New Releases by Shane Dix

Morgan Roche, commander in the intelligence arm of the Commonwealth Empires, has been charged with protecting the AI known as The Box on a secret voyage across the galaxy. But en route her ship is ambushed by the Dato Bloc, and she is forced to crash-land on a nearby prison planet. MAROONED ON SCIACCA''S WORLD: Battling deadly inmates and treacherous guards, she fights her way through a hostile environment toward her only hope of escape, the mysterious Adoni Cane at her side. A genetically enhanced warrior with a past not even he can fathom, he could be the savior of the human race, or its downfall--but either way, Morgan Roche won''t survive without him... "THE PRODIGAL SUN is a close-knit personal story told on a galaxy-sized canvas. Filled with action as well as intriguing ideas." --Kevin J Anderson "With echoes of vintage Jack Williamson and Poul Anderson, as well as Niven, Asimov and Vinge, Williams and Dix proudly continue a vital tradition, proving SF as diverse a field as ever." --Asimov''s "[A] very satisfying classic Golden Age-style yarn.... strongly recommended" --Locus "Space opera of the ambitious, galaxy-spanning sort... fast and furious action." --New York Review of SF

Morgan Roche is a renegade, fleeing the agents she used to work for in the Commonwealth of Empires. Her quest to understand Adoni Cane has led her to a terrible truth. He is one of a breed of genetically enhanced warriors that once terrorized the galaxy. And there might be more of them, waking up to begin fighting anew. AN INTERSTELLAR TRAP: A whole solar system has disappeared, wiped from the universe in an attempt to snare just one super-soldier like Cane. In an attempt to come to grips with her enemy, Morgan Roche and The Box travel willingly into the trap, but find themselves ensnared in ever-thicker tangles of deception and intrigue. Who is The Box, and is what its agenda, really? The answer will rock Roche''s world right down to the foundations. "I''m not sure what an Evergence is, but finding out promises to provide hours of fun." --Locus "Genre-savvy and capably written, full of adventure and Asimovian imperial vistas" --Asimov''s "Full of adventure of Asimovian imperial vistas. Delivers tons of action...Offers wide-screen baroque plotting never out-of-control. With echoes of vintage Jack Williamson and Poul Anderson, as well as Niven, Asimov, and Vinge, Williams and Dix proudly continue a vital tradition in SF." --Analog Nominated for the Aurealis Award

The sole survivors of the human race... and their time is running out. In the wake of Earth''s fall, Peter Alander has just one choice: to use the alien Gifts left behind on his distant colony world to warn other missions of their impending demise, a second wave of alien ships, this time intent on destroying everything in their path. Without the Gifts, humanity would have no hope at all--although no one truly understands them, and it is becoming increasingly certain that the very use of them is what draws the enemy on. Out of the dark comes help from an entirely unexpected quarter. Peter Alander and his fellow survivors are not the only victims of the terrible Starfish. But what if the cost of that help is too high? What if the price is humanity itself? "This book shines" —Cinescape "High adventure in deep space for fans of far-future SF." —Library Journal Nominated for the Aurealis and Ditmar Awards.

The ruins of Sol System have been empty for thousands of years. A place of death and mystery, it is shunned by all--until now. DEADLINE TO DESTRUCTION: Renegade intelligence agent Morgan Roche arrives hot on the heels of the clone warriors--enemies she has been charged by the High Humans to stop before they destroy everything. What she finds--the largest fleet assembled in half a million years, with no central authority, no-one in charge--threatens to stretch her resources beyond their limit. There, under the light of the star called Sol, Morgan Roche will uncover the final truth about the AI called The Box, about the man called Adoni Cane, and about the High Human called the Crescend. That truth will cost her dearly... "Space opera of the ambitious, galaxy-spanning sort" --New York Review of SF "Space opera, like its grand musical cousin, couldn''t exist without duplicity, ambition, lust, stupidity, and greed, and by the time the fat lady sings, whole worlds can be laid waste - and, oddly enough, it''s this recognition of pain and evil as the generating forces of adventure that make A Dark Imbalance so satisfying." --Locus "A story that twists and turns back on itself and keeps the reader always off-balance. There is danger, adventure and a labyrinth of loyalties. Excellent." --SF Site Winner of the Aurealis Award. (Formerly published as A DARK IMBALANCE)

On the brink of extinction, a suicide mission is humanity''s last hope. The Gifts of an alien race called the Spinners gave Peter Alander hope for the future of humanity. All the Gifts did, though, was draw down the wrath of the Starfish, another alien race apparently intent on wiping out all forms of competition. Caught between the two, humanity faces the hard decision of evolving into something else entirely simply to survive. As their new alien allies prepare to leave human space forever, a handful of survivors band together to make one last attempt to communicate with their enemies. A single ship will leap into the very heart of the Starfish fleet, attempting to find reason where none exists... "Space opera can be a very comforting, cozy mode, with its interstellar empires and royalty and guilds. But when dramatic Darwinian forces are brought into play, as here, space opera can become a kind of bracing, near-apocalyptic tale." —Paul di Filippo "A melodramatic (or space-operatic) take on Stapledon, a grittier, bleaker take on Clarke.... a vision very different from the triumphalism of traditional SF adventure, but its darkness seems entirely appropriate to the twenty-first century we actually inhabit." —Locus Nominated for the Aurealis Award.

The year is 2438. Humanity has migrated to the stars in discrete waves, driven by evolving technologies and new ways of being human. The far-flung Arc Systems struggle under the yoke of their newest rulers—Exarchs from Sol, whose monopoly on faster-than-light communication gives them absolute control of a growing interstellar empire. But humans weren''t the first to conquer the stars, and the discovery of an alien artifact promising transport between systems threatens to undermine the Exarchs'' power. Revolutionary leader Melilah Awad seeks an alliance to unlock Geodesica''s secrets with VOIDship pilot Palmer Eogan, a lover she lost to the Dark more than two centuries earlier. What they find could be more dangerous than anyone--human or more than human--could imagine....

An alien artifact''s mysteries could spark humanity''s collapse in the second novel of the Geodesica Duology from the New York Times–bestselling authors. Revolution spreads like wildfire through humanity''s interstellar empire, sparked by the opening of Geodesica and the destruction of an entire inhabited system. But who was ultimately responsible? And who will pay the price? Melilah Awad and Palmer Eogan delve deeper into Geodesica''s ancient alien labyrinth than anyone has ever dared, hoping to unravel its secrets before the hunter-killers from Earth bring them down. Former Exarch of Bedlam, Isaac Forge Deangelis, finds his grip on sanity slipping as his very reason for existing is ripped from him. While a rebel Exarch and Palmer Horsfall, grieving for her lost sister, form an alliance that might tear humanity''s interstellar empire apart . . . Praise for the Geodesica Duology "Splendid fun, brimming with heroes, villains, chicanery, neat imaginative details, some seriously cool space battles, and one of the most mind-twisting alien artifacts ever imagined." —Alastair Reynolds, award-winning author "Williams and Dix have a flair for combining slam-bang adventures, intriguing characters and cutting-edge scientific and philosophical speculations, resulting in books that elevate your adrenaline and your intellect. This latest series is no exception to their reign." —Paul di Filippo, author of The Big Get-Even "Williams and Dix are writing first-class MMPB space opera, chock full of what we''ve come to hope for; antagonists, allies and alien artifacts in perfectly balanced doses." — Agony Column

In this "dazzling adventure" from the New York Times–bestselling author, a man adrift in space finds himself facing the edge of madness (Jack McDevitt). The Frank Tipler is just one of a thousand survey vessels sent out into the bubble of space surrounding Earth, seeking habitable worlds and signs of advanced life. Its crew has stumbled across artifacts left behind by a benevolent trader species, but the decision to study them is fraught with danger and uncertainty. The Tipler''s crew consists of forty flawed electronic copies of human beings, some of them profoundly damaged—and Earth stopped responding to signals over a century ago. Caught between madness and political machinations, Alander stands on the brink of what might be the greatest discovery humanity has ever made—and a gift that humanity can''t afford to accept. "ECHOES OF EARTH is a dazzling adventure, sweeping the reader along from marvel to wonder, and it includes one of the most heart-stopping moments I''ve encountered in a novel in years." —Jack McDevitt "[The] book can''t be discussed or even described without spoiling some of the surprises, which are mutually reinforcing as well as juicy in themselves. I will, however, give in to the temptation to drop a few more of the names that came to mind as I was reading: the Three Gregs (Bear, Benford, Egan), Linda Nagata, and Frederik Pohl.... As the first of a series... ECHOES promises to rev its Ideas right past the red-line and drive them hard." —Locus "The science in Dix and Williams''s work shines, entrancing with its glitter and innovation... and you won''t find any of their novels without fully-fleshed out characters, complex plots, vivid settings and thoughtful exploration of issues." —SF Site "The authors have already made a name for themselves as writers of intelligent space opera, and ECHOES OF EARTH is sure to further bolster that reputation. The book is chock full of marvelous events, cosmic significance, mysterious alien motivations, and the wonder of outer space." —Science Fiction Chronicle Winner of the Ditmar Award.

The second of a mass-market original trilogy charting the beginning of the galaxy''s victory over the dreaded Yuuzhan Vong alien invaders. Under the leadership of Luke Skywalker and a combined Jedi-government council, the newly formed Galatic Federation of Free Alliances is doggedly fighting back--and winning. Luke is on a quest for a legend, in hope of bringing back the ultimate answer to the war. And a mysterious prophet has risen among the Yuuzhan Vong lower castes to turn Yuuzhan Vong culture on its ear. This adventure includes major storylines for favorite characters, both old and new.

The Jedi move one step closer to saving the embattled galaxy— only to confront a formidable wall of resistance. The harrowing search for Zonama Sekot is finally over for Luke Skywalker, Jacen Solo, and the others aboard the Jade Shadow. But joy turns to alarm when the living planet sends a defiant message: it refuses to follow them back to a galaxy full of war, exploitation, and misery. While Luke works feverishly to persuade the elusive planet to reconsider, the Yuuzhan Vong launches a full-scale attack aimed at the heart of the new alliance. Sent to defend a major communications base, Han and Leia find themselves hopelessly outnumbered. Reinforcements are just too far away to help before everything is destroyed. So the courageous pair must now fight an unrelenting battle against staggering odds. Whether they actually survive is another matter. . . .

Swift and deadly, the Yuuzhan Vong have blasted their way across the galaxy—and now stand on the threshold of total victory. Yet a courageous few still dare to oppose them. . . . Rife with hostile cultures and outright enemies, the Unknown Regions holds many perils for Luke Skywalker and the Jedi, searching for Zonama Sekot, the living planet that may hold the key to dealing once and for all with the Yuuzhan Vong. Meanwhile, on the edge of the galaxy and in the heart of a trusted ally, old enemies are stirring. The Yuuzhan Vong have inflamed long-forgotten vendettas that are even now building up to crisis point. And as Han and Leia journey on their quest to knit the unraveling galaxy back together, betrayal and deception await them. . . .

As the bloodied and weary galaxy faces battle once more, the Jedi take on the formidable task of bringing the last of the Empire into the light. . . . From the ashes of the New Republic—torn to shreds by the savage Yuuzhan Vong forces—the newly formed Galactic Alliance has risen, determined to bring peace to the entire galaxy. But first the Yuuzhan Vong must be contained once and for all. And so Luke Skywalker seeks a world long lost to legend: Zonama Sekot, a sentient planet believed to have repelled an invasion by the Yuuzhan Vong decades ago. Deciphering the enigmatic secrets of Zonama Sekot just might turn the tides of a relentless war. Aboard the Jade Shadow, Luke, his wife Mara, Jacen Solo, and other Jedi head off into the Unknown Regions, where rumors and clues suggest Zonama Sekot might be found. Yet the mission has barely begun when the searchers stumble into a horrific battle. The Imperial Remnant, in retreat from the mighty Yuuzhan Vong, is about to be destroyed. It would seem those aboard the Jade Shadow have little choice but to leave the Empire to its fate. But these are no ordinary space travelers, they are Jedi. . . .

Drafts, research notes, correspondence and reader''s reports.