**The Sunday Times bestselling series**

'TRULY EPIC' Fonda Lee on The Mercy of Gods

'DAZZLING . . . THIS IS SPACE OPERA AT ITS BEST' Publishers Weekly on The Mercy of Gods

From the multi-million-copy bestselling author of the Expanse comes the second book in the Captive's War series - a spectacular new space opera that sees humanity fighting for its survival in a war as old as the universe itself.

The monstrous Carryx empire was built by subjugation and war. Thousands of species are bound to their Sovran's command in an endless, blood-soaked test: be useful in the eternal conflict or be slaughtered.

Dafyd Alkhor, highest among their human captives, is feared and despised by the very people he champions. Ruthless in carving out his niche in the eternal war machine of the empire, he will reshape human nature itself as a tool for their alien masters' use. But Dafyd's loyalty is not what it seems.

The Swarm, an agent of the Carryx's deathless enemy, has been smuggled into the Carryx world-palace along with the human slaves. Its mission: discover a way to bring down the empire's eternal reign. But the longer it lives among and within humanity, the more it forgets that it is a weapon.

As the human captives spread through the battlefronts of empire, the awesome power of the Carryx becomes clear. And with it, a desperate plan for their destruction. But empires hide secrets, and even the deathless enemy may not be what it appears . . .

'Stellar . . . The authors continue to expertly balance character and plot development, setting the stage effectively for the series' denouement. This wows' Publishers Weekly

Praise for the Captive's War series:

'Simply mind-blowing' Kirkus

'Terrifying alien overlords and a vast intergalactic war with humankind on the brink of annihilation . . . the start of something truly epic' Fonda Lee, author of the Green Bone Saga

'No one builds a universe like James S. A. Corey' John Scalzi, New York Times bestselling author

'Corey is always one of the most engaging voices in the genre' Adrian Tchaikovsky, author of Children of Time

'All the things you want in an alien invasion novel: overwhelming aliens, end-of-world terror, and plucky humans who never stop fighting' Paolo Bacigalupi, New York Times bestselling author

'A powerful, provocative masterpiece that I will be thinking about for a very long time' Ryka Aoki, author of Light from Uncommon Stars