MUST HE DIE TO KNOW THE TRUTH?

Archivist Luc Gabion is dying, slowly, victim of a forced technology implant while on assignment. He brought down a powerful terrorist, but at great cost, and this new tech brings unexpected dangers.

Luc must investigate the Thousand Emperors, rulers of the Tian Di’s stellar empire. One of their number has been murdered and he needs to find the killer. But the technology he now carries supersedes anything he's encountered, and Luc sees things he knows are forbidden. As the truth emerges, he’s in trouble. Any of these leaders could be guilty – and could execute him on a whim. Worse, the murder victim was brokering the coming Reunification. Two great warring civilisations, separated for centuries, due to unite in a new age of peace.

But it becomes clear that someone will do anything to ensure that day never comes.

Praise for Gary Gibson:

‘Relentlessly gripping adventure’The Times

‘To be considered alongside the leading triumvirate of British hard SF writers: Al Reynolds, Peter Hamilton, and Neal Asher’Guardian

‘Gibson has certainly proved himself a name to watch' SFX

Gary Gibson, who has worked as a graphic designer and magazine editor in his home town of Glasgow, began writing at the age of fourteen. He lives in Glasgow. His previous novels include the Shoal series (Stealing Light, Nova War, Empire of Light) plus the stand-alone books Angel Stations, Against Gravity and Final Days.