The Artifact

Description

In a galaxy on the brink of civil war, the Brotherhood seeks to keep peace through diplomacy, subterfuge, and control of both technological advances and the carefully gathered knowledge of countless worlds. But now Speaker Archon, formerly a privateer and currently head of the world of Star’s Rest, has brought news of a discovery that may prove a great boon to humankind or a catalyst for its destruction.

The Brotherhood ship Boaz, carrying diplomats representing all the human planets, stations, and colonies, is launched on a journey to distant Star’s Rest. Only Archon and his daughter know what awaits them there. And neither they nor Captain Carrasco can anticipate the treacherous games of intrigue and betrayal about to be played out aboard Boaz.

Yet the greatest danger is that they will actually survive to reach Star’s Rest and the alien Artifact. For this creation of a long-vanished civilization has been waiting patiently for millennia to lure humans to extinction….Praise for the author:

“What a ride!  Excitement, adventure, and intrigue, all told in W. Michael Gear’s vivid, compulsively readable prose.  A terrific new science-fiction series; Gear hits a home run right out of the park and all the way to Capella.” —Robert J. Sawyer, Hugo Award-winning author of Quantum Night
 
“A marginal colony on a living world—where human life and human will are tested to the limits. An intriguing and inventive new work from Michael Gear, first of a trilogy. Recommended!” –C. J. Cherryh, Hugo Award-winning author of Downbelow Station

“Mike Gear does for science fiction what J.R.R. Tolkien did for fantasy, and he does it with panache and elan.” —Rave Reviews

“Flowing imagination, storytelling marvels. The Gears have a fine time drawing the various interclan rivalries and clashes of cultures.” —Kirkus

“Galactic intrigue combines with military SF in a tightly woven, intricate storywith strong male and female characters…. Highly recommended.” —Library Journal

“Gear has managed to develop a vivid world, and in it set in motion a sweeping conflict.” —Locus

“Gear handles characters and plot twists with equal ease…. The different alien species are distinctively drawn and interesting.” —Science Fiction ChronicleW. Michael Gear is the author or co-author with his beloved wife, Kathleen O’Neal Gear, of fifty-seven published novels.  He is a New York Times, USA Today, and international bestselling author whose work has been translated into 29 languages and has over 17 million copies in print world wide. Both and anthropologist and archaeologist, he brings extraordinary depth and complexity to his characters and settings.  Gear lives on a back country buffalo ranch in Wyoming where he raises outstanding bison, indulges in his passion for large-caliber rifles, and pets his two shelties: Jake and Shannon. Michael can be found at gear-gear.com.US

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