Introduction

I was delighted Empress Hortensaloupe Agataronipoli Erugam-Maguire asked me to write this biographical trilogy following the return of her people from a dying multiverse. I met her when Craig Kargo, Emperor Kargo’s son, introduced her to his father. She impressed me then and has continued to impress me as the years have passed. One cannot mention Horti without speaking about Craig. Craig has grown into his role as Emperor and has shown his true mettle through the time he has known Horti. She is the only person I know who is more capable of attracting trouble than my good friend Craig Kargo.

The start of “The Last Hope” timeline overlaps with Book Nine of the Warlord and the Multiverse Series. This series is about a young woman attempting to save her people in a dying multiverse. It is in part in the same universe as the first series but diverges and converges with the universe of the Warlord and Multiverse series but can be read independently. For readers who have not yet read the Warlord and the Multiverse Series, I will summarize the salient points about the first series before you begin the books about Horti, hopefully without too many spoilers and excessive detail. Jason, like Horti, began on Earth in Perth in Western Australia.

On the verge of moving into residential care for the elderly, doctors diagnose Jason’s eighty-year-old wife with dementia. She commits suicide, and the police charge Jason with her murder.

Surprisingly, a battleship arrives with an invitation. His aunt, the Empress of an Empire two galaxies away, asks Jason to return to The Empire to help his grandfather. At eighty and in poor health, Jason struggles with the decision.

Jason faces enemies and constant threats as he struggles to adapt to the values and requirements of an advanced but different society. He must face his nemesis, a tyrant sowing an insurrection and intends to go to war against the Empire.

The Empire is sixty-five thousand years ahead of Earth. Artificial intelligence permeates every part of life. Education and health technology have advanced far further than we can imagine. People will live for tens of centuries unless killed in war or an accident. The Empire is wealthy and successful and spans hundreds of thousands of light-years.

The Empire faces a declining population. A traitor is slowly poisoning the Empire and wants revenge and ultimate power. The traitor will go to any lengths to achieve his aims, even ally himself with the bitter enemies of the Empire.

In the second book, the Mob, a people unknowingly invaded by aliens from another galaxy attack the Empire of Cassius. Jason’s forces assist the Empire in repulsing the Mob and then travel to the Mob’s worlds to free them of oppression. In this book, Jason encounters a species of sentient Apes and malicious Insects.

In the third book, Jason finally reaches the Empire of Cassius and has the opportunity to help free the Empire from those who wish to take over and save his grandfather. Jason again encounters insects and fights in a war instigated by the malicious species of insects.

In the fourth book, Jason begins a project at university that he discovers involves one of his own companies run by priests. A student in his group is of a royal family, held hostage after a coup, and asks Jason to assist her family and free her people. In this series, we encounter sentient tyrannosaurus rexes.

In the fifth book, Jason travels to the Azayal, a people more advanced than the Empire of Cassius, to further his education and discovers they face terrible dangers. His actions are critical to the outcome. We again encounter Ghouls, biological renegade AIs we first meet in book 2.

In the sixth book, Jason deals with difficulties faced by the Parzool, the sentient dinosaurs, and discovers a dragon species is behind the problems, the Gromelix. The war with the Ghouls concludes, and we learn more about an ancient people called the Una, energy beings in our universe and flying apes in another universe, and an ancient enemy called the Grork, who live as parasites on sentient snails. I mention the Grork as we meet them again in this series. Jason discovers more about his identity as an ancient person called the Uzliumbax.

The seventh book is written from the perspective of Jason’s granddaughter Chloe, the tale’s hero. We encounter the Destroyers who invade our universe every million years, kill all sentient species, and again encounter the Grork.

The eighth book returns to the tale from the perspective of Jason. In this book, the Destroyers surprise the Uzliumbax and begin their underhand and vicious attacks.

Cassius, the Emperor, Jason’s uncle, faces a wave of refugees and struggles to find a solution. He approaches Jason, who becomes involved and discovers a new branch of the Uzliumbax in a different galaxy and a civilization of sentient spiders.