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Ceren, the world that's the home of the city of Barresh, has vast swathes of untamed wilderness, most of it tribal land belonging to meta-human tribes like the Pengali.For many years, illegal organisations have seen these tribes as inroad into the lucrative gamra economy, abusing the local population with next to no payment, inflicting damage on their society. Sadly, Cory knows far too much about this, having studied Earth's history.Cory's Pengali worker Ynggi has indicated he'd wanted to visit his home tribe, giving Cory the perfect reason to check out Pengali involvement in smuggling activities.However, if he thinks Ynggi's Thousand Islands tribe is secretive and hostile, he will soon be corrected in a big way. Another tribe, the Misty Forest tribe, has made hostile overtures to the fiercely independent but peaceful Thousand Island settlements. Someone has been selling these people hostile propaganda. Not just that, they appear to have received some help from off-world and are on a mission to expand their territory by force.For Cory and his team, an anthropological excursion turns into a battle to leave the forest alive.

3 December 2114 Cory Wilson is woken in the middle of the night with a summons to appear in the president of Nations of Earth’s office. An aid worker in Djibouti has discovered a shipment of alien guns. As ambassador to gamra, the extraterrestrial organisation which controls the Exchange, the FTL wormhole network, Cory has often been critical of Earth’s handling of extraterrestrial problems. This is his moment to shine, to apply his knowledge about alien customs, to, in the words of the president, “get those idiots out of there”. Except the usual suspects, the Zhori mafia who have caused trouble on Earth for a long time, are nowhere to be seen. This is something far more dangerous, something that involves all of northern Africa, something that provokes the anger of Asto, gamra’s largest world. Asto’s army is already prowling in orbit, ready to strike.

The second-quickest way to get yourself killed when dealing with Coldi people of the planet Asto is to look a superior in the eye. The Coldi people possess an instinct that demands the formation of hierarchical networks in which every person has a prescribed place. These networks provide stability. They also place one person at the top. Ezhya Palayi is that person. After having been released by his previous employers, Cory Wilson not only depends on Ezhya Palayi for his income, but he has developed an unusually friendly relationship with this man whom people on Earth would call an absolute dictator, but whose reign is benign. The third-quickest way to get yourself killed when dealing with Coldi people is when the leader you depended on for support is suddenly no longer there, as when he goes missing because the system society relies on for interstellar travel goes down. In a highly-strung hierarchical society, it won’t be long before someone else tries to claim the top spot, someone less benign, someone aggressive who is likely to destabilise peace between Asto and other worlds. But by far the quickest way to get yourself killed is, as a non-Coldi outsider, to visit Asto and try to interfere in their hierarchical system, to mess with instincts you don’t feel yourself, and people who are much stronger than you. Oh, and did you know that the average daytime temperature is well over 50 degrees C?

Fifty thousand years ago, a meteorite hit the planet Asto, giving its Aghyrian inhabitants mere days of notice. Three ships escaped the Armageddon. Two went to the neighbouring planet. The third, a massive generation ship, refused to take on refugees, and then vanished without a trace. It’s coming back. Its initial burst of communication caused the outage of the Exchange, the FTL network for transport and communication, but since then the ship has been silent. It jumps about at random, using wormholes it generates with a drive the likes of which no one has seen before. Meanwhile at the gamra assembly, people jostle to be in the best positions when it inevitably turns up in inhabited space. What the ship wants or whether there is anyone on board no one knows, but diplomat Cory Wilson knows one thing: when it turns up, he must avoid a conflict at all cost. If only gamra presented a united viewpoint. If only Asto’s army wasn’t keen to get involved. If only the Aghyrians at gamra didn’t do what they do best: manipulate and play games with everyone. While the ship approaches, the delegates bicker, and the time for negotiating is fast running out.

The world as we know it is on a certain path to war... Delegate Cory Wilson has returned to gamra headquarters from deep space with a rather unwelcome guest: Captain Kando Luczon of the mammoth Aghyrian ship that has returned after mysteriously vanishing 50,000 years ago. On board the ship only 400 years have passed, in which they have visited another galaxy. But the captain isn't willing to share what they found there or why they decided to come back. In fact, the captain does his utmost best to live up to his infamous historical reputation as an utter jerk, having lived through four hundred years to cultivate his jerkery. Cory had hoped that by isolating the captain from his ship, mostly still in stasis mode, he could start a conversation, but Kando Luczon isn't interested in a conversation. He views the modern version of his home world Asto as inferior, its inhabitants the Coldi as nothing but a placeholder race and all other races as savages. Meanwhile the ship is showing signs of waking up, ancient satellites in orbit in the space junk clouds around Asto and Ceren sputter into life, and Asto's Chief Coordinator and Cory's friend Ezhya Palayi makes it clear that if pushed, Asto's formidable military fleet will take defensive action.

As Cory takes a well-earned rest and finally submits to proper weapons training, he and a couple of people from his household go on a hunting trip in the marshland between Barresh and the turquoise sea. A bad storm has come through recently and on a deserted beach, Cory finds something Earthly that doesn’t belong there: a message in a bottle, a piece of paper with HELP scratched on it with a sharp object. In Isla. Cory has a list of all humans in Barresh: it’s very short and no one is missing. A few days later, he receives a curious message through official channels, from a woman on Earth whose rich businessman husband went on a trip of a lifetime “in a place where you can surf with plesiosaurs in turquoise waves”. Cory knows the guy advertising the trip. He’s a shady character. He also knows where the “plesiosaurs” are. They’re not particularly friendly. Not to mention that the area is on the land of a viciously territorial Pengali tribe. As it turns out, those are the least of his worries.

Two men went on a surfing trip in a remote area. Only one came back, accused of murdering the other. Sounds simple, right? Not quite, because the alleged murder happened on another planet, the accused is a member of the secretive Pretoria Cartel of super-rich business tycoons–with illegal off-Earth ventures–and the only person who can remotely be called a witness is an alien, the elder Abri from the Pengali Thousand Islands tribe. Diplomat Cory Wilson is asked to accompany Abri to the Nations of Earth court, but when he and his team arrive there, their contacts have been moved to different cases, their rooms are bugged and their movements restricted. No one is answering their questions, but it is when a lawyer is murdered and Cory’s team captures a mysterious stalker that things get interesting. Just as well they are prepared in the usual way: alert and highly armed.

Never has there been more at stake for the people on Earth. The referendum question is simple: does Earth join gamra, the organisation that governs the Exchange, the FTL space travel network? While a “yes” vote would mean big changes, a “no” vote would leave Earth isolated and alone to face those waiting to fill the void, and those dark forces are already on the prowl. Cory is one of the few people who can see the big picture, not just those campaigning for the “no” vote, but the off-Earth forces that wait behind them, but he and his team went on a holiday to New Zealand and communication has been mysteriously cut off. Someone is taking control of communication channels, bringing the "yes" campaign to its knees, and by the time Cory is aware that the race is on, the only avenue open to him is a hard-hitting, negative campaign that requires him to go into the lion’s den: the homelands of the obscenely rich members of the Pretoria Cartel, where gun-crazy hunters, lions and elephants are just the start of his problems.

Deadly creatures, hostile climate, and that is just the scenery. For many years, mysterious things have happened on the ice world of Tamer, but when a scientist goes missing from Barresh thought to be on Tamer, Cory is forced to take the issue by the horns. Problem is, he is dealing with unexpected side effects of his fertility treatment, and, like his Coldi companions, he's lost much of his night vision, and has trouble tolerating low temperatures. Trouble is, a recent addition to his team has sent shockwaves through his group of loyal companions and things are still sorting themselves out. Not his healthy self, under-resourced, frozen and half-blind, that's not the best preparation to visit a world where humans are not at the top of the food chain, let alone dealing with enemies who will go to any lengths to hide their activities.

The conflict has brewed for generations, until it has become too big to handle.Cory and his association finally return to Asto on the invitation of his father-in-law, for his official induction ceremony into the Domiri clan. They are housed in a magnificent villa overlooking a valley, away from the hustle of cities or the military base.But why can't they stay with their host? Is it for security? Is it because their host fears upsetting his household?With Thayu heavily pregnant, Cory has no appetite for adventures. But something is brewing, and listening bugs, a nightly attack and invasion are all part of the deal.Wouldn't it be nice if for once Asto's elite was upfront about the nature of the problem?

In a far future, a fleet of ships hurtles through space on its way to a distant war. Aboard the ships is an army of artificial human soldiers, highly trained and dangerous. Doctor Charlotte West, the neuro-technologist responsible for the soldiers’ artificial brains, travels in the support fleet. Two months before the arrival at the war site, the soldiers start fighting each other and disobeying commands. When they are brought in for tests, Charlotte finds that all seven thousand men share a pathological obsession with her.

Jonathan Bartell is a young man, just out of university, when he signs up for the position of Quarantine Officer at the Orbital Launch Station.He is part of a crop of students who flocked to study exo-biology when bacteria were discovered on Mars, and who are now all making their living flipping burgers, because the jobs are few and hard to get. He is lucky to get a job in space, no matter how mundane.Or so he thinks...Gaby Larsen is a doctor at the tiny hospital at the space station, and she keeps secrets, not because she wants to keep them, but because she is too scared to share them.Because out in space, your worst enemies are your fellow travellers.

While space biologists Jonathan Bartell and Gaby Larsen attend a conference held at a base in the asteroid belt, a man approaches Jonathan in great distress.He's been asked to take over command of a previously commercial research station, but strange things started happening: plants glowing in the dark, lights turning themselves on and off, computers misbehaving.He discovered the cause, but Section Command issues a gag order on the issue. This is strange, because the Force is investing big in research.Jonathan is left with many questions: who is this man, why does no one want to hear what he says, what is he doing at the conference, and what is the ultimate enemy of humanity?A novella in the Space Agent Jonathan Bartell series, which explores biology in space and what happens when people start messing with it.

If Miran had princesses, Ellisandra Takumar would be one. Smart, pretty, engaged to a high-profile man, everything a high-class Mirani woman should be. But things are not well in Miran. Many years of boycotts have taken their toll on society, and the regime becomes more desperate to keep its citizens under control. Revolt is brewing. As director of the state theatre, Ellisandra has been asked to stage a violent traditional play which stands stiff with threatening political messages for the populace. She hates it, but speaking out would risk that she'd be cast out from the only world she's ever known. Next to her house is the burnt ruin of the house of another high-class family, the Andrahar family. They fled Miran for political reasons when Ellisandra was a little girl and the house has lain untouched ever since. One night, she spots a mysterious young man walking around the yard, putting out pegs and pieces of string. He's re-building the house. That makes no sense, because the family is no longer welcome in Miran, and who is he anyway? She is curious and investigates. He seems too good-natured and naive for his own good, so rather than telling her brothers, she tries to shield him from her own society. And so starts the slide that leads to her being cast out from the only life she's ever known.

A prisoner, a secret he can't remember, and the military force that will destroy planets to get their hands on it. When Fabio Velazquez arrives on the secretive military base on Jupiter's moon Io, he knows two things: one, that he's had his memories erased and two, that he has a secret. Except because of point one, he can't remember what point two is. The portents aren't good: he's hated by his fellow soldiers, responsible for "the greatest f***-up in military history", traitor and human guinea pig. Yet, he managed to be trusted with a secret so big that the military has almost killed him and still haven't gotten their hands on it. Where is it, and who does it belong to? His nickname might be Escape Artist, but in the hostile environment of Io there is no escaping punishment. Or so the military thinks, but they're not the only ones interested in him. A secret base lurks in the cloud tops of Jupiter. They watch. They wait. They will strike.

Space biologists Jonathan Bartell and Gaby Larsen arrive at Johnson Base at the Moon’s south pole for a project with Professor Isaacs that is so secret, he cannot share the details with them. However, the professor does not show up to meet them.Vijay Singh borrowed money from a local council man who uses the debt to make continued threats to Vijay. In his despair to pay it back, Vijay gets involved with one of the most lucrative crime schemes in the solar system.However, the capsule he retrieves from a crater near Johnson Base contains more than smuggled rare elements. But no one is going to talk about it for fear of getting on the wrong side of the crime lords. Even if keeping the secret will endanger the entire base.This will appeal to readers of realistic adventure science fiction, like Robert Sawyer and Stephen Baxter. The books in this series can be read in any order.Grab your copy now!