Re-release date: December 12, 2019
Subgenre: Space opera
About Price of Imperium:
The Imperium is on the brink of annihilation, and only one person can save it.
After centuries of peace, the Enemy has returned, and the only one who can unlock the Imperium's last line of defense is the rightful emperor. Unfortunately, the throne has been empty for a decade.
The sole remaining heir is rumored to be on a backwater planet where no one has heard of the Imperium. Can he be found before the Imperial system is dissolved and the ships of the Imperial Guard are sent to the Wreckers?
Tam's a destroyer skipper who's been passed over for promotion one too many times. He's on a routine mission in his last command.
Meanwhile, on Earth, a homeless man dreams of the stars. John doesn't know who he is, or where he's from. He just knows someone will come looking for him and he needs to be found.
Jayne is a woman who works at a homeless shelter in Seattle and finds herself a long way from home.
Who among them will be willing to pay the Price of Imperium?
After centuries of peace, the Enemy has returned, and the only one who can unlock the Imperium's last line of defense is the rightful emperor. Unfortunately, the throne has been empty for a decade.
The sole remaining heir is rumored to be on a backwater planet where no one has heard of the Imperium. Can he be found before the Imperial system is dissolved and the ships of the Imperial Guard are sent to the Wreckers?
Tam's a destroyer skipper who's been passed over for promotion one too many times. He's on a routine mission in his last command.
Meanwhile, on Earth, a homeless man dreams of the stars. John doesn't know who he is, or where he's from. He just knows someone will come looking for him and he needs to be found.
Jayne is a woman who works at a homeless shelter in Seattle and finds herself a long way from home.
Who among them will be willing to pay the Price of Imperium?
Excerpt:
Tam was back in the big chair after spending a week on the crew's
files while Lenys Kharan ran the ship. The survey was almost done
and he wanted to see the results. The innermost planet filled the
main plot; he had to blink to focus on it after spending so much
time staring at a 'pad. This close to the star Tam was glad to be
in the shade of the planet. Lenys had deployed the radiator array,
dumping some of the waste heat they'd picked up on the way in.
"Captain, I'm getting something," Vidall said. "Tight-beam pulse,
looks like radar." An alarm blared and he flushed his decoys and
countermeasures. "Hostile launch, four bogies. Shields are coming
up, point defense live awaiting a solution."
"Carry on, Mr. Vidall." Tam kept his voice calm and level. He hated
sitting doing nothing when the shooting started but his job was to
show confidence, not stop missiles. He watched them come in, their
images followed by data codes like a rocket's plume.
They were accelerating, burning anti-matter as they came. One hit a
decoy and detonated too close to a second that lost lock, its
guidance fried by the radiation pulse. The other two kept coming.
Point defense was online, tracking the missiles heading into arc.
Something was funny about the data codes. The missiles were coming
straight in, no evasive maneuvers, no countermeasures, nothing. Talon's point defense cycled once and they dropped off the plot. It was
too easy; Tam had seen target drones that were harder to hit.
"Permission to return fire?" Vidall asked, fingers poised above the
firing stud.
"Denied," Tam replayed the attack on the main plot. The four
missiles rose from the planet in slow motion, angling towards the
radiator array strung out behind Talon's hull. "It was too easy; the attack pattern looks wrong."
"Aye sir," Kharan said. "I think these are survivors."
"First the Enemy and now survivors?" Tam swiveled to face her. "Are
you sure?"
"No sir, I'm not, and I won't be without more data." She pointed at
a close-up of one of the missiles, caught moments before point
defence killed it. It was primitive, marks on the skin showing how
it was cobbled together. Even given the differences between human
and alien technology, the warhead didn't look like it was designed
to mate with the booster. "Look how primitive that is. It can't be
the Enemy; those missiles wouldn't destroy a planet."
"All right, I want to know everything there is to know about that
launch site. Full scan, every sensor we have. If it's bigger than a
coffee-cup I want to know about it." Tam leaned forwards in his
chair. "Until I know about that coffee-cup I want shields up at all
times and point defense hot. Leave the array out unless they
launch, we may need the coolant to deal with who they thought they
were shooting at." He lowered his voice. "Whoever they are, they
had better have a good explanation." Amazon | Paperback
About Dave Robinson:
I’m Dave, and I write. I’m also a father, a reader, gamer, a comic
fan, and a hockey fan.
The problem with those terms is that they don’t so much describe as
label me; the map is not the territory. Calling me a father says
nothing about how my daughter thinks I’m silly. It ignores the
essence of the relationship for the convenience of simplicity. It’s
the same with my love of books, comics, role-playing games, and
hockey; labels miss all the good parts.
The best way to understand me is to read my works. Writing is like
telepathy; it’s a window from one mind to another. The Doc Vandal
series is my attempt to recreate what I like to describe as
“Yesterday’s Tomorrow.” This is my homage to the pulps, from Doc
Savage and the Shadow to Astounding Stories, Planet Stories and so
much more. Expect to see giant robots, alien races, lost cities,
and world-spanning conspiracies. I call it dieselpulp dialed to
eleven, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
If you want a biography: I was born in the UK, grew up in Canada,
and have spent time in the US. I’ve been freelancing for the last
decade. As a freelancer, I’ve done everything from blog posts to
novels. Before that, and in no particular order, I’ve managed a
bookstore, worked in a pawnshop, been the guy you get transferred
to when you ask a phone rep for a supervisor, and even cleaned
carpets for a living.
Right now, I’m working on Doc Vandal and the team’s next adventure.
