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joumey—but Guurs plan gocs awry bccausc he has not rcckoncd on Myrlin** involvcmcnt nor anticipatcd thc neccssity of obtaining Mikos coopcration in his ondcavour. When Miko is tramcd for murdcr in order to forcc that coopcration, it appears that hc will havc to knucklc under to Guur, but that schcmc also goes awry when a detachment of Star Forcc troopers arrives in hot pursuit of Myrlin—who, it scems, is not human at all but an android wcapon designed by an alien spccies with whom humankind has recently becn at war.

By thc timc Mikę is rcleascd from jail Saul is dead and Myrlin is alrcady on his way to thc point of dcscent in Mikc’s truck. Mikę and the troopers—whose relationship is by no mcans amicable—follow him, while Amara Guur’s predatory crcw follow them.The stage is thus set for an cpic voyage of discovery that will tako all thc characters decp into the hcart of Asgard— if only they can stay alive long cnough to get thcrc ...

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Bkian Stableford has published morę than fifty novcls and two hundred short stories, as well as scveral nonfiction books and thousands of articles for pcriodicais and rcfcrcnce books. Hc is a part-timc leeturer in Crcative Writing at King Alfred** College, Winchester. Hc livcs in Reading with his wifc Janc, a holistic therapist.

His novels inelude The Empire of Ixar (1988), Young Blood (1992) and a futurę history series comprising Inherit the Earth (1998), Architects of EmortaHty (1999), The Fountaim of Youth (2000), The Cassandra CompUx (2001), Dark Ararat (2002) and The Omega Expcdition (2002). His previous Fivc Star books arc Year Zero (2003) and Designer Gettes: Talcs of the Biotech Rcwlution (2004). Othcr reccnt publications inelude Kiss the Goat: A lioenty-first Century Ghost Story (Primc Press) and Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction Literaturę (Scarecrow Press). Hc is currcntly compiling a companion Historical Dictionary of Fantasy Literaturę for publication in 2005.