Welcome to Litsy!

A new standalone sci-fi novel from Edward Ashton, author of Mickey7 (the inspiration for the major motion picture Mickey 17). Dalton Greaves is a hero. He�s one of humankind�s first representatives to Unity, a pan-species confederation working to bring all sentient life into a single benevolent brotherhood. That�s what they told him, anyway. The only actual members of Unity that he�s ever met are Boreau, a giant snail who seems more interested in plunder than spreading love and harmony, and Boreau�s human sidekick, Neera, who Dalton strongly suspects roped him into this gig so that she wouldn�t become the next one of Boreau�s crew to get eaten by locals while prospecting. Funny thing, though�turns out there actually is a benevolent confederation out there, working for the good of all life. They call themselves the Assembly, and they really don�t like Unity. More to the point, they really, really don�t like Unity�s new human minions. When an encounter between Boreau�s scout ship and an Assembly cruiser over a newly discovered world ends badly for both parties, Dalton finds himself marooned, caught between a stickman, one of the Assembly�s nightmarish shock troops, the planet�s natives, who aren�t winning any congeniality prizes themselves, and Neera, who might actually be the most dangerous of the three. To survive, he�ll need to navigate palace intrigue, alien morality, and a proposal that he literally cannot refuse, all while making sure Neera doesn�t come to the conclusion that he�s worth more to her dead than alive. Part first contact story, part dark comedy, and part bizarre love triangle, The Fourth Consort asks an important question: how far would you go to survive? And more importantly, how many drinks would you need to go there?