Vonda McIntyre

First Timothy Zahn reopened the door to George Lucas's dazzling universe with his New York Times-bestselling Star Wars trilogy. Then Kathy Tyers's The Truce at Bakura took readers back to the fateful days following the events in Return of the Jedi. And with The Courtship of Princess Leia Dave Wolverton chronicled Han Solo's turbulent campaign for the princess's hand. Now, award-winning author Vonda N. McIntyre continues the tradition as the ultimate space adventure unfolds in The Crystal Star.Princess Leia is dealt a crushing blow when her three children—Anakin and the twins Jaina and Jacen—are kidnapped. Leia's advisers counsel her to wait for a ransom note, but waiting is the hardest thing for a mother to do when her children are in danger—and worse than waiting is her discovery that she cannot sense her children through the Force.Ultimately, the princess has no choice. She, Chewbacca, and Artoo-Detoo track the kidnappers, following their trail to a disabled refugee ship where the answers provided by Rillao, a mysterious fugitive, only provoke more questions. The refugees' children are also missing—and Rillao thinks she knows who has them: a powerful Imperial officer named Hethrir who has his own twisted plans to restore the Empire to its former glory.Meanwhile, Han Solo and Luke Skywalker are on a separate mission to the planet Crseih to investigate a report of a lost group of Jedi. Crseih is at the mercyof strange quantum effects caused by the death of a nearby star that is slowly freezing into a uniquely perfect crystal. This crystal star causes a disruption in the Force,blunting Luke's power and cutting the Millennium Falcon off from Leia and their home base. What Han and Luke find on the planet is even stranger than a crystallizing sun: a charismatic alien named Waru who has attracted a following of fanatic devotees through his miraculous healing powers. Is Waru a being of benevolence? Or do his healing arts conceal a darker purpose? As Leia, Chewbacca, and Rillao follow Hethri trail of treachery across space, Luke and Han draw closer to the truth behind Waru' sinister cult. Ultimately they will face an explosive showdown that could determine not only their own fates and the fate of the New Republic but whether the universe itself will survive.

Can she find the courage to defy a king?In seventeenth-century France, Louis XIV rules with flamboyant ambition. In his domain, wealth and beauty are all; frivolity begets cruelty; science and alchemy collide. From the Hall of Mirrors to the vermin-infested attics of the Chateau at Versailles, courtiers compete to please the king, sacrificing fortune, principles, and even sacred family bonds.'A wonderful book! Adventure, love, history, magic - it's an engrossing story with magnificent characters, balanced perfectly on the edge between,' says DIANA GABALDONBy the fiftieth year of his reign, Louis XIV has made France the most powerful state in the western world, but the Sun King's appetite for glory knows no bounds. In a bold stroke, he sends his natural philosopher on an expedition to seek the source of immortality: the mythical sea monster. For the glory of his God, his country, and his king, Father Yves de la Croix returns with his treasures: one heavy shroud packed in ice . . . and in a covered basin, an imprisoned sea-creature.Marie-Josephe de la Croix has been looking forward to assisting her brother Yves in the scientific study of the sea monster, until she makes a discovery that will threaten everything her brother, the court and the King believe.'The finest alternate history ever, light-hearted and wise - a luminous, radiant novel,' said URSULA K. LE GUINBut in the decadent court of King Louis, where morality is skewed and corruption reigns, will anyone listen to a single voice? Somehow, she must find the courage to follow her heart and her convictions - even at the cost of changing her life forever.

A haunting story of an extraordinary woman on a dangerous quest in a far-future post-apocalyptic world.Snake travels the land with her serpents, the rattlesnake Sand, the cobra Mist and the rare alien dreamsnake called Grass, whose bite can ease the fear and pain of death. But the blasted landscape of a far-future post-holocaust Earth is a dangerous place, even for such a highly regarded elite healer . . . especially when an unexpected death sends her on a desperate quest to reclaim her healing powers.Dreamsnake, winner of the Hugo, Nebula and Locus Awards, is back in print at last.

In seventeenth-century France, Louis XIV rules with flamboyant ambition. In his domain, wealth and beauty are all; frivolity begets cruelty; science and alchemy collide. From the Hall of Mirrors to the vermin-infested attics of the Chateau at Versailles, courtiers compete to please the king, sacrificing fortune, principles, and even sacred family bonds.'A wonderful book! Adventure, love, history, magic - it's an engrossing story with magnificent characters, balanced perfectly on the edge between,' said DIANA GABALDONBy the fiftieth year of his reign, Louis XIV has made France the most powerful state in the western world, but the Sun King's appetite for glory knows no bounds. In a bold stroke, he sends his natural philosopher on an expedition to seek the source of immortality: the mythical sea monster. For the glory of his God, his country, and his king, Father Yves de la Croix returns with his treasures: one heavy shroud packed in ice . . . and in a covered basin, an imprisoned sea-creature.Marie-Josephe de la Croix has been looking forward to assisting her brother Yves in the scientific study of the sea monster, until she makes a discovery that will threaten everything her brother, the court and the King believe.'The finest alternate history ever, light-hearted and wise - a luminous, radiant novel,' said URSULA K. LE GUINBut in the decadent court of King Louis, where morality is skewed and corruption reigns, will anyone listen to a single voice? Somehow, she must find the courage to follow her heart and her convictions - even at the cost of changing her life forever.