Carnelians

the long version

From the back: IF YOU WOULD HAVE PEACE, PREPARE FOR ROCK The leaders of the Eubian Empire and Skolian Imperialate survived political intrigue, military coups and murder attempts as they forged their controversial peace treaty. Now comes the hard part -- making that treaty work. Assassins are poised on both sides to eliminate the leaders for the "crime" of striving to end half a millennium of hatred between their empires. The main players in the peace process must navigate the Byzantine convolutions surrounding the negotiations. And the Skolian Imperator's brother -- who happens to be a rock star of galactic proportions -- is singing his "Carnelians Finale," an inflammatory response to Eubian atrocities and a hit song that's sweeping across three civilizations. Will the summit set the stage for the peace these war-weary civilizations have never before known -- or will it become a trap that annihilates all they've worked so hard to achieve? Deadly intrigue is afoot as the baroque old order has no intention of giving up its war-bought privilege and power without a fight to the death -- and they don't care if they take the rest of galactic civilization down with them.