Conquered by the Jao twenty years ago, the Earth is shackled under alien
tyrannyand threatened by the even more dangerous Ekhat, who are sending a
genocidal extermination fleet to the solar system. Humanity's only chance
rests with an unusual pair of allies: a young Jao prince, newly arrived to
Terra to assume his duties, and a young human woman brought up amongst the
Jao occupiers.
But both are under pressure from the opposing forcesa cruel Jao viceroy
on one side, determined to drown all opposition in blood; a reckless human
resistance on the other, perfectly prepared to shed it. Added to the mix
is the fact that only by adopting some portions of human technology and
using human sepoy troops can the haughty Jao hope to defeat the oncoming
Ekhat attackand then only by fighting the battle within the Sun itself.
Cover art by Bob Eggleton
Hardcover
This is a work of fiction. All the characters and
events portrayed in this book are fictional, and any resemblance to real
people or incidents is purely coincidental.
First printing, September 2003
Distributed by Simon & Schuster
1230 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10020
Printed in the United States of America
ISBN: 0-7434-7154-7
Copyright 2003 by Eric Flint & K.D. Wentworth
All rights reserved, including the right to
reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form.
A Baen Books Original
Baen Publishing Enterprises
P.O. Box 1403
Riverdale, NY 10471 http://www.baen.com
For Algis Budrys, friend, mentor, and terrific writer;
and for Christopher Anvil, who once told this story his own way.
Baen Books by Eric Flint
Joe's World series:
The Philosophical Strangler Forward the Mage (with Richard Roach) Mother of Demons 1632 1633 (with David Weber) The Shadow of the Lion (with Mercedes Lackey & Dave Freer) This Rough Magic (with Mercedes Lackey & Dave Freer) Rats, Bats & Vats (with Dave Freer) Pyramid Scheme (with Dave Freer)
The Belisarius Series, with David Drake:
An Oblique Approach In the Heart of Darkness Destiny's Shield Fortune's Stroke The Tide of Victory
WOULD
THEY 