Watching HMS Eclipse through the geosynch spaceport window, Officer James Dunne, a newly minted graduate of the Royal Interstellar Service Academy, thinks his first assignment will be routine . . . an easy going excursion on an aging deep-space cruiser, heading into the Dark, on a mission to explore the farthest reaches of known space. James had always wanted to be a part of the romantic final frontier. Now, he thought, his lifelong dream was about to come true. In fact, he was about to...

Inner Eclipse. On the planet Nightshade, anyone can buy or sell Flex, the death-dealing drug, to take offworld but no one is supposed to use it. Nonetheless, Flex addicts are a common sight in Riotmark, the planet's largest city. No one comes to Nightshade for anything but Flex - no one except Benedict and his travelling companions, who believe there may be something even more interesting in the jungle - something Benedict has been searching for all his life.

Cruelly cast out by the new leader of the ancient Clan that adopted her as a child, Ayla leaves those she loves behind and travels alone through a stark, open land filled with dangerous animals but few people, searching for the Others, tall and fair like herself. The short summer gives her little time to look, and when she finds a sheltered valley with a herd of hardy steppe horses, she decides to stay and prepare for the long glacial winter ahead. Living with the Clan has taught Ayla many...