Read by Braden Wright

What lies beyond the eleventh gate … Despite economic and territorial tensions, no one wants the city-states of the Eight Worlds to repeat the Terran collapse by going to war. But when war accidentally happens, everyone seeks ways to exploit it for gain. The Landry and Peregoy ruling dynasties see opportunities to grab territory, increase profits, and settle old scores. Exploited underclasses use war to fuel rebellion. Ambitious heirs can finally topple their elders' regimes-or try to. But the unexpected key to either victory or peace lies with two persons uninterested in conquest, profits, or power. Philip Anderson seeks only the transcendent meaning of the physics underlying the universe. Tara Landry, spoiled and defiant youngest granddaughter of dynasty head Rachel Landry, accidentally discovers an eleventh star-jump gate, with a fabulous find on the planet behind it. Her discovery, and Philip's use of it, alter everything for the Eight Worlds. "The Nebula- and Hugo-winner author presents a new space opera, set amid an interstellar war that only two people in the universe have any chance at stopping-one of whom is a young woman who's just discovered a star gate leading to an intriguing new planet." "Warring families and philosophies drive this complex science fiction thrille…This swift, political story proves a rip-roaring diversion."

Mode of access: World Wide Web