"Space opera the way it ought to be [...] Bujold and Weber, bend the
knee; interstellar adventure has a new king, and his name is Walter Jon
Williams." -- George R.R. Martin
Following The Praxis, Walter Jon Williams' critically-acclaimed mix of
space opera and military science fiction, the conflict grows for the
fate of humanity...and the universe.
The Dread Empire of the Shaa is no more, following the death of the last
oppressor. But freedom remains elusive for the myriad sentient races
enslaved for ten centuries, as an even greater terror arises. The
Naxids--a powerful insectoid species themselves subjugated until the
recent Shaa demise--plan to fill the vacuum with their own bloody
domination, and have already won a shattering victory with superior
force and unimaginable cruelty. But two heroes survived the carnage at
Magaria: Lord Gareth Martinez and the fiery, mysterious gun pilot Lady
Caroline Sula, whose courageous exploits are becoming legend in the new
history of galactic civil war. Yet their cunning, skill, and bravery may
be no match for the overwhelming enemy descending upon the loyalist
stronghold of Zanshaa, as the horrific battle looms that will determine
the structure of the universe--and who shall live to inhabit it--for
millennia to come.