The Madness of Kings
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Welcome to The Middle Kingdom!
In the nine Middle Kingdoms it is believed that the royal families are the direct decedents of the gods of Dib: Honus, Javilon, Ho Nita, and Pal. The gifts of the gods are not passed to every member of the royal families, however, and none of these “unblessed” children can ever become king or queen and, due to the displeasure of the gods, they cannot have children of their own.
Unlike the rest of the planet, the middle kingdoms have adhered more closely to the early teachings of the House in both their beliefs and their feudal way of life. In fact, the Septal Houses’ High Hats throughout the rest of Dib have always formally denounced the beliefs and practices of the Houses in the Middle Kingdom.
Back in Velon, after being tasked with the infamous Linus murder case and House vault robbery, Detective Makk Stidgeon is back, and this time he has county attorney Pillick Quibb asking him questions.
Meanwhile in Totus, Battine Alconnot, an unblessed descendent of Ho, Lady Delphina, and her sister Queen Porra find themselves tied up in the mystery ...
The Outcast Cycle takes listeners across—and above—the planet Dib. Nestled in the individual stories is the gradual discovery that the House has a big secret ... and the Outcast may be more literal than anyone realized.
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Gene Doucette is a hybrid author, albeit in a somewhat roundabout way. From 2010 through 2014, Gene published four full-length novels (Immortal, Hellenic Immortal, Fixer, and Immortal at the Edge of the World) with a small indie publisher. Then, in 2014, Gene started self-publishing novellas that were set in the same universe as the Immortal series, at which point he was a hybrid. When the novellas proved more lucrative than the novels, Gene tried self-publishing a full novel, The Spaceship Next Door, in 2015. This went well. So well, that in 2016, Gene reacquired the rights to the earlier four novels from the publisher, and re-released them, at which point he wasn’t a hybrid any longer. Additional self-published novels followed: Immortal and the Island of Impossible Things (2016); Unfiction (2017); and The Frequency of Aliens (2017). In 2018, John Joseph Adams Books (an imprint of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) acquired the rights to The Spaceship Next Door. The reprint was published in September of that year, at which point Gene was once again a hybrid author. Since then, a number of things have happened. Gene published two more novels—Immortal From Hell at the end of 2018, and Fixer Redux in 2019—and wrote a new novel called The Apocalypse Seven that he did not self-publish; it was acquired by JJA/HMH in September of 2019. Publication date is May 25, 2021. Gene plans to continue writing novels for both markets (traditional and self-published) as long as that continues to make sense. His most recent self-published novel is Immortal: Last Call (2020). He is currently at work on a large science fiction world-building project taking place on his Patreon site, the result of which will be a multi-novel series.
Stefan Rudnicki is an award winning audiobook narrator, director and producer. He was born in Poland and now resides in Studio City, California. He has narrated more than three hundred audiobooks and has participated in over a thousand as a writer, producer, or director. He is a recipient of multiple Audie Awards and AudioFile Earphones Awards as well as a Grammy Award, a Bram Stoker Award, and a Ray Bradbury Award. He received AudioFile’s award for 2008 Best Voice in Science Fiction and Fantasy. Along with a cast of other narrators, Rudnicki has read a number of Orson Scott Card's best-selling science fiction novels. He worked extensively with many other science fiction authors, including David Weber and Ben Bova. In reviewing the twentieth anniversary edition audiobook of Card’s Ender's Game, Publishers Weekly stated, "Rudnicki, with his lulling, sonorous voice, does a fine job articulating Ender's inner struggle between the kind, peaceful boy he wants to be and the savage, violent actions he is frequently forced to take." Rudnicki is also a stage actor and director.
Gabrielle de Cuir is a Grammy-nominated and Audie Award-winning producer whose narration credits include the voice of Valentine in Orson Scott Card’s Ender novels, Ursula K. Le Guin’s The Tombs of Atuan, and Natalie Angier’s Woman, for which she was awarded AudioFile magazine’s Golden Earphones Award. She lives in Los Angeles where she also directs theatre and presently has several projects in various stages of development for film.
Paul Boehmer attended his first Shakespearean play while in high school; he knew then that he was destined to become the classically trained actor he is today. Graduating with a master's degree, Paul was cast as Hamlet by the very stage actor who inspired his career path. A nod from the Universe he'd chosen aright! Paul has worked on Broadway and extensively in regional theater. Coinciding with another of his passions, sci-fi, Paul has been cast in various roles in many episodes of Star Trek. Paul's love of literature and learning led him by nature to his work as a narrator for audiobooks, his latest endeavour. Paul is married to the love of his life, Offir, and they live in Los Angeles with their two midnight-rambling tomcats, Dread and David.
