Cirrus@Austlit

'Ten thousand years after the human race fought off the terrors its first small steps into the galaxy unleashed on it, no-one remembers what is out there.

'Alone on a rain-swept mountain top, the robot, Broome, waits for rescue. Worshipped by the simple tribespeople below, it remembers its long existence, its long-dead friends, and ponders the tragedy of war and human frailty.

'To stave off the boredom, it decides to tell the story of Loner’s Deep and the events that took place there, events which threatened to destroy the fragile peace among the great spacefaring civilisations of Human Space and bring the whole human race to the edge of extinction. Broome’s story is about Berenetta, an Earth woman who, alone among her kind, is able to understand the true nature of the beautiful alien object that appears from nowhere to spark a conflagration. It is about Tam and Prad, traders from the Republic of Karmarg, who are drawn into the chaos around Loner’s Deep after the death of hundreds of their people. And it is about Broome itself, the ancient war machine that is trying to live a life of peace and contemplation, but which finds itself at the centre of a wild and dangerous adventure spanning half of Human Space.

'The Federation is itching for war, The Republic and The Sphere of Light stand against it, and Earth, the six hundred pound gorilla they all fear, is watching and waiting. But, at Loner’s Deep, something much worse is stirring.'

(Source: publisher's blurb)

'After the disastrous encounter at Loner’s Deep, Captain Tam Pokkar and his crew head to distant Earth convinced that an alien attack on Human Space has begun.

'The ancient robot, Broome, has convinced them their only hope to save humanity is to find the long lost Omega Point, a forgotten civilisation that few believe ever existed. Behind them, an alien weapon is shattering space itself and a massive interstellar war has erupted among the human polities affected by it. Soon, the war will draw in all the worlds of Human Space, even mighty Earth and little time remains to find help.

'But Earth itself is divided and Captain Pokkar’s crew are in danger of becoming pawns in its internal political struggles. All they have to convince hard-nosed, hard pressed politicians are the word of an unreliable robot, unintelligible new theories in physics developed by a brilliant but emotionally crushed young woman, and unbelievable intelligence reports from remote and war-torn regions far, far away. But Tam and his partner, Prad, are determined and resourceful and it will take more than the forces of Earth to stop them—no matter how hopeless their quest to find the mythical Omega Point may seem.'

(Source: publisher's blurb)

'Tam Pokkar and his crew have done the impossible and found the legendary Omega Point.

'Now, with the help of the ancient and erratic transhuman Martin Lanham, they must fight their way through fractured space to stop the weapon that is destroying humankind. But, even if they reach it, the mysterious enemy who sent it, is out there, watching, ready to strike again, while a massive interstellar war engulfs all of Human Space. In this final novel in the Deep Fracture series, the crew of the Canta Libre is beset by enemies and unreliable friends on all sides as they make their final stand for the future of their whole species above the beautiful planet Nadezhda.'

(Source: publisher's blurb)