First published 1980
Dominic Flandry has spent his career making terrible bargains to delay the inevitable. The Terran Empire teeters on collapse, and the Long Night of galactic barbarism draws closer with each passing year. Flandry has sacrificed piece by piece of himself to buy civilization just a little more time. Now the veteran agent faces his own personal darkness. The compromises that once seemed necessary have hollowed him out. The empire he serves grows weaker while chaos spreads across the stars. Yet in this final chapter of his long service, Flandry encounters an unexpected possibility. Someone offers him what he thought he had lost forever: a chance to act with genuine love and honor. In a universe that has taught him to expect neither virtue nor mercy, Flandry must decide whether to seize this last opportunity for redemption. His choice will define not just his remaining years, but the meaning of everything he has done in service to a dying civilization.
Genres: science-fiction, adventure, action, alternate-history
Vibes: dark, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: redemption, sacrifice
Mass Market Paperback · Ace Books