Novels of the Jaran

In the past, humans were the dominant star-traveling species in the universe-until the Chapalil came, conquered, and absorbed the Earth into their intergalactic empire. One of the only humans ever granted nobility by the Chapalil, Charles Soerenson once led a failed rebellion against the alien overlords. Now his sister, Terese, has abandoned her homeworld, impelled by a broken heart to seek a new life among the worlds her brother rules. On Rhui, a planet off-limits to interstellar voyagers, Tess stumbles upon a dangerous Chapalil conspiracy-and only the timely arrival of the Jaran saves her from near-certain death. A tribe of nomadic humans roaming the plains of Rhui, the Jaran have long forgotten their ancient Earth history and heritage. Intrigued by their world and their ways, Tess shares an immediate emotional connection with Ilya, the Jaran's brilliant, charismatic leader. But despite her growing loyalties to this proud chieftain and his people, Tess must take care. For Ilya's ambitions threaten to trigger violent planetary upheaval. And the Jaran have been chosen to play an unwitting role in a plot that could have powerful repercussions far beyond the nomads' volatile world.

The nomadic tribes of the jaran are uniting the settled cities of their homeland one by one. Their charismatic leader, Ilya Bakhtiian, has his loyal wife by his side, but there is something about her he doesn't know: Tess Soerensen is a human. Back home, her brother, Charles, led an unsuccessful revolt against the all-powerful Chapalii Empire. Charles's insistence that Tess join him is as strong as Ilya's reluctance to part with his beloved wife and neither considers that Tess may have her own plans for the future. As three fiercely independent spirits struggle for a solution, the fates of both the human race and the jaran hang in the balance.

Following the events of “An Earthly Crown”, the Jaran conquest of Rhui intensifies as rebel hearts simmer with conflicting loyalties. Across Rhui, the Jaran have been taking over towns and bending all non-jaran to the law of their rule. With Ilya Bakhtiian in charge, the nomadic fighters are now preparing an assault on the royal city of Karkand. But within the campaign, another struggle looms. Ilya's wife, Tess, is not from Rhui, but from Earth, and her brother, Charles, is a duke of the empire that includes Rhui, even though he once instigated a rebellion against it. Still driven by thoughts of a human revolt, Charles travels to Rhui for key information about the past, hoping to bring back his sister-his only heir. Does she want to passively abide by either man's plan for her, though, and is any challenge to the ancient and mighty Chapalii realistic?

In this electrifying finale to Kate Elliott's “Novels of the Jaran”, the fight against the alien Chapalii empire comes to an exhilarating end. Charles Soerensen is the human who dared to take on the powerful Chapalii empire. When his plot for a revolt failed, instead of being punished he received a high-ranking title and authority over a whole system of planets-but this did nothing to change his revolutionary inclinations. In this final book, the story of Tess, Ilya, and Charles comes to its stunning conclusion as new generations get involved in the intrigue, Earth's exiled jaran people resurface, and the Chapalii overlords make one last, unexpected move.