Books in the Shoal series

The nova war spreads across the galaxy, as the Emissaries wage a fierce and reckless campaign. They've already reached human-occupied space and forced the alien Shoal into a desperate retreat. And when Dakota leaves to pursue a lead, Corso's luck turns bad. Now commanding a fleet of human-piloted Magi ships, his authority crumbles before assassination attempts and politically motivated sabotage. Their best hope lies with Ty Whitecloud, currently light years beyond Consortium borders. Only Ty can decipher messages left behind by ancient star travellers - which could be crucial to their cause. But Whitecloud is imprisoned onboard a dying coreship, awaiting execution for war crimes against Corso's own people. For humanity's very survival, Corso must get to Whitecloud and keep him alive. If Dakota doesn't kill him first. 'A sharp, distinctive piece of Sci-Fi, and Gibson has certainly proved himself a name to watch out for' SFX 'Amazing energy ... establishes Gary Gibson as a leading light of modern SF' FantasyBookCritic blog

Found adrift far from Consortium space, pilot Dakota Merrick and Lucas Corso are taken prisoner by the alien Bandati. There, Dakota discovers that humanity's knowledge of the galaxy is frighteningly inaccurate. The Shoal has apparently been fighting a frontier war with a rival species, the Emissaries, for thousands of years. As yet, the latter seem unaware of their FTL technology's full destructive capabilities. But the Bandati now have this information, and they will use it for profit. Dakota realises, to her shock, that the Shoal may therefore hold the Galaxy's best chance for peace. Forging an alliance with Trader, a Shoal-member, she's determined to prevent the Bandati's deadly knowledge from reaching the Emissaries. Yet despite her efforts, a nova war now seems inevitable - a war that will destroy millions of inhabited worlds.

Pilot Megan Jacinth has three impossible goals. She has to find her friend Bash, who she left for dead to save her own life. She needs to locate a space-faring entity, using Bash to do so. Then she must unlock this Marauder's ancient secrets. And if she doesn't, millions will die. An alien incursion is coming, and the Marauder's knowledge is the key to survival or annihilation. When Megan finds Bash, he's being held captive by Gregor Tarrant. Tarrant wants Megan dead - but not before he finds the entity himself, for his own dark goals. Megan is desperate to reach the Marauder first, but the price for unlocking its secrets may be too high. Megan should know, as she still bears the scars from their last encounter . . . The Times has said Gary Gibson is 'To be considered alongside the leading triumvirate of British hard SF writers: Al Reynolds, Peter Hamilton, and Neal Asher . . . a treat for all fans of intelligent space opera' and SFX has called his work 'Gripping, imaginative and morally complex'.

For a hundred and fifty thousand years, the alien Shoal have been hiding a terrible secret behind a facade of power. In the twenty-fifth century, they dominate the galaxy and control all trade and exploration, possessing the secret of faster-than-light travel. Mankind has established just a handful of interstellar colonies; their freedom and knowledge of the galaxy limited by the Shoal's punitive colonial charter. Dakota Merrick is a machine-head pilot on the run from one of the Consortium's most powerful criminals. Desperate for escape, she contracts to ferry an expert team to a remote star system. Her passengers hope to scavenge a functioning FTL-drive from a derelict starship - rumoured to pre date the Shoal. But they'll expose an ancient genocide the Shoal will do anything to hide. And Dakota will be forced to face demons from her own military past. 'Packed with massive concepts and dark psychological twists . . . seriously entertaining' SFX 'Fast, confident, daring, skilful ... A big book in scope and imagination' Vector "e;The depth and scale of a writer coming into his own' Sci-Fi-London.com