Destruction comes, but subtler now, in spurts, whispers and hums. The great powers roil in internal conflict, while the prophet calls for new war. Where the enemy ends and dissatisfaction begins blurs the lines of battle. The many stir against the few, led forward by the drone of alien bees, and the words of a child on far away Tirgwenin. The powerful know war and time is against the Family. Genocide approaches. Heroes will fall, others rise and the homes of humanity shall be remade.

Reeling from the defeat of the armada and Enskaran counter-attacks, Hyrax searches for new revenue to rebuild. Its interests on Maaraw are threatened by revolution, while its mines on Silangan are shut down with native uprising. The occupied worlds bleed money and new unrest. There is but one place left to conquer: Tirgwenin, Jareth's world, wild and unclaimed. Enskari's colony led by Alpin Morgan and his separatist sect of Bucklers is destroyed, the governor returned home to beg for relief and rescue. But Enskari is a different place, the war and a terrible religious purge have decimated his contacts and heightened class tension. The queen's lover Sir Ethan Sommerled, savior of the planet, Morgan's one-time patron, is at the center of the controversy. His path is precarious, his power tempered by politics of court. Morgan must find other allies if he is to return to savage Tirgwenin. But there is a third planet obsessed with Jareth's World. On Temple the prophet knows the secret, sees the threat, and rallies the Saved to defend civilization in a holy and bloody crusade.

Reeling from the defeat of the armada and Enskaran counter-attacks, Hyrax searches for new revenue to rebuild. Its interests on Maaraw are threatened by revolution, while its mines on Silangan are shut down with native uprising. The occupied worlds bleed money and new unrest. There is but one place left to conquer: Tirgwenin, Jareth's world, wild and unclaimed. Enskari's colony led by Alpin Morgan and his separatist sect of Bucklers is destroyed, the governor returned home to beg for relief and rescue. But Enskari is a different place, the war and a terrible religious purge have decimated his contacts and heightened class tension. The queen's lover Sir Ethan Sommerled, savior of the planet, Morgan's one-time patron, is at the center of the controversy. His path is precarious, his power tempered by politics of court. Morgan must find other allies if he is to return to savage Tirgwenin. But there is a third planet obsessed with Jareth's World. On Temple the prophet knows the secret, sees the threat, and rallies the Saved to defend civilization in a holy and bloody crusade.

"...a masterful epic of exploration and exile." - Lee Murray, double Bram Stoker Award (R)-winner and author of Grotesque: Monster Stories " Insightful and highly entertaining!" - Jonathan Maberry, NY Times bestselling author of Relentless and V-Wars "...this is the beginning of an outstanding epic that will have broad appeal, especially to the readers of the Dune saga. Highly recommended for all sf collections." - Booklist Starred Review Of Kings, Queens and Colonies: (Coronam Book 1) is a multi-protagonist story set in the human future where the politics and players of sixteenth century Europe echo the repeated mistakes of humanity at another crucial crossroads of decision and evolution. Nearly a millennium after The Unsettling of old Earth, the new civilized worlds are on the brink of war. The planet Enskari, as an affront to tradition and the Prophet on Temple, has placed Zabel, a woman upon its throne. With the backing of the church, Brandon of Hyrax readies an armada to subdue Enskari and unite the system under a single rule-his own. Meanwhile an Enskaran group of separatists depart for the last unclaimed world of the system, Tirgwenin. There they will find something strange. Something low and connective, subtle and spreading. Something alien. Something truly threatening. FLAME TREE PRESS is the imprint of long-standing Independent Flame Tree Publishing, dedicated to full-length original fiction in the horror and suspense, science fiction & fantasy, and crime / mystery / thriller categories. The list brings together fantastic new authors and the more established; the award winners, and exciting, original voices.

"...a masterful epic of exploration and exile." - Lee Murray, double Bram Stoker Award (R)-winner and author of Grotesque: Monster Stories " Insightful and highly entertaining!" - Jonathan Maberry, NY Times bestselling author of Relentless and V-Wars "...this is the beginning of an outstanding epic that will have broad appeal, especially to the readers of the Dune saga. Highly recommended for all sf collections." - Booklist Starred Review Of Kings, Queens and Colonies: (Coronam Book 1) is a multi-protagonist story set in the human future where the politics and players of sixteenth century Europe echo the repeated mistakes of humanity at another crucial crossroads of decision and evolution. Nearly a millennium after The Unsettling of old Earth, the new civilized worlds are on the brink of war. The planet Enskari, as an affront to tradition and the Prophet on Temple, has placed Zabel, a woman upon its throne. With the backing of the church, Brandon of Hyrax readies an armada to subdue Enskari and unite the system under a single rule-his own. Meanwhile an Enskaran group of separatists depart for the last unclaimed world of the system, Tirgwenin. There they will find something strange. Something low and connective, subtle and spreading. Something alien. Something truly threatening. FLAME TREE PRESS is the imprint of long-standing Independent Flame Tree Publishing, dedicated to full-length original fiction in the horror and suspense, science fiction & fantasy, and crime / mystery / thriller categories. The list brings together fantastic new authors and the more established; the award winners, and exciting, original voices.