May 2009
Academic and adventurer Bernice Summerfield has always taken a dim view on grave robbers and thieves. It's the kind of thing that makes life difficult when you're friends with one of the galaxy's most wanted criminals. A situation that gets even more complicated when that criminal's other half is the father of your son. A mess of twisted relationships like that needs sorting. The ideal method would be group therapy and a nice long cup of tea. Unfortunately, a raid on an impregnable location governed by a sociopathic mastermind where one false move means death is all they've got time for.
Jun 2009
Cluster worlds are one of the great mysteries of space travel - planet-sized objects that have spontaneously fused together from the detritus, junk and flotsam left behind by both human and alien space travellers. The archaeologist who solves the mystery will become rich and famous overnight. Professor Bernice Summerfield just wants to live. Bernice and her son Peter are stranded on Absence, a cluster object that has been settled by a cartel operating beyond human space. It's an artificial world where everything is at a premium and nothing comes without a price. For the wealthy few who can afford it there is the relative freedom of the world beyond the sterile cartel domes, but Bernice is almost penniless. The reclusive entrepreneur Lamarque Aslanides is leading a mission to explore the largely uncharted interior of Absence. For Bernice it will mean a long and painful period of separation from her son - but the money will pay for their passage off this world. As the expedition descends into madness and death, they discover that they are not the only ones interested in the mysteries at the heart of the cluster. Then when Peter's life is placed in danger, Bernice is powerless to help.
Jul 2009
Eros, artificial moon of Venus, has a reputation for romance, but Professor Bernice Summerfield is just visiting for the money - specifically the secret royalties of her recently deceased partner, the famous "novelist" Jason Kane. Jason entrusted control of the inheritance to Bernice's rival in love and academia, acerbic alien rodent Professor Scoblow, and Bernice is prepared for a fight. Unfortunately for Bernice, the path of finance rarely runs smoothly and disgruntled hamsters are the least of her problems: Eros's twin moon, the warlike Thanatos, is moving into alignment, Erosian society is in turmoil, war rockets are due for launch, and worst of all the banks are closed until further notice. To get her hands on Jason's money, Bernice must ally herself with Scoblow to bring peace to Eros and Thanatos through a dangerous combination of espionage and dating, at terrible risk to both life and dignity. And if that wasn't bad enough, a force as inevitable as death is waiting to strike.
Aug 2009
Bernice Summerfield wakes up in hospital on Earth, in the ruined city of Buenos Aires. She is relieved to find her son Peter by her side. Frost, the man who kidnapped Peter and has terrorised this city for centuries, has long been thought immortal: but now he's dead. Everything is fine. Or is it? As Bernice tells Peter how she rescued him, she questions why Frost went to such lengths to kidnap Peter in the first place. Frost is one of two people she's met here who claim to have known her for a long time: he seemed to have a grudge against her, whilst the other, a young woman named Robyn, claims to have worked with her for many years. As Bernice recuperates, the memories of this time start to come back to her. She remembers new adventures stretching back many, many years. She and Robyn have defeated Frost countless times before. How can this be right? Are these memories real? The answers lie in the origins of the feud between Bernice and Frost - but is Bernice paying too heavy a price for remembering?