Search Worlds Without End

For years, the stations of the Hinder Stars, those old stations closest to Sol, have lagged behind the great megastations of the Beyond, like Pell and Cyteen. But new opportunities and fears arise when Alpha station receives news of an incoming ship with no identification. The denizens of Alpha wait anxiously for news about the outsiders, each with their own suspicions about the ship and its origins.

Ross and Fallon, crew members of the Galway, believe the unidentified ship belongs to Pell and has come to investigate another massive ship docked at Alpha, The Rights of Man. Though Rights is under the command of the Earth Company, it is not quite perfected – and its true purpose is shrouded in mystery.

James Robert Neihart, captain of Finity's End – a huge faster-than-light ship flown by one of the Merchanter Families – has heard whispers of The Rights of Man and wonders at its design and purpose, especially as Sol struggles to rival the progress of the Farther Stars. Now docked at Alpha, he must convince the crews that there is more to The Rights of Man than meets the eye.

Because the reasons behind the creation of The Rights of Man, and its true plans, could change everything – not just for Sol, but for the Hinder Stars and the Beyond itslf.

Three brothers, caught in a web of lies and corruption, must overcome a lifetime of misconceptions and distrust to find the united strength needed to save their City.

A land of myth and magic... and ruled by the power company.

Rhomatum: a powerful city-state built around the massive, energy-producing Rhomatum Node.

Mauritum: a node city second only to Rhomatum herself.

Khoratum: an exceedingly attitudinal satellite of Rhomatum---with notions of autonomy.

The Rhomandi Family are the descendants of Rhomatum's founding father, and heirs to the Ley Tower which controls the node's life-giving energy. Anheliaa Rhomandi, the despotic Ringmaster of Rhomatum, a woman of legendary Talent, is aging rapidly and is desperate for an heir to the unprecedented web of power she has created.

Her nephews, Deymorin, Mikhyel and Nikaenor, three singularly unTalented young men, brothers torn apart by mistrust, jealousy and polarized political views---are not the Masters she has in mind.

Mauritum senses weakness in her long-time rival and sees an opportunity to add Rhomatum---and all Rhomatum's satellite nodes---to her already glittering crown.

All she must do is wait for Anheliaa to die.

But Anheliaa has plans for her precious heir, plans that involve her three nephews---will they or nil they. Those plans will set them all, brothers, cities... and the ley itself... on a collision course with destiny. Whether or not any of them survive depends on whether or not Deymio, Khyel and Nikki can set aside their differences and become the brothers nature intended them to be.

The Pride of Princes

Deymorin, Mikhyel, and Nikaenor were the descendants of Darius Rhomandi, the man who three centuries before had rebelled against the tyrannical ruling priesthood of Mauritum, and founded Rhomatum--a new city based upon his dream of democracy.

Now Rhomatum is the most influential city in the world, supported by a Syndicate of loosely allied satellite cities. But the sudden death of the ringmaster of Rhomatum--the person responsible for channeling and controlling the magical leythium which fuels the city, throws the nation-state into chaos, threatening the rule of the Rhomandi dynasty and leaving Rhomatum open to plots of conquest both from its ancient enemy Mauritum, and the Syndicate satellite cities.

As Deymorin desperately strives to resurrect defenses that have lain fallow for generations, and Nikaenor struggles to bring order to s city in shock, Mikhyel finds himself following a trail of secret agreements and ancient feuds--a trial which leads him from the depths of Sparingate prison, to the teeming trade city of Shatum, and finally to the decadent courts of Khoratum, and a fight for independence that penetrates to the heart of the leythium web itself!

The Destiny of Kings

For three centuries the Rhomandi family has ruled in Rhomatum, the city whose magical leythium node is the richest in the world, more powerful than even that of rival city Mauritum. And with the passing years Rhomatum has become the most influential of all the Ring cities.

But ancient hatreds have finally led to war, overturning the delicate balance of power, devastating the leythium-controlling Ring Towers of many city-states, fragmenting Rings, leaving satellite cities in darkness, and breaking down the very basis of civilization. And now, three telepathically linked brothers, the heirs to the Rhomandi dynasty, must desperately strive to regain stability and supremacy for their city.

Deymorin--Eldest brother, Princeps of Rhomatum, he has always rejected his natural Talent. With his world in shambles, will he have the courage to awaken his magical Gift and accept his destiny to become the greatest Ringmaster in history?

Mikhyel--called "the Barrister," his world is the dark underworld of political machination. A cutthroat negotiator and skilled statesman, he has nevertheless been hiding form his true destiny: as that rarest of magicians--one who can handle the deadly leythium itself and speak directly with the strange beings who dwell within it.

Nikaenor--as the youngest brother, he is beloved by all but has never been taken seriously. Now, at eighteen, he is about to become a father--to a son who has been prophesied to become a Ringmaster of legendary power. Can he somehow unite his family and, with the birth of his son, finally accept his own responsibilities?

In the east, outright warfare has tied down the Assassins' Guild, and that region is in confusion. Ready to hand is an age-old feud in the west, where the Master of Ashidama Bay has long hated the Edi people of the north shore and equally hated the Aishidi'tat for bringing the Edi to his shores--and hatred is a resource the Shadow Guild knows how to use to its advantage.

Bren Cameron is tasked with getting Ilisidi, the aiji-dowager, back to the capital alive, on an urgent basis. But events are cascading down on the south, the Guild is stretched thin in the east, and the Shadow Guild is within striking distance of critical targets that could bring war to the entire south.

Two lives stand in the breach, two lives the aishidi'tat would not willingly risk--Ilisidi and Bren--and the Shadow Guild will spend anything and everything to take them out.

Crisis in the 'Net

Admiral Loren Cantrell is already caught on a power-play tightrope between bigoted Spacers and stubborn planetary Reconstructionists. Now a new crisis arises: something is threatening the Communications Network that links the star colonies. It is a mystery Cantrell must solve.

Her only clue leads to HuteNamid, a Recon World of hostile Native Americans. Here a conspiracy is run by Cantrell's ex-lover, a man believed dead; a new science has been invented by a disgraced practical joker who once crashed a galactic database; and a psychotic rebel warrior has found the way to touch a god.

The one person who can help Cantrell is Stephen Ridenour, a neurotic boy genius who risks death and madness... for the key to saving the 'Net lies in the deeper shadows of Stephen's lost past--and hidden soul.

A Secret Binds the Colonists of HuteNamid, a secret for which they will risk everything--even genocide. Admiral Loren Cantrell, insystem to investigate disruptions in the vital interstellar data'Net, has only one clue: the code phrase Dena Cocheta. And only one source of information: Stephen Ridenour, the tormented, neurotic, and increasingly hostile young genius assigned to solve HuteNamid's mysteries.

The answers Cantrell seeks lie buried in Stephen's own tragic past. Is there a link between the madness that destroyed his homeworld and the growing insanity the grips HuteNamid? Probing Stephen's mind could destroy him and the colonists--perhaps all humankind. But one young man's life and the existence of one colony weigh very little against a threat to the 'Net itself--and the power that command Cantrell.

Disaster in the 'Net

The star-spanning 'Net is crashing--collapsing under its own unwieldy weight, its vital database losing bits and connections at an alarming rate. The politicians and technocrats that depend on it are desperate.

Desperate enough to come looking for the boy they dispatched on a mission larger than they knew, and for the prankster whose exploits are notorious among programmers on the 'Net.

Stephen Ridenour--tormented boy genius and survivor of HuteNamid's secrets--has found a refuge from the civilization whose bigotry almost destroyed him.

Wesley Smith--genius, seducer, joker, and certifiable loose cannon--has captured the ultimate prey and isn't about to set it loose.

And no one realizes what can be done...is already a dead issue.

"Fancher has the potential to become one of the field's greats."--C.J.Cherryh