A new standalone sci-fi novel from Edward Ashton, author of Mickey7 (soon to be a major motion picture from Director Bong Joon Ho).
Dalton Greaves is a hero. He’s one of humankind’s first representatives to Unity, a pan-species confederation working to bring all sentient life into a benevolent brotherhood.
That’s what they told him, anyway. The only members of Unity he’s met are Boreau, a giant snail more interested in plunder than love and harmony, and Boreau’s human sidekick, Neera, who Dalton strongly suspects roped him into this gig only to save herself from getting eaten by locals while prospecting.
Funny thing, though—turns out there’s a benevolent confederation already out there. They’re called the Assembly, and they really don’t like Unity. More to the point, they really, really don’t like Unity’s new human minions.
When an encounter between Boreau’s scout ship and an Assembly cruiser ends badly, Dalton finds himself marooned on an unfamiliar planet, caught between one of the Assembly’s nightmarish shock troops, the planet’s less-than-friendly natives, and Neera, who might actually be the most dangerous of the three. To survive, he’ll need to navigate palace intrigue, alien morality, and a proposal he literally cannot refuse, all while convincing Neera he’s worth more to her alive than dead.
Part first contact story, part dark comedy, and part bizarre love triangle, The Fourth Consort asks an important question: how far would you go to survive? And more importantly, how many drinks would you need to go there?
