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For a quarter of a million years an alien race has been hiding a vast and terrible secret.

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In the twenty-fifth century, only the alien face known as Jhe Shoal possesses the secret of FTL, or faster-than-light travel, giving them absolute control over all trade and exploratiori throughout the entire galaxy. Mankind has operated wfttiin their influence for two centuries, establishing a dozen human colony worlds scattered along the conventional Shoal trade routes,

Dajtota Menrick, while $erving as a military pilot, has witnessed ^wocities for which this alien breed is responsible. Piloting i Civilian cargo ship. she is cunrently ferrying an exploration • team to a star system containing a derelict starship. From its wreokaige. her passengers hooe to salvage a functionmg FTL drive of mystenously non-Shoai origin But perhaps the Shoal are not yet ready to retinquish their fnonopoly over a-technology they acgułred through ancient genocide.

Packed with massive concepts and dark psychological twists ... a seriously entertaining sci-fi pageturner' SFX

'Ambitious. clever ... ii

' Starburst