Cirrus@Austlit

'An accident. A forfeit of freedom. A descent into danger.

'Liobhan, the young warrior and bard, has lost her brother to the Otherworld. Even more determined to gain a place as an elite fighter, she returns to Swan Island to continue her training. But Liobhan is devastated when her comrade Dau is injured and loses his sight in their final display bout. Blamed by Dau's family for the accident, she agrees to go to his home, Oakhill, as a bond servant for one year.

'An engineer with a fondness for weapons. A captain with no memory. An obsessive genemodder who loves to tinker. Meet the crew of Another Road.

'Josune, Roystan, and Nika have escaped the company thugs trying to kill them. They've gotten a new spaceship to replace The Road (after it was blown up underneath them). And their new ship is armed to the teeth with dangerous weapons, courtesy of Josune. All that's left to do before they head out to find the legendary lode of transurides is to restore Roystan's memory. To do that, they need to collect the genemod machine Nika has ordered.

'But first, they have to shake off the Justice Department agent and the Companies tracking them.

'It should be easy. They've done it before. What could possibly go wrong?'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Three people who are not who they claim to be:

'Nika Rik Terri, body modder extraordinaire, has devoted her life to redesigning people's bodies right down to the molecular level. Give her a living body and a genemod machine, and she will turn out a work of art.

'Josune Arriola is crew on the famous explorer ship the Hassim, whose memory banks contain records of unexplored worlds worth a fortune. But Josune and the rest of the crew are united in their single-minded pursuit of the most famous lost planet of all.

'Hammond Roystan, the captain of the rival explorer ship, The Road, has many secrets. Some believe one of them is the key to finding the lost world.

'Josune's captain sends her to infiltrate Roystan's ship, promising to follow. But when the Hassim exits nullspace close to Roystan's ship, it's out of control, the crew are dead, and unknown Company operatives are trying to take over. Narrowly escaping and wounded, Roystan and Josune come to Nika for treatment--and with problems of her own, she flees with them after the next Company attack.

'Now they're in a race to find the lost world...and stay alive long enough to claim the biggest prize in the galaxy.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'The lines. Mysterious yet familiar: the key to controlling every ship in the galaxy. Once they were thought of as tools, but since linesman Ean Lambert discovered strange new lines in an alien vessel, they have become so much more—symbols of a power too great to ignore.

'While the Crown Princess of Lancia seeks to share the new technology, her father, the Emperor, has other plans. His latest political maneuverings seem to be tilting the balance of control to Lancia’s favor—a move that not all members of the New Alliance are looking upon favorably.

'As tensions mount, Ean and his shipmates must unite to avert a disastrous conflict: the princess working within the tumultuous Alliance, Ean seeking the help of the impatient alien ships, and Ean’s close friend and bodyguard, Radko, embarking on a mysterious and perilous mission.

'But the biggest threat comes from an unexpected source. Someone is trying to take down the New Alliance from within—and will use anything, even the lines themselves, to ensure its destruction…'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'The lines. The soul of every ship. It was once thought there were only ten, but that was before an alien vessel appeared at the edge of space—before Ean Lambert heard more lines singing. Ean’s way of communicating with lines is strange. But his abilities make him a valuable tool—or weapon—to command.

'Captain Selma Kari Wang has lost everything—her ship, her crew, her legs. But the New Alliance of Worlds is not done with her yet. After they rebuild her broken body, they send her to captain one of the new alien ships, teaming her up with Ean, the only one who can understand the alien lines.

'Kari Wang and Ean are poised on the threshold of discoveries that could change the galaxy. But not everyone wants the New Alliance to control the secrets they uncover—and those who oppose won’t hesitate to do whatever it takes to stop them…'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

The lines. No ship can traverse the void without them. Only linesmen can work with them. But only Ean Lambert hears their song. And everyone thinks he’s crazy…

Most slum kids never go far, certainly not becoming a level-ten linesman like Ean. Even if he’s part of a small, and unethical, cartel, and the other linesmen disdain his self-taught methods, he’s certified and working.

Then a mysterious alien ship is discovered at the edges of the galaxy. Each of the major galactic powers is desperate to be the first to uncover the ship’s secrets, but all they’ve learned is that it has the familiar lines of energy—and a defence system that, once triggered, annihilates everything in a 200 kilometre radius.

The vessel threatens any linesman who dares to approach it, except Ean. His unique talents may be the key to understanding this alarming new force—and re-configuring the relationship between humans and the ships that serve them, forever.

Source: Publisher's Blurb

'In the aftermath of civil war, Queen Laela must do whatever it takes to maintain control of her kingdom. With Arenadd gone and her own griffin partner Oeka lost to magic, Laela joins forces with the dark griffin Skandar to secure her hold on the throne and attempt peace between the North and South. But Saeddryn's son Caedmon is still determined to claim the throne himself - and this time he has help from the most unlikely of quarters.

'Meanwhile, as Kullervo rallies the South in support of his sister's peace treaty, he embarks on his own journey of self-discovery and must decide what he truly believes in ... and what he's willing to fight for.

'With the Night God plotting Laela's destruction, old enemies rise again. The battle for the North is reaching its final stages - but who will win? And at what cost?' (Publisher's blurb)

'Laela the half-breed raised in the South is now the Queen of the North. The seemingly invincible King Arenadd Taranisaii and his partner, the dark griffin Skandar, are missing. The Northerners blame Laela for Arenadd′s disappearance, but she knows the truth...

'With only her griffin partner Oeka to help her rule, Laela struggles to maintain power and tensions mount with Arenadd′s cousin, Saeddryn, who believes she is the rightful ruler.

'Laela is forced into a desperate fight to stay queen as the entire North is plunged into a brutal civil war. To win, she will need the help of her new friend, the odd shapeshifter Kullervo, and a surprising griffin ally from the past.

'But the true test of Laela′s strength will come when the deadly Shadow that Walks returns...' (Publisher's blurb)

'Arren Cardockson is dead... but something won't let him rest.

Hated and hunted, Arren's only ally is Skandar, the monstrous man-eating dark griffin. Together they must reach the cold North, where they may be able to hide from Erian, vengeful son of the murdered Lord Rannagon.

Then Arren meets the ferocious and mysterious Skade, and he begins to believe that she might know the way to lift his curse and make his dead heart beat again.

And all the while, the dark Night God is watching...' (Publisher's blurb)

'In the land of Cymria, humans and griffins rule side by side ...

Arren Cardockson is a despised Northener, a people conquered and enslaved centuries ago. By freak chance, he became a griffiner - chosen by a griffin as their companion - but many resent and fear his existence.

Meanwhile, chained in a cage behind the fighting Arena where rogue griffins entertain the crowds, the mysterious black griffin dreams of escape. Arren's meeting with this renegade griffin sets his life on an inexorable path of murder, conflict ... and an encounter with his past.

'Darkness cannot be caged.' (From the publisher's website.)

'Imre Bergamasc is lost. His search for answers has led him up an alley so blind even his sense of self has become uncertain. Before he can save the galaxy from ruin, he must find the strength to carry on and reclaim his ultimate purpose. But more than two million years in our future, the fight has changed. Former allies are now enemies, and enemies have taken on entirely new forms. Chased from the very edge of humanity's vast empire into the heart of an ancient conspiracy, he must finally come face to face with Himself, for without the truth of his past humanity's future will never be secured.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Whether portrayed as fire-breathing reptilian beasts at war with humanity or as noble creatures capable of speech and mystically bonded to the warriors who ride them, dragons have been found in nearly every culture's mythology. In modern times, they can be found far from their medieval settings in locales as mundane as suburbia or as barren as post-apocalyptic landscapes - and in The Dragon Book, today's greatest fantasists reignite the fire with legendary tales that will consume readers' imaginations.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Imre Bergamasc's life has been nothing if not interesting. Returning from the grave to rule the galaxy, one might be tempted to say that he's taken the worst the universe could throw at him and emerged triumphant. But Imre's problems are only beginning...

'Caught between saboteurs, spies and assassins, his personal quest remains unchanged: to find the people responsible for the Slow Wave that killed the most advanced minds in the galaxy and bring them to justice. Could it be the Luminous, enigmatic entities who played a role in his own liberation, years ago? Or the shadowy secret organisation calling themselves the Barons? His search for answers will lead him along the darkest, most dangerous byways of human civilisation - shadowed always by the mysterious entity known only as Himself. Could it be that the original Imre Bergamasc still exists and is pursuing the end game of a centuries-long strategy? Only one thing is clear: the decisions he makes now will not only unlock the secrets of his past, but decide the fate of the galaxy...'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'In the forty-third millennium of human history, Imre Bergamasc awakens after two hundred years to the realization that he has been the victim of an elaborate murder plot - a plot that also destroyed the intergalactic transport milieu known as the Continuum. But now that Imre has been reborn, he will stop at nothing to help bring forth the rebirth of the galaxy.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'An epic fantasy of politics and magic, history and truth. The Isles of Glory, caught in a maelstrom, will never be the same again. In this final book of the trilogy, the islandoms of the archipelago are torn apart by change as the Keepers, under the ambitious Syr-sylv Duthrick, and the Menod, led by a conflicted Syr-Aware Ryder, battle for political ascendancy over the Isles. The alien ghemphic race are forced to take sides, ending generations of neutrality, while the social structure of citizenship collapses and the Dustel birds battle their disabilities to live in a human world. Against the backdrop of upheaval, Blaze Halfbreed struggles to rescue Flame from the terrible legacy Morthred has left behind and Kelwyn Gilfeather commits himself to the destruction of magic. And 50 years into the future, Anyara Treron sails with a Kellish fleet, seeking her own destiny and validation in the Isles of Glory.'

Source: Publisher's website (Sighted 19/4/10)