(Forthcoming)

Janek Larrivay is a disgraced empath from one of Earth’s distant colonies. Although executed by a hostile warlord, a higher dimension appears to sustain a willful fraction of his true self. Should he have let someone butcher him like that, back on Raisha? Was there a choice? And what the hell has he become?

Adrenaline surges. His flailing heart races. He discerns a jolting vibration that comes first as a buzz and then as a strange, lifting nothingness. His awareness shifts, and time stretches until he becomes aware that he is outside his body. Sights, smells, sounds all render as accurate but are more intense, vivid, and luminous than they have any right to be. A sense of freedom lures him aloft.

But, after death, is he a monster? Or merely superhuman? Is consciousness more than mere brain activity? Are our intrinsic personalities and sense of free will more than mere expressions of electrochemical fireworks?

A feathered seam of layered galaxies lights the heavens. Rose-tinted patches glow. New stars dazzle white-hot. Consuming the full breadth of the sky, stars stream and loop each galaxy’s spiral disk and halo. Welcome to the River of Light. On the planets below, the Ancients guard a gateway where good and evil strive to lend meaning to all existence.

Unfortunately, few such places survive contact with true evil. Not even those entirely in touch with the source code of reality. So, when an alien race’s penchant for killing stars threatens something as wondrous as the River of Light, what’s a guy to do?

A dead man? An unbeatable foe’s plot to kill stars? Despite the risks, why not join Janek’s adventure? After all, we rarely know how strong we are until being strong is our only choice. With the fate of eternity hanging in the balance, so what if all our answers lie at the end of a jaunt more wondrous and terrifying than anything we could ever imagine?

From the author of Cross the Sky, Lesser Beings, and Rituals of Sacrifice.

— “An imaginative compilation of alien life forms brought together in a visually descriptive, action packed storyline that sucked this reader in for the long haul!”

— “Azmus weaves a fascinating tale through and around the lives of several memorable characters.”

— “A very talented, intelligent, and inventive writer. You will love this!”

— “Twists and turns galore make this a page turning space adventure.”

— “Following the main character’s growth throughout the book really highlights the depth of detail the author puts into his writing.”

— “Complex characters and descriptions make for an exciting and in-depth adventure.”

If you’re looking for a series to keep you hooked, then go no further: you’ve just found it!

Are you ready for a science-fiction epic of shocking, personal transformation? Excellent! Of course you are! (Really, I knew you would be…)

Okay, so how far would you go to rescue a dear friend from danger? To the ends of the galaxy? Beyond even that? But what if your life hung in the balance? What if your quest could cost ALL you are and all you could EVER hope to be?

Now imagine how difficult your struggle might become if a bevy of conflicting, alien personality fragments incessantly plagued your innermost thoughts!

Still on the run after the jaw-dropping events in Lesser Beings, Janek Larrivay learns that Sarika Pennier’s diplomatic team is missing behind enemy lines. Teetering on the verge of defeat, Janek must now pinpoint enemy weaknesses while coming to terms with the strange, emerging potentials taking shape within the evolving, quantum architecture of his mind.

Making things more dire, if Janek fails a new race of aliens has promised to blast humanity back to the stone age!

Thrust to the utmost limit of what it means to be human, will Janek become a monster? Or merely superhuman?

From the award-winning author of Lesser Beings, Many Moons, and Cross the Sky.

—“An imaginative compilation of alien life forms brought together in a visually descriptive, action-packed storyline that sucked this reader in for the long haul!”

—“Azmus weaves a fascinating tale through and around the lives of several memorable characters, I still want to learn more about.”

—“A very talented, intelligent, and inventive writer. You will love this!”

—“Twists and turns galore make this a page-turning space adventure. The different species are unique and interesting. I wanted to meet all of them.”

While Rituals of Sacrifice’s nonstop pace may be too intense for some, it will surely satisfy those who enjoyed Firefly and Serenity, Aliens, Interstellar, or The Matrix. PLEASE follow Janek’s continuing exploits as he approaches the River of Light!

Two alien races. One appalling atrocity.

As intersecting intrigues push the galaxy toward genocide, a young diplomatic envoy unwittingly absorbs his dead mentor’s lingering psychic essence.

Across the galaxy, what caused a dying civilization to hide their greatest secrets and treasures?

Is our universe becoming a conscious entity?

Is its “mind” still evolving, both physically and organically?

Can humanity join our galaxy’s growing community of minds? Does our eligibility hinge on each race’s similarities? Or on the genuine appreciation and acceptance of our unique differences?

Can forbidden allies help clarify Janek Larrivay’s tangled loyalties? Will Janek’s ability to feel another being’s emotions help unravel the secrets behind a lost race’s astonishing transcendence? Now? Before all is lost?

From the author of Fire and Forget, Cross the Sky, and Significant Others. With humanity’s fate in the balance, Lesser Beings has readers comparing it with David Brin’s Startide Rising, Ursula LeGuin’s The Dispossessed, and Pournelle & Niven’s The Mote in God’s Eye.