SHADOW IN THE VOID

The debut novel from R. J. Arzak

Book one of a new sci-fi series. A complete adventure that opens a larger story.

Ryn Deacon is a bounty hunter with more grit than gear, and on the frontier that gets you killed.

A year into the trade, he is still scraping the bottom of it, losing the good contracts to the guilds and the private armies of the noble houses and mega-corporations that carved up frontier justice long before he arrived. He is certain of one thing: better equipment is all that stands between him and the success he needs.

Then a job goes wrong, strands him adrift and broke in deep space, and hands him the last thing he expected: an ancient ship, proof of alien intelligence, and worth more than he could earn in a lifetime.

The bureau of science wants it, for the good of the Collective and the discovery of the age. Handing it over would set Ryn up for life. But the more he sees of the people asking, the less they add up, and every instinct tells him the ones who want the ship most are the ones who should never have it. Keeping it turns the hunter into the most wanted target on the frontier.

Shadow in the Void is a grounded, fast-moving space western for readers of The Expanse, with the political depth of Dune and the moral weight of Andor. Subscribe for more information around the launch, which is due later this year.