COMPTON CROOK AWARD FOR BEST FIRST NOVEL. NEBULA AWARD FINALIST. New Science Fiction Adventure Series! National Bestseller in trade paperback. An agent for a spy organization uncovers an alien alliance in nearby interstellar space—an alliance that will soon involve humanity in politics and war on a galactic scale. 2105, September: Intelligence Analyst Caine Riordan uncovers a conspiracy on Earth’s Moon—a history-changing clandestine project—and ends up involuntarily cryocelled for his troubles. Twelve years later, Riordan awakens to a changed world. Humanity has achieved faster-than-light travel and is pioneering nearby star systems. And now, Riordan is compelled to become an inadvertent agent of conspiracy himself. Riordan’s mission: travel to a newly settled world and investigate whether a primitive local species was once sentient—enough so to have built a lost civilization. However, arriving on site in the Delta Pavonis system, Caine discovers that the job he’s been given is anything but secret or safe. With assassins and saboteurs dogging his every step, it's clear that someone doesn't want his mission to succeed. In the end, it takes the broad-based insights of an intelligence analyst and a matching instinct for intrigue to ferret out the truth: that humanity is neither alone in the cosmos nor safe. Earth is revealed to be the lynchpin planet in an impending struggle for interstellar dominance, a struggle into which it is being irresistibly dragged. Discovering new dangers at every turn, Riordan must now convince the powers-that-be that the only way for humanity to survive as a free species is to face the perils directly—and to fight fire with fire. WINNER OF THE COMPTON CROOK AWARD FOR BEST FIRST NOVEL About Fire with Fire: “Chuck Gannon is one of those marvelous finds—someone as comfortable with characters as he is with technology, and equally adept at providing those characters with problems to solve. Imaginative, fun, and not afraid to step on the occasional toe or gore the occasional sacred cow, his stories do not disappoint.”—David Weber "If we meet strong aliens out there, will we suffer the fate of the Aztecs and Incas, or find the agility to survive? Gannon fizzes with ideas about the dangerous politics of first contact.”—David Brin "The plot is intriguing and then some. Well-developed and self-consistent; intelligent readers are going to like it."—Jerry Pournelle "[T]he intersecting plot threads, action and well-conceived science kept those pages turning."—SF Crowsnest About Starfire series hit, Extremis, coauthored by Charles E. Gannon: “Vivid. . . Battle sequences mingle with thought-provoking exegesis . . .”–Publishers Weekly "It’s a grand, fun series of battles and campaigns, worthy of anything Dale Brown or Larry Bond ever wrote." –Analog About Charles E. Gannon: "[A] strong [writer of]. . .military SF. . .[much] action going on in his work, with a lot of physics behind it. There is a real sense of the urgency of war and the sacrifices it demands." –Locus
Book Three in the Nebula award nominated and Compton Crook award winning series. Science fiction adventure on a grand scale. Caine Riordan, reluctant diplomatic and military intelligence operative, has just finished playing his part repulsing the Arat Kurs and HkhRkhs joint invasion of Earth. But scant hours after the attackers surrender, the mysterious but potentially helpful Slaasriithi appeal to Caine to shepherd a diplomatic mission on a visit to their very alien worlds. The possible prize: a crucial alliance in a universe where the fledgling Consolidated Terran Republic has very few friends. But Caine and his legation arent the only ones journeying into the unknown reaches of Slaasriithi space. A group of renegade Ktor are following them, intending to destroy humanitys hopes for a quick alliance. And that means finding and killing Caine Riordan. Assuming that the bizarre and dangerous Slaasriithi lifeforms dont do it first. At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management). About Trial by Fire: _I seriously enjoyed Trial by Fire. This ones a tidal wave¾cant put it down. An excellent book.Ó ¾Jack McDevitt on the prequel "Gannon's whiz-bang second Tales of the Terran Republic interstellar adventure delivers on the promise of the first (Fire with Fire). . . . The charm of Caine's harrowing adventure lies in Gannon's attention to detail, which keeps the layers of political intrigue and military action from getting too dense. The dozens of key characters, multiple theaters of operations, and various alien cultures all receive the appropriate amount of attention. The satisfying resolution is enhanced by the promise of more excitement to come in this fascinating far-future universe."¾Publishers Weekly Starred Review ". . . definitely one to appeal to the adventure fans. Riordan is a smart hero, up against enormous obstacles and surrounded by enemies. Author Gannon does a good job of managing action and tension to keep the story moving, and the details of the worlds Riordan visits are interesting in their own right.."¾Analog " . . . offers the type of hard science-fiction those familiar with the John Campbell era of Analog Science Fiction will remember. Gannon throws his readers into an action-packed adventure. A sequel to Fire With Fire, it is a nonstop tale filled with military science-fiction action." ¾Daily News of Galveston County About Compton Crook award winner for best first novel,Fire with Fire: _Chuck Gannon is one of those marvelous finds¾someone as comfortable with characters as he is with technology, and equally adept at providing those characters with problems to solve. Imaginative, fun, and not afraid to step on the occasional toe or gore the occasional sacred cow, his stories do not disappoint.Ó¾David Weber "If we meet strong aliens out there, will we suffer the fate of the Aztecs and Incas, or find the agility to survive? Gannon fizzes with ideas about the dangerous politics of first contact.Ó¾David Brin "The plot is intriguing and then some. Well-developed and self-consistent; intelligent readers are going to like it."¾Jerry Pournelle "[T]he intersecting plot threads, action and well-conceived science kept those pages turning."¾SF Crowsnest About Starfire series hit, Extremis, coauthored by Charles E. Gannon: _Vivid. . . Battle sequences mingle with thought-provoking exegesis . . .Ó¾Publishers Weekly "Its a grand, fun series of battles and campaigns, worthy of anything Dale Brown or Larry Bond ever wrote." ¾Analog About Charles E. Gannon: "[A] strong [writer of] . . . military SF. . .[much] action going on in his work, with a lot of physics behind it. There is a real sense of the urgency of war and the sacrifices it demands." ¾Locus
Sequel to national bestseller, Nebula Award finalist, and Compton Crook Award winner Fire with Fire. Science fiction adventure on a grand scale. When reluctant interstellar diplomat and intelligence operative Caine Riordan returns from humanitys first encounter with alien races, sudden war clouds burst. With Earths fleet shattered by a sneak attack and its survivors fighting for their lives, Caine must rely upon both his first contact and weaponry skills to contend with the non-humanoid enemy. And when the technologically-superior attackers sweep aside the solar systems last defenses, and traitorous corporations invite the invaders to land security forces, humanity fights back with its best weapons: cunning, inventiveness, and guts. But as Earth hurtles towards a final trial by fire that is certain to scar its collective memory, Caine discovers that there may also be large and disturbing gaps in that memory. Clues point to a much earlier inter-species apocalypse, buried in humanitys own prehistory. Which raises a terrifying possibility: what if the aliens' invasion of Earth is not one of conquest, but preemption? And what if their harrowing memories of a long-past cataclysmic war makes them willing to do anything to keep it from reigniting? Even if that means exterminating the human race. At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management). About Compton Crook award winner for best first novel, Fire with Fire: _Chuck Gannon is one of those marvelous finds¾someone as comfortable with characters as he is with technology, and equally adept at providing those characters with problems to solve. Imaginative, fun, and not afraid to step on the occasional toe or gore the occasional sacred cow, his stories do not disappoint.Ó¾David Weber "If we meet strong aliens out there, will we suffer the fate of the Aztecs and Incas, or find the agility to survive? Gannon fizzes with ideas about the dangerous politics of first contact.Ó¾David Brin "The plot is intriguing and then some. Well-developed and self-consistent; intelligent readers are going to like it."¾Jerry Pournelle "[T]he intersecting plot threads, action and well-conceived science kept those pages turning."¾SF Crowsnest About Starfire series hit, Extremis, coauthored by Charles E. Gannon: _Vivid. . . Battle sequences mingle with thought-provoking exegesis . . .Ó_Publishers Weekly "Its a grand, fun series of battles and campaigns, worthy of anything Dale Brown or Larry Bond ever wrote." _Analog About Charles E. Gannon: "[A] strong [writer of] . . . military SF. . .[much] action going on in his work, with a lot of physics behind it. There is a real sense of the urgency of war and the sacrifices it demands." _Locus
Book 5 in the critically acclaimed Caine Riordan science fiction series by three-time Nebula nominee Charles E. Gannon. Science fiction on a grand scale. Prequels Raising Caine, Trial by Fire and Fire with Fire were all Nebula Award finalists. Charles E. Gannon is also the winner of the Compton Crook Award and a Dragon Award nominee. It’s been two years since Caine Riordan was relieved of his command for following both his orders and his conscience. Now he’s finally received the message he’s been waiting for: a summons to visit the ancient and enigmatic Dornaani. And this time, making direct contact is not just professional, but personal: the Dornaani still have his mortally-wounded love, Elena Corcoran, in their unthinkably advanced medical facilities. But instead of arranging a swift reunion, Riordan’s new Dornaani hosts are not only disinterested in human affairs, but are in such social disarray that they have lost track of Elena’s surgical cryocell. Riordan must blaze his own trail through dying and dangerous worlds to find the mother of his child, her fate as uncertain as the true agenda of the Dornaani leaders. However, as new clues and new threats push Caine’s quest beyond the edge of known space, he discovers that the Dornaani empire is not merely decaying; there are subtle signs that its decline is being accelerated from without. Which means that rescuing Elena is just half the mission: Riordan must report that the Dornaani collapse is not only being engineered, but that it is the prelude to a far more malign scheme: To clear a path for a foe bent on destroying Earth. At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management).