Exordium Books in Order

Exordium, written with Dave Trowbridge, is space opera on a grand scale. Courts, fleets, ancient weapons, rival cultures, betrayals, and desperate reversals all matter here. The books have the reach of epic science fiction, but they stay close to the fortunes of people who are badly out of their depth and have no choice but to keep going.

The central figure is Brandon Arkad, the youngest son of the ruler of the Thousand Suns. He begins as a disaffected princeling running from duty and finds himself, with brutal speed, transformed into the last usable hope for a shattered empire. That is the core reversal the series keeps building on.

Around Brandon is a big political field. Jerrod Eusabian's long-planned vengeance, the fractured remains of the Panarchy, the Rifter crew who become crucial allies, and the looming threat of ancient technology all push the story outward. No one can afford a private life for very long.

What gives the series its flavor is the mix of court intrigue and high-energy adventure. One moment the battle is diplomatic or symbolic, the next it is a chase, a fleet action, or a fight over an artifact powerful enough to change the balance of whole civilizations.

If you like your science fiction broad, dramatic, and unapologetically adventurous, Exordium delivers exactly that. It is about the collapse of order, the scramble to rebuild it, and the people who discover too late that history has handed them leading roles.