Amaranthe

Concord, with its vaunted indestructible warships and dimension-bending weapons, has been knocked back on its heels. A stunning loss in the Battle of Namino has left its best and brightest leaders scattered, trapped, or thought lost. The Rasu press their advantage, laying siege to Namino and cutting it off from the rest of civilization. For Miriam Solovy, a coup attempt by Anaden rebels and a flaring conflict with the militaristic Savrakaths are the least of her concerns.

“Everything we have done from the start of this endeavor has been risky. Is the goal not worth any risk?” In the aftermath of Namino’s liberation, everyone seeks a moment of peace to catch their breath and regroup. But the Rasu will not be waylaid for long, and peace soon becomes a race against time before the next onslaught. Alex and Caleb search distant stars and the ruins of a dead civilization for a secret weapon that may hold the key to defeating an enemy who cannot be killed by conventional means.

The Rift Bubbles offer much-sought protection, but is the safety they promise anything more than an illusion? A weapon crafted by the nearly extinct Ourankeli may hold the key to gaining the upper hand - or it may be a doomsday bomb too dangerous to chance wielding. The Asterions strive tirelessly to improve upon and create new weapons that can kill Rasu, even as Nika Kirumase draws tantalizingly close to unlocking the true power of kyoseil.

In Amaranthe, where exotic alien life, AIs, wormholes, indestructible starships, and the promise of immortality rule the day, no feat seems out of reach for humanity. But when the worlds of Aurora Rhapsody and Asterion Noir collide and the Rasu horde descends upon them both, more will be asked of heroes past and future. More will be given and more taken, and when the dust settles, the very fabric of Amaranthe will be altered forever.

The Rasu civil war engineered by Alex Solovy and Nika Kirumase has provided Concord the time it desperately needed. Every weapon, every technology, every tactic will be brought to bear in a bid to defend thousands of worlds and trillions of people from annihilation.

Ambassador Marlee Marano has been dispatched to Belarria as part of a Concord initiative to meet new species and build alliances. But when an assassin murders her counterpart in front of her eyes and takes her hostage, she is plunged into an alien world on the brink of collapse. With no way to contact Concord or get offworld, Marlee’s only allies may be a shadowy band of rebels with a questionable agenda steeped in government conspiracies, mysterious genetic experiments, and bloody historical grievances that threaten to boil over.