A new standalone sci-fi novel from Edward Ashton, author of\u00a0<\/b>Mickey7\u00a0<\/i><\/b>(the inspiration for the major motion picture\u00a0<\/b>Mickey 17<\/i><\/b>).<\/b><\/p>\n
\u201cBarrie Kreinik, one of the best narrators around, succeeds in making distinct characters not just of Dalton and Neera, Breaker and some of the aliens, but even of the AI translator that\u2019s embedded in Dalton\u2019s neck.\u201d\u2014The Valley Breeze<\/b><\/p>\n
Dalton Greaves is a hero. He\u2019s one of humankind\u2019s first representatives to Unity, a pan-species confederation working to bring all sentient life into a single benevolent brotherhood.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s what they told him, anyway. The only actual members of Unity that he\u2019s ever met are Boreau, a giant snail who seems more interested in plunder than spreading love and harmony, and Boreau\u2019s human sidekick, Neera, who Dalton strongly suspects roped him into this gig so that she wouldn\u2019t become the next one of Boreau\u2019s crew to get eaten by locals while prospecting.<\/p>\n
Funny thing, though\u2014turns out there actually is a benevolent confederation out there, working for the good of all life. They call themselves the Assembly, and they really don\u2019t like Unity. More to the point, they really, really don\u2019t like Unity\u2019s new human minions.<\/p>\n
When an encounter between Boreau\u2019s scout ship and an Assembly cruiser over a newly discovered world ends badly for both parties, Dalton finds himself marooned, caught between a stickman, one of the Assembly\u2019s nightmarish shock troops, the planet\u2019s natives, who aren\u2019t winning any congeniality prizes themselves, and Neera, who might actually be the most dangerous of the three. To survive, he\u2019ll need to navigate palace intrigue, alien morality, and a proposal that he literally cannot refuse, all while making sure Neera doesn\u2019t come to the conclusion that he\u2019s worth more to her dead than alive.<\/p>\n
Part first contact story, part dark comedy, and part bizarre love triangle,\u00a0The Fourth Consort<\/i>\u00a0asks an important question: how far would you go to survive? And more importantly, how many drinks would you need to go there?<\/p>\n