The Silver Ships · Book 12 of 20
Artifice
The great spheres and probes of Artifice, humankind’s enemy, haunt every inhabited world near and far. The Omnians’ long and arduous search for Artifice has ended.
Overview
Artifice
The great spheres and probes of Artifice, humankind’s enemy, haunt every inhabited world near and far. The Omnians’ long and arduous search for Artifice has ended. They’ve located Artifice’s lair in the Talus system. The sentient digital entity rules a vast swath of worlds, known as the federacy, through ruthless intimidation. Its insidious programs are embedded in every races’ digital systems — warships, shuttles, stations, domes, comm platforms, and power plants.
One misstep by a race could see its citizens exterminated in vast numbers. The survivors, if there were any, would be thrown back to the days before spaceflight. Artifice has had millennia to secure its base. Powerful battleship fleets guard the system’s periphery and the approaches above and below the entity’s planet, Toral. Probes surround the system and warn of unized encroachment, and Artifice has control of the planet’s army of bots.
The Omnian expeditionary fleet, led by Alex Racine, desperately needs allies in order to defeat or circumvent Artifice’s defensive measures. The Omnians are curious about the fleet of black-hulled battleships, which bear a resemblance to Artifice’s probes and guard the Talus system. The SADEs, the Omnians’ digital friends, believe that the sentients aboard the black fleet and Artifice share a common history.
Whether or not the Omnians can gather allies, they don’t intend to abandon their goal and return to Omnia. They mean to capture or destroy the entity, Artifice, or die trying.
Readers
What readers say about the Silver Ships series.
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Book resources
Read a sample, or take the glossary with you.
The saga runs to a large cast across dozens of worlds. Every book has a free excerpt and its own glossary of characters, ships, races and places. No sign-up, no email.
FAQ
Artifice: questions readers ask
What is Artifice about?
The great spheres and probes of Artifice, humankind’s enemy, haunt every inhabited world near and far. The Omnians’ long and arduous search for Artifice has ended. They’ve located Artifice’s lair in the Talus system.
Where does Artifice fall in the Earthers' saga?
Do I need to read the earlier books before Artifice?
It reads best in order. Artifice is book 12 of the Silver Ships series and carries forward characters and events from the earlier books. The reading order page lays out the full saga.
Is Artifice available as an audiobook?
Yes. Artifice is available as an audiobook on Audible.
Can I read a sample of Artifice before buying?
Yes. A free excerpt is available as a PDF: download the excerpt. No email or sign-up required.
Is there a glossary for Artifice?
Yes. The saga has a large cast, several races and a lot of ship names, so each book has its own glossary of characters, places, ships and terms: download the glossary.
What formats does Artifice come in?
Artifice is published in e-book, softcover and audiobook. Print and e-book editions are sold through Amazon. The audiobook is on Audible.
Who wrote Artifice?
S. H. Jucha (Scott Jucha), author of the Earthers’ saga: forty-four science fiction novels across The Silver Ships, Pyreans, Gate Ghosts and Cercians, published by Hannon Books, Inc. More about Scott.