A Star-Wheeled Sky

THE WAYPOINT TO ULTIMATE POWER Over a millennium in the past, humans fleeing Earth in slower-than-light vessels discovered the Waywork, an abandoned alien superhighway system that allows instantaneous travel from star to star. The problem: there are a finite number of Waypoint nodes--and the burgeoning population of humans is hemmed in as a result. Furthermore, humanity is divided into contending Starstates. One of the strongest is based on an oligarchy of ruling families, but still mostly democratic. The other is a totalitarian nightmare. War seems inevitable. Now a new Waypoint appears. Might it lead to the long-lost creators of the Waywork? If so, there may be knowledge and technology that will tip the balance in the coming war. Three people race to make it to the new Waypoint--and beyond. These include Wyodreth Antagean, the reluctant son of an interstellar shipping magnate, Lady Garsina Oswight, the daring daughter of a royal family, and Zuri Mikton, a disgraced flag officer seeking redemption. They are facing an implacable foe in Golsubril Vex, a merciless, but highly effective, autocrat from the Waywork's most brutal regime. Vex is determined to control the new Waypoint and whatever revelation or power lies on the other side. Now humanity's fate--to live in freedom or endless dictatorship--depends on just what that revelation might be. And who gets there first. About A Star-Wheeled Sky ". . . offers a fresh take on interstellar conflict. . . .Torgersen provides a fast-paced, exciting adventure, pitting two determined and capable opponents against each other. . . . Marvelous science fiction entertainment."--Daily News of Galveston County About Chaplain's War "Torgersen mixes the spiritual aspects of the book with subtlety, integrating questions about God and faith into the story organically. The result is thought provoking questions arising as part of an entertaining story . . . Torgersen also] doesn't shy away from conflict, violence, or space battles."--Futures Past and Present "Solid hard SF with the frisson of well thought through action. Much to enjoy "--Gregory Benford, multiple Nebula award-winning creator of the Galactic Center saga About Brad R. Torgersen: "Brad Torgersen can write something technical and complex, yet still give it real emotional depth. He's one of the most talented authors I've ever read."--Larry Correia "Brad R. Torgersen shows why he's going to be a power in this field for years to come."--Mike Resnick "Brad Torgersen is a writer who's done a lot and come up the hard way . . . and the depth of his writing shows it, especially in understanding the nuts and bolts of technology and the souls of those who use it." --L.E. Modesitt, Jr.