A new novel in New York Times best seller Eric Flint's science fiction Jao Empire series.
It has become clear to both the Jao and their human and Lleix partners that if they are going to defeat the Ekhat who have been terrorizing the galaxy for eons, they need more allies. To that end, Preceptor Ronz, guardian of Earth and greatest living strategist of the Jao, has harnessed the energy of Earth's humans to create and send out an exploration fleet under the command of Caitlin Kralik.
But after a long search, all the expedition has found are dead worlds and now‑extinct intelligent species slaughtered by the genocidal Ekhat. Do they continue to search down the galactic arm in which Earth and the Jao worlds lie, or do they make an astounding leap in another direction? With friends like Gabe Tully, Tamt, Wrot and Caewithe Miller supporting her, Caitlin makes her decision.
Meanwhile, the Ekhat, as murderous and destructive as they have always been, have a new generation of leaders growing into power who are even more implacable than those who have gone before them. The Ekhat have not forgotten the Jao, nor the damage they have done over the years to the Ekhat purpose. It's up to the Jao‑human‑Lleix confederation and the new allies they make to survive the onslaught and turn the tables on the Ekhat.
When someone starts killing his fellow bounty hunters in the port of Fairhaven, Drago Appleroot is happy to help his contacts in the City Watch with their investigation—for a reasonable fee, of course. But posing as an assassin-for-hire to draw out the killer attracts the attention of two separate groups from a far-off Elven kingdom whose private war is being fought on the streets of his home town.
Pitched into a maelstrom of treachery and lethal politics, Drago is forced into a long and dangerous journey to the heart of the Sylvan Marches, where one determined gnome might just decide the destiny of a kingdom. If he can survive long enough to decide which side he ought to be on.
A new entry in the critically acclaimed Caine Riordan science fiction series by three‑time Nebula nominee Charles E. Gannon! Science fiction on a grand scale. Prequels Raising Caine, Trial by Fire and Fire with Fire were all Nebula Award finalists. Charles E. Gannon is also the winner of the Compton Crook Award.
Caine Riordan, fresh from serving as envoy to the aliens known as the Slaasriithi, has been given yet another daunting task: apprehend raiders that are terrorizing a distant planet.
As difficulties mount, Caine becomes aware that the mission his superiors sent him to perform may not be the one they actually hope he will achieve. Which means Caine may be forced to choose between honoring a promise to friends or following orders—a choice that could ultimately put him in front of a board of inquiry. Or a firing squad.
Roy Olfetrie planned to be an officer in the Republic of Cinnabar Navy, but when his father was unmasked as a white-collar criminal he had to take whatever he was offered.
What is offered turns out to be a chance to accompany Captain Daniel Leary and Lady Adele Mundy as they go off to start a war that will put Roy at the sharp end.
Duty snatches Roy from the harem of a pirate chief to a world of monsters, from interstellar reaches in a half-wrecked starship to assassination attempts at posh houses. Roy has the choice of making friends or dying friendless; of meeting betrayal and responding to it; of breaking his faith or keeping it at the risk of his life.
Pirates, politics, and spies--and waiting for Roy if he survives all the rest, a powerful warship.
The action doesn't slow--nor can Roy, for if he does the only question is which of the many threats will be the one to catch and kill him. But Captain Leary himself has given Roy a chance, and Roy is determined make the most of it—THOUGH HELL SHOULD BAR THE WAY.
The energy crisis has been solved. Core Taps have been driven 300 miles into the Earth to tap into the subterranean power source at its core. The only catch: when activated, the Core Taps disrupt brain waves, sending everyone nearby into a deep, forced sleep. It’s a small price to pay for a world of plenty. Or so it seems.
Rafe Harald is one of the few humans not affected by the Core Taps. Back from the Moon, where he has been preparing for humankind’s first trek into deep space, he makes his way through a shadowy night world of induced slumber. He’s come to discover the whereabouts of a missing colleague. What he’ll find is a mysterious figure known as the Old Man—and a conspiracy so devious in its design, he’ll wish it was a nightmare.
But soon the Old Man will discover that he has awoken a sleeping giant in Rafe Harald. And on a planet of perpetual sleep, a new day is about to dawn.
The full book is available to download in all 7 DRM-free formats
SEQUEL TO WITCHY EYE. Next in series, which debuted with the stunningly reviewed Witchy Eye. Butler delivers another brilliant Americana flintlock fantasy novel.
TOIL AND TROUBLE
Sarah Calhoun paid a hard price for her entry onto the stage of the Empire’s politics, but she survived. Now she rides north into the Ohio and her father’s kingdom, Cahokia. To win the Serpent Throne, she’ll have to defeat seven other candidates, win over the kingdom’s regent, and learn the will of a hidden goddess—while mastering her people’s inscrutable ways and watching her own back.
In New Orleans, a new and unorthodox priest arises to plague the chevalier and embody the curse of the murdered Bishop Ukwu. He battles the chevalier’s ordinary forces as well as a troop of Old World mamelukes for control of the city and the mouth of the great Mississippi River. Dodging between these rival titans, a crew of Catalan pirates—whose captain was once a close associate of Mad Hannah Penn—grapples with the chevalier over the fate of one of their mates.
Meanwhile, a failed ceremony and a sick infant send the Anishinaabe hunter Ma’iingan on a journey across the Empire to Cavalier Johnsland, to a troubled foster child named Nathaniel. Ma’iingan is promised that Nathaniel is a mighty healer and can save his imperiled baby, but first Nathaniel—a pale young man with a twisted ear who hears the voices of unseen beings—must himself be rescued, from oppression, imprisonment, and madness.