Bones of Empire

Informationen zum Autor William C. Dietz grew up in the Seattle area, spent time with the Navy and Marine Corps as a medic, graduated from the University of Washington, lived in Africa for a year, and has traveled to six continents. Dietz has been variously employed as a surgical technician, college instructor, news writer and television producer, and currently serves as Director of Public Relations and Marketing for an international telephone company. Klappentext Second in the duology that started with "At Empire's Edge." In a far-distant future, the Uman Empire has conquered and colonized worlds. Cop Jack Cato gets a glimpse of the Emperor and realizes what he's looking at is a supposedly dead shape-shifter. Leseprobe Chapter One The city of Imperialus, on the planet Corin The city of Imperialus had been constructed within the embrace of an ancient crater, where it was at least partially protected from the winds that scoured the area each fall. But the "blow," as the locals referred to it, was still months away, and the temperature was beginning to climb as Trey Omo and his team of street toughs entered the section of the metropolis called Port City. A thousand years earlier, back before Imperialus had become the capital of the sprawling Uman Empire, Port City had been the only settlement on Corin. And not much of one at that. But those days were gone, and the slum around the bustling spaceport was populated by people who were too poor to escape the endless noise associated with the facility. They lived in poorly maintained five-to-ten-story buildings, many of which were hundreds of years old and built on the rubble of structures that dated back to the first Imperial epoch. There had been repeated efforts to spruce the area up, but thanks to the forces of greed, corruption, and institutionalized incompetence, Port City always reverted to form within a matter of years. That meant the citizens of District Five, as it was officially known, were tough, cynical, and eternally wary of strangers. So when Omo and his assassins entered the slum, word of their arrival spread like ripples on a pond, and it wasn't long before the local power structure went on the defensive. Criminal gangs pulled their members in off the streets, merchants doubled their security, and it was as if the entire population was holding its breath, waiting to see what would happen next. That was fine with Omo, who didn't want to do battle with the locals but was perfectly willing to do so if that was necessary. His job was to set up an ambush, wait for Isulu Usurlus to land the following day, and kill him before the Legate and his official motorcade could clear Port City. It was a routine operation insofar as Omo was concerned. A straightforward political assassination not unlike half a dozen others he had participated in over the years. His team consisted of thirty people, who had been divided into three ten-man squads, two of which were commanded by trusted noncoms, with the third being led by Omo himself. The first task of the day was to finalize the way the ambush would be organized, and having scouted the area a few days earlier, Omo had a pretty good idea of where he wanted to place his men. But in order to fine-tune his plan, it was necessary to inspect each location to make sure his first impression was correct, then take control of it. That might require some muscle, however, which was why half of Omo's squad accompanied him as the beat-up delivery van arrived in front of a ratty apartment building and pulled over to the curb. "Check your weapons," Omo said gruffly. "But keep them out of sight. We don't want trouble if we can avoid it." Once his men were ready, Omo opened the passenger-side door, got out, and led the toughs across the broken sidewalk and into what had once been known as the Gr...

Product details

• Authors: William C. Dietz
• Publisher: Berkley Publishing Group
• Languages: English
• Age Recommendation: from age 18
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 27.09.2011
• EAN: 9780441020881
• ISBN: 978-0-441-02088-1
• No. of pages: 325
• Dimensions: 108 mm x 173 mm x 25 mm
• Series: Ace Science Fiction
• Subject: Fiction > Science fiction, fantasy