On December 13, 2021, Candlemark & Gleam will release Jo Graham’s riveting Sounding Dark, the first in the developing space opera series The Calpurnian Wars. The series follows conflicts of human cultures flung among the stars that awaken potent mythic avatars of advanced technology that have become indistinguishable from magic. With echoes from Minoan Crete, Hellenistic Egypt and Imperial Rome, Sounding Dark is equal parts late Star Trek and The Expanse and cries out for the attention of someone with the talent and flair of Kathryn Bigelow or Denis Villeneuve.

Sounding Dark received high praise from Publishers Weekly, genre legend Melissa Scott, Hugo nominee Paul Weimer, and best-selling authors E.K. Johnston and K.V. Johansen (all noted the avoidance of clichés, the richness of the universe, an the seamless fusion of science with magic) and boasts a cover by Eleni Tsami, as stunning as all her works. The digital version is available for pre-order at Amazon, B&N and Kobo; and if all goes as it should, the paperback pre-order should also go live by the end of this week. Here’s its synopsis to whet appetites:

Sounding Dark is a legend, a ghost ship missing two hundred years. Now it may be the only hope for the pirate republic of Eresh to stand against the mighty Calpurnian Navy. In the wake of a terrible defeat, Adelita Massacre, the Steel Captain, knows that their days are numbered without a miracle.

Bister is the only survivor of the defeat, a Tainted smuggler and fixer from the interdicted world of Inanna. Found alive, adrift in a spacesuit hours after its air supply should have run out, her survival is a literal miracle. Has the Lady of the Void herself chosen Bister to free her from imprisonment?

Now Adelita, Bister, Bister’s lover Griffin, and the mysterious Navigator must find Sounding Dark and her ancient weaponry if they hope to protect Eresh from the Calpurnian attack. But Sounding Dark will not give up her secrets easily….

Jo Graham is the author of twenty-five books and two online games. Best known for her historical fantasy novels Black Ships and Stealing Fire, and her tie-in novels for MGM’s popular Stargate: Atlantis and Stargate: SG-1 series, she has been a Locus Award finalist, an Amazon Top Choice, a Spectrum Award finalist, a Romantic Times Top Pick in historical fiction and a Lambda Literary Award and Rainbow Award nominee for bisexual fiction. With Melissa Scott, she is the author of five books in the Order of the Air series, a historical fantasy series set in the 1920s and 30s.

Because GoodReads giveaways are no longer free and our coffers are of the usual size for indie micro-presses, we will be doing a direct giveaway for Sounding Dark. You can enter it by leaving a comment to this post or by sending an email (with subject line “Sounding Dark Giveaway”) to our website address. Please rest assured that your email will only be visible to the site admin.

The giveaway will run from November 15 to December 12, and random winners will be picked to receive copies of the novel. For up to 50 requests, there will be one award copy. For up to 100 requests, two copies; and beyond that, three copies. Because the pandemic and the USPS slowdown have caused significant shipping problems, the giveaway will only award digital copies (it will include the PDF that contains all the print flourishes).

We can hardly wait to share this remarkable work and its linked siblings with the world. Check star charts and keep frequencies open!

Note added on December 13: the giveaway is now closed.  We’ll pick winners and contact them within a week.