<div>A space outlaw must rescue the remnants of an ancient alien race&mdash;before her galaxy explodes&mdash;in the conclusion to an action-packed science fiction trilogy. An unrepentant scoundrel and collector of priceless alien artifacts and treasures&mdash;like a tomb raider Lara Croft with issues and a spaceship, or a female Indiana Jones with a looser moral code&mdash;the inimitable Skeen makes her final appearance in a thrilling galaxy-hopping adventure that blends science fiction and quest fantasy in the finest Andre Norton tradition, inserting a healthy dose of Terry Pratchett Discworld wackiness for good measure. After stumbling through a one-way dimensional gate constructed eons earlier by the enigmatic and nearly extinct Ykx, Skeen has finally found her way off Mistommerk. Despite numerous trials and great turmoil, Skeen is at long last free, with a ship and crew that includes her new friends, shapeshifter Timka and Ykx keyholder Lipitero.. But freedom always has a price, and Skeen must pay for her deliverance. She&rsquo;ll have to make her way through a treacherous galaxy to locate the planet Rallen&mdash;which may or may not actually exist&mdash;gather up any remaining Ykx she happens to find there, and bring them back to Mistommerk before the gate closes permanently. Their journey is about to take Skeen and her crewmates through some of the nastiest corners of a particularly nasty galaxy and towards an inevitable confrontation with the war vessels of a powerful and distinctly unfriendly Empire. But the biggest threat of all is the solar system itself: Its sun is about to go supernova, which could result in a very explosive finale indeed for Skeen and her space-going misadventures. With her exciting, ingenious, and wildly entertaining Skeen&rsquo;s Search, author Jo Clayton offers a fitting and supremely satisfying climax to her thrilling outer space saga, as one of the most uniquely endearing rogues in the history of speculative fiction takes her final bow with a grand flourish. </div>

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Skeen's Search

<div>Three unlikely heroes fight to save their planet from a deadly plague in this thrilling space opera set in Jo Clayton&rsquo;s beloved Diadem universe. No one on the barbarian planet Jaydugar knows where the hypnotically beautiful Ranga Eye gems came from, but everyone who encounters them pays a terrible price. These magic alien crystals, so smooth and pleasing to the touch, provide the holder with an extraordinary sense of peace and joy, causing them to see and experience wondrous, enchanting things. But the need for the visions the Ranga Eye provides quickly becomes an addiction that eats away at the soul and ultimately leads to a horrible, drawn-out death. An exquisite embroiderer, Gleia has pined for independence and true purpose throughout her life of servitude. She finds both when she manages to buy her freedom and sets out to locate and obliterate the sparkling, druglike scourge that ripped a devastating hole in her personal world. On a quest fraught with peril across a treacherous landscape of slavers, brigands, and mercenary aliens, Gleia&rsquo;s path will intertwine with those of the enigmatic, long-lived juggler Shounach&mdash;a perplexing, often infuriating rogue born off-world three centuries earlier to intergalactic adventurer Aleytys&mdash;and young Deel the Dancer, both of whom have suffered tragic, life-altering loss as a result of the terrible, beautiful jewels. Now the fate of the entire planet depends upon three unlikely champions locating the source of the sparkling plague and destroying the gems forever. But in a world of uncertainty and ever-present danger will they even survive to reach their journey&rsquo;s end, and once there, can they resist the irresistible fatal seduction of the deadly Ranga Eyes? Accomplished world-builder Jo Clayton returns to the galaxy she so brilliantly brought to life in her sensational Diadem Saga, once again seamlessly blending science fiction and high fantasy in an epic, thrill-packed quest adventure that confirms her position among C. J. Cherryh, Alan Dean Foster, Andre Norton, and other speculative fiction greats.</div>

A Bait of Dreams

<div>Savage barbarians enslave Aleytys, the wearer of the Diadem, as she sails the stars in her quest to find her truth and her history in this science fiction adventure. The second book in author Jo Clayton&rsquo;s phenomenal Diadem science fiction space opera series continues the adventures of Aleytys, blessed and cursed by an alien power that has both marked and altered her, as she crosses the galaxy on an epic fantasy quest that rivals anything imagined by Andre Norton or C. J. Cherryh. When she donned the Diadem, Aleytys was changed forever. An artifact of tremendous power, it has given her psychic abilities beyond her comprehension or complete control, while making her a target of the distant, dangerous alien race that created it. However, survival for herself and her infant son is Aleytys&rsquo;s first priority as she searches for a home and a history. Her quest has brought her to the barbarous planet Lamarchos, where she intends to aid her companions&mdash;the thief Miks Stavver, the native Kale, and the psychotic criminal mastermind Maissa&mdash;in the theft of a valuable cache of powerful poaku stones. Moving across the perilous alien landscape in the guise of a mystical healer, Aleytys cannot help but attract the attention of the local gods, who expect her to do their bidding. But neither godly intervention nor the Diadem&rsquo;s awesome power can prevent the treacherous betrayal that will leave Aleytys stranded on this wild and dangerous planet&mdash;or save her from capture by the terrible zombie-like horde bringing chaos and horror to their world. Ingeniously melding science fiction space opera with fantastic invention, alien worlds and technologies with epic quest adventure, Clayton has created a unique universe of wonders and terrors. With her extraordinary Diadem Saga, she joins such acclaimed masters as Anne McCaffrey, Mercedes Lackey, and Marion Zimmer Bradley in the pantheon of speculative fiction&rsquo;s most revered science fantasists.</div>

Lamarchos

<div>Intergalactic voyager-turned-mercenary Aleytys risks death on a planet overrun by madmen in the thrilling fifth installment of the Diadem Saga. Brave and beautiful Aleytys has been gifted with mental abilities far beyond those of ordinary humans&mdash;thanks to her genetic heritage as a homo superior Vyrhh as well as the alien technology she wears called the Diadem, which, once donned, can never be removed. Her long, strange journey across the galaxy in search of her past now takes an unexpected turn as she accepts a position with Hunters Inc., and begins training as an interstellar mercenary. Aleytys&rsquo;s first assignment comes before her schooling is even complete as she finds herself dispatched to Sunguralingu, a planet owned by the powerful Chwereva Company. The world and its endangered humanoid population are being ravaged by telepathic creatures spreading a plague of chaos, destruction, and madness, and the Vyrhh&rsquo;s intervention has been specifically requested. There is more transpiring on Sunguralingu than meets the eye, and Aleytys and her ex-lover, Grey, set out to track the civilization-obliterating insanity to its source. But their perilous hunt leads Aleytys into an insidious web carefully woven by a psychopathic member of her superior species and, once ensnared, her only possible escape will be death. Thrilling science fiction with strong elements of fantasy, author Jo Clayton&rsquo;s epic Diadem space opera saga stands with the best of its genre, from the novels of Andre Norton, C. J. Cherryh, and Marion Zimmer Bradley to the humanist sci-fi masterworks of Ursula K. Le Guin. In the enthralling fifth installment of this classic series, a courageous star-traveler&rsquo;s new life as an intergalactic soldier for hire begins&mdash;and nearly ends&mdash;on a distant planet in turmoil.</div>

Star Hunters

<div>Blending epic fantasy with space opera, Jo Clayton continues her classic Diadem series, the thrilling saga of resourceful nomad Aleytys. A true master of swords and sorcery adventure in outer space, author Jo Clayton rockets science fantasy into new heights of ingenious invention in the third installment of her sensational Diadem Saga. The torments that courageous young Aleytys has endured throughout her lifetime have only intensified since she first donned the alien Diadem, which permanently connected with her central nervous system to grant her astonishing psi abilities. But never before has she faced a greater&mdash;or graver&mdash;trial. Drugged and sold into slavery by the evil Maissa&mdash;the twisted villain who stole her infant son, Sharl&mdash;Aleytys must now serve the hive queen of an alien insect/humanoid race on the planet Irsud. She has been purchased to act as host body for the queen&rsquo;s consciousness, which she is to carry in a surgically implanted egg. Facing a truly horrifying fate, Aleytys must submit to the nightmare now growing inside of her as, little by little, it attempts to take control of her body before devouring it completely. But Aleytys is determined to survive the ordeal by any means necessary, for a force even greater than the Diadem compels her: a mother&rsquo;s undying love and need for vengeance. Irsud is a masterful feat of uniquely imaginative storytelling and world-building &agrave; la Andre Norton and C. J. Cherryh that seamlessly weaves fantasy and science fiction together, creating a breathtaking tapestry of alien worlds, beings, and cultures that is guaranteed to enthrall fans of both genres.</div>

Irsud

<div>Warrior woman Sorrei hires mercenaries from another world to halt the destruction of her own in the riveting conclusion to the Duel of Sorcery Trilogy. A superior fantasist on par with Jane Yolen, Marion Zimmer Bradley, Andre Norton, and other acknowledged masters of speculative fiction, the accomplished world-builder Jo Clayton concludes her magnificent Duel of Sorcery fantasy trilogy by turning expectations around and taking her classic sword and sorcery tale into breathtaking new territory. As a magical contest between a sorcerer and a goddess races toward its terrible conclusion, a world is left hanging in the balance. But suddenly the rules change. Once, the meie warrior Sorrei was a helpless pawn of Ser Noris, doing the dark wizard&rsquo;s bidding as he delved into unnatural worlds and demonic arts. No one feared the great sorcerer more than she, which is why Sorrei risked her life to bring Coyote, the Changer, into the game. However, now that the Nor mage has drawn the magical cards that give him the upper hand against the Indweller goddess, the world they have been playing for appears irrevocably his. But hope lives on in another place and time. A world far removed from Sorrei&rsquo;s own&mdash;in an alternate realm shackled by the yoke of cruel political repression, yet where the ignited fires of rebellion burn hot and bright&mdash;is where the meie must now turn for help. Sorrei cannot falter, for the warrior has become a priestess in the service of the Changer and in her hands she holds the last hope for the continuation of all things. In the astonishing finale to her monumental trilogy, the great Clayton ingeniously reinvents sword and sorcery high fantasy. Concluding a magnificent epic tale of courage, magic, doom, and destiny with a grand flourish, she takes enormous risks and succeeds magnificently, making the remarkable final chapter of the Duel of Sorcery something truly magical indeed.</div>

Changer's Moon

<div>This fast-paced, gritty space adventure introduces the unforgettable Skeen, a hard-edged heroine and intergalactic thief trapped in an unknown universe. Jo Clayton, creator of the popular Diadem Saga, introduces a delightfully unforgettable new character&mdash;a tough, sexy, futuristic tomb raider Lara Croft with issues&mdash;and sets her loose in a wild and woolly galaxy of dastardly villains, alien shape-shifters, and all manner of strange sentient life-forms. Skeen is a bandit and a rogue, a master thief wanted throughout myriad solar systems for plundering the rare antiquities of countless alien civilizations while always keeping one rocket ship&ndash;length ahead of the intergalactic law. A &ldquo;rooner&rdquo; with a dark past, she now finds herself penniless and abandoned on a miserable backwater planet, at the tail end of a string of very bad luck, with no option except to follow unreliable rumors to a supposed fortune in gems hidden among ancient ruins. What she finds instead is a gateway into another world&mdash;and a universe of trouble. Now, trapped in a strange new reality with no way out, Skeen must find the key to reopening the portal, and that will entail making contact with the mysterious aliens who created the interdimensional passageway. But the enigmatic Ykx vanished eons ago, and finding representatives of a highly advanced and possibly extinct extraterrestrial race is not going to be easy for the silver-tongued lone wolf outlaw. It doesn&rsquo;t help that Skeen&rsquo;s entourage keeps expanding by leaps and bounds with unwanted hangers-on whose interference could end up damning her to an eternity in nowhere. The first book in a thrilling trilogy featuring the inimitable Skeen, Skeen&rsquo;s Leap cements Clayton&rsquo;s well-deserved reputation as one of the premier purveyors of science fantasy, alongside Andre Norton, C. J. Cherryh, and Marion Zimmer Bradley. Wry, witty, and wondrously inventive, featuring a colorful cast of delightful and deliciously weird alien types, it is a space opera romp guaranteed to transport genre aficionados to new and wondrous worlds.</div>

Skeen's Leap

<div>Abandoned on an alien planet, a young woman gains remarkable powers from a mysterious artifact, in the first installment of a sprawling, unforgettable science fiction saga. A magnificent combination of space opera and epic fantasy quest in the beloved science fantasy tradition of Andre Norton and C. J. Cherryh, author Jo Clayton&rsquo;s masterful Diadem Saga begins with an unforgettable tale of destiny, self-discovery, survival, and an extraordinary young woman&rsquo;s coming of age in a world that is not her own. Raised, but never loved, by the barbarian valley people of Jaydugar, a planet of two suns, young Aleytys has always known she did not belong. Abandoned by her space-traveling mother and barely tolerated by a superstitious primitive tribe fearful of divine reprisals, Aleytys is forced to flee for her life following the catastrophic appearance of a fireball in the sky. Guided by her absent mother&rsquo;s journals, the young outcast must now journey alone across an unfamiliar world of perils in search of an escape from this planet that holds no hope for her future. But her pursuit of a spacecraft and the parent who inexplicably left her behind leads young Aleytys instead to the miraculous device that will determine her destiny. An object of unimaginable power&mdash;a magical technology stolen from a vengeful alien arachnid race determined to recover it at any cost&mdash;the Diadem instantly becomes an integral part of who and what Aleytys is and will be. Once its great energy is transferred to her she will never be free of it, and mastering the Diadem&rsquo;s wonders is Aleytys&rsquo;s only hope for survival now that she has become the most wanted woman in a dangerous universe. In an astonishing feat of science fiction world-building and quest fantasy storytelling that rivals the classic works of Mercedes Lackey, Anne McCaffrey, and Marion Zimmer Bradley, Clayton opens wide the portals into a magnificent galaxy of marvels and terrors with Diadem from the Stars, ushering speculative fiction fans into an unforgettable universe and series.</div>

Diadem from the Stars

<div>Trapped in an alternate dimension, the tough and self-confident Skeen confronts slavers, monsters, and alien assassins in a fast-paced space adventure. Skeen is back! Sexy space pilot and larcenous scoundrel&mdash;a tomb raider who could give Lara Croft a serious run for her money&mdash;the tough, cunning, and seductive master thief takes on a series of Herculean trials in her attempts to escape an alternate dimension in a witty and wonderful hybrid of science fiction and fantasy, space opera and quest adventure, that will enthrall fans of Andre Norton, Anne McCaffrey, and Alan Dean Foster. A fugitive &ldquo;rooner&rdquo; wanted by law enforcers throughout the known universe, Skeen has grit, cunning, and a closet full of more skeletons than a suburban cemetery. Now, the intergalactic outlaw is stuck in a dimension that is not her own, surrounded by a small mob of new friends and followers representing the eight different races that inadvertently stumbled into Mistommerk over the centuries. Each member of the motley entourage shares the same goal: to find a way out through the elusive Stranger&rsquo;s Gate. Their road to a possible exit is twisted and dangerous, with all sorts of nastiness waiting around every turn, from hired killers to bizarre ravenous beasts to the terrible shape-shifting Sea Min. Skeen is proving to be a most wily, brave, and determined, if reluctant, leader. But with a confusing plethora of portals leading to numerous strange dimensions and worlds overlapping other worlds, she may be hard pressed to find the right way back&mdash;even if she does somehow manage to survive. A masterwork of ingenious world-building and wild invention, beloved science fiction author Jo Clayton&rsquo;s Skeen&rsquo;s Return is a welcome return to the delightfully bizarre universe and alien life-forms so brilliantly imagined in Skeen&rsquo;s Leap, the first volume in an enthralling trilogy featuring one of the most endearingly outrageous heroines in contemporary speculative fiction. </div>

Skeen's Return

<div>A young warrior woman, Serroi fights to keep dark magic from destroying her world, in the first book of Jo Clayton&rsquo;s acclaimed Duel of Sorcery fantasy trilogy. Serroi is unique in her world, and was nearly put to death in infancy as a result. A green-skinned &ldquo;misborn,&rdquo; small in stature with an unnatural connection to the natural world, she was nonetheless chosen and exceptionally trained as a meie warrior. As such, she fears nothing, except the cold and inscrutable Nor and their dark magic. Something in Serroi&rsquo;s childhood awakened her to a shocking and terrible truth about these malevolent wizards, one of whom both saved and cursed her in her earliest years. It is her deep-seated terror that causes her to betray and abandon her shieldmate, Tayyan, during a rooftop battle with a magic-wielder, a craven act that threatens to haunt Serroi to the end of her days. However, it is not cowardice that makes her run, but rather her knowledge of a great evil in the offing. In that instant before flight, Serroi recognizes the coming of something monstrous, though she cannot yet put a name to it. Now it is up to the young warrior to somehow prevent the unthinkable: She must alter a grim destiny that is set to occur on the fateful and fearful night known as Moongather, when demons will be free to enter the world. Richly imaginative and stylistically inventive&mdash;told from the alternate viewpoints of the child Serroi just coming of age and of Serroi as a grown woman&mdash;author Jo Clayton&rsquo;s epic fantasy is a magnificent reading experience, evoking wonder and terror in equal measure. Moongather details a complex world of magic and dark political intrigue where divine forces do secret battle, and where the foundations of a matriarchal society and of native life itself are threatened by the twisted desires of a jealous queen and a powerful wizard. Creator of the much loved Diadem Saga and Skeen Trilogy, Clayton&rsquo;s engrossing, endlessly exciting Duel of Sorcery Trilogy firmly places her among the ranks of revered fantasists Jane Yolen, Mercedes Lackey, and Marion Zimmer Bradley. </div>

Moongather

<div>Warrior woman Serroi finds herself at the center of a deadly magical contest between a goddess and a dark wizard in this thrilling sequel to Moongather. Moonscatter is the second volume of prolific American fantasist Jo Clayton&rsquo;s Duel of Sorcery Trilogy, carrying readers back into the richly imagined fantasy world of Moongather,and into the heat of a warrior woman&rsquo;s desperate battle to save it from annihilation by the most terrible wizard of the realm. As a young child, Serroi was held in thrall to Ser Noris, the powerful and villainous mage who saved her from certain death only to exploit her as a tool in his unholy experiments in necromancy and demonic possession. After being cast aside, she became a chosen warrior of the meie, though nightmarish memories continue to haunt her. As for the dark sorcerer, his power and malevolence have since increased a thousandfold. Having achieved eternal life, no evil in this world can compare with his, and now Ser Noris, bored with a lack of worthy opponents, has challenged the Goddess herself, She who lives at the center of all things. Only Serroi can truly recognize the terrible depth of the darkness that is overtaking her world. And as she sets forth on a desperate quest to locate the last remaining power capable of defeating Ser Noris&rsquo;s insidious plot&mdash;the enigmatic and wildly unpredictable hermit Coyote&mdash;a young girl in a faraway village, whose fate will soon be intertwined with Serroi&rsquo;s, is coming of age in a time of violence and fear. But what chance do mere mortal heroes have when faced with malevolence so powerful and brazen that it dares to take on a goddess, and would obliterate an entire world on a whim? An enthralling epic tale of courage, destiny, swords, and sorcery, Moonscatter stands at the center of an unsung classic high fantasy trilogy that proves Clayton once again to be the artistic and imaginative equal of revered contemporaries Andre Norton, Jane Yolen, C. J. Cherryh, and other greats in the field of speculative fiction. </div>

Moonscatter

<div>Aided only by the powers of the Diadem, Aleytys must battle a powerful corporation to save an endangered planet, in this thrilling science fiction adventure. Author Jo Clayton&rsquo;s sensational space opera saga continues in this fourth magnificent excursion to the universe of the Diadem as her incomparable heroine lands in the center of a devastating conflict between an insidious planet-devouring corporate entity and native forest folk and city dwellers who are facing extinction. The planet Maeve is the next stop on the intergalactic journey of the star voyager Aleytys as she searches the universe for her son, others of her advanced human race, and the mother who abandoned her in a dismal barbarian world. Permanently enhanced and cursed by the Diadem, the stolen technology of a vengeful alien society, she is determined to find her way back to Jaydugar, where she was raised and where she hopes to reclaim her kidnapped child. But securing transport will be difficult in this world steeped in political turmoil, as the destructive machinery of a heartless and powerful Company strips the planet bare of its natural riches. The Diadem-induced personalities who share Aleytys&rsquo;s mind also experience her outrage over the greed of an insidious corporate monster that would heartlessly displace an entire forest-dwelling native population. Compelled by conscience and a hunger for justice, Aleytys will do everything in her substantial power to help the citizens of Maeve fight back. But the secret plans of the Company go far beyond the despoiling of the woodlands, and neither guerilla warfare nor the remarkable abilities Aleytys brings to the battle may be sufficient to turn back the terrible tide of destruction that threatens the future of a planet and every creature inhabiting it. The many fans of Andre Norton, Marion Zimmer Bradley, C. J. Cherryh, and other master world-builders known for their adept blending of science fiction and fantasy tropes will thrill to the fourth unforgettable installment in a much-beloved science fantasy saga that grows deeper and richer with each succeeding volume. Clayton&rsquo;s Maeve enchants and enthralls, while brilliantly expanding an already breathtaking universe. </div>

Maeve

<div>A young outcast gains remarkable psi-powers from a mysterious crown in this magnificent blend of space opera and epic fantasy quest. Jo Clayton opens wide the portals into an awe-inspiring galaxy of marvels and terrors with her Diadem Saga&mdash;an impressive combination of science fiction world-building and quest fantasy storytelling that rivals the classic works of Mercedes Lackey, Anne McCaffrey, Marion Zimmer Bradley, Andre Norton, and C. J. Cherryh&mdash;and introduces a &ldquo;positive, aggressive, and interesting&rdquo; heroine, the nomad Aleytys (Popular Culture). Within the breathtaking scope of her unique universe, &ldquo;Clayton has the gift of creating believable aliens and alien worlds, and a lively, vivid, often lyrical style&rdquo; (Science Fiction and Fantasy Book Review). Diadem from the Stars: Abandoned by her space-traveling mother and forced to flee her superstitious primitive tribe, Aleytys discovers an alien crown of unimaginable power. Once the diadem&rsquo;s great energy is transferred to her, it becomes an integral part of who she is and will be. But the diadem is stolen property, taken from a vengeful arachnid race&mdash;and Aleytys just became the most wanted woman in a dangerous universe. Lamarchos: On the barbarous planet Lamarchos, Aleytys is determined to do what it takes to survive and protect her infant son, even stealing a cache of powerful poaku stones. But despite the awesome power of the diadem, Aleytys falls victim to a treacherous betrayal and is pursued by a horde of zombie-like aliens. Irsud: Drugged and sold into slavery by the villain who stole her infant son, Aleytys must now serve as the hive queen of an alien insect/humanoid race on the planet Irsud, acting as a host body for the queen&rsquo;s consciousness in a surgically implanted egg. With an enemy literally inside her, Aleytys must tap the power of the diadem to survive the ordeal and rescue her son.</div>

Jo Clayton
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Books By Jo Clayton (13 Books)