows the adventures of Becca and Doug MacKenzie hunting for clues to the mystery of why their parents went missing on a secret expedition to Sinkiang (Xinjiang) in the remote desert wastes of western China.
Book 1: Operation Red Jericho In 1920, the heroes of the story Rebecca and Doug MacKenzie, leave Shanghai aboard their uncle's ship Expedient, intent on discovering the whereabouts of their missing parents who have disappeared while on a secret mission to the deserts of Western China.
From India to the desert wastes of China, Becca and Doug must follow every clue and scrap of information discovered so far in their adventures to guide them to the truth about their missing parents.
Old friends join them in new alliances, for Becca and Doug know now that they must find Ur-Can, the fabled machine at the very heart of the story, which is hidden deep in the Taklamakan Desert – the so-called 'Desert of Death'.
“This is not just an adventure story; it is a designer object..." Sunday Times, London 25.09.05 “Mowll's genius, though, is in his clever mixing of old and new storytelling devices, and a clear and intelligent voice that should appeal to both girls and boys..." South China Morning Post, Hong Kong 28/08/05 “...hypnotically packed with detail... " Daily Telegraph, London 09.12.06 “...beware of the cheap imitations it will undoubtedly spawn."
Many of the foreign editions of the trilogy have kept with the design and illustrative content of the original, although in France the trilogy has been published by Flammarion under alternative titles: Les aventuriers du cercle, Tome 1 : Opération Zoridium Les aventuriers du cercle, Tome 2 : Opération Typhon Les aventuriers du cercle, Tome 3 : Opération Désert de la mort Mowll's first book following his Guild of Specialists trilogy, called The Great Space Race, was published in the UK on 2 August 2010.