Spheres of Influence [Paperback]

Sequel to the popular space adventureGrand Central Arena!

Leader of the Faction of Humanity. It was a ridiculous title, but the Arena declared that Captain Ariane Austin held that position after she led the crew of theHoly Grailto discover the impossible, physics-defying place—and successfully returned. And when the nigh-omnipotent Arena says something, it becomes reality.

Now, Ariane must figure out what it truly means to beLeader of Humanity—both for herself and for the survival of her species—before enemies at home or within the Arena move to depose her, kill her, or worse. She’ll need all her luck, Marc DuQuesne’s indomitable will, Simon Sandrisson’s genius, and the skill of a living legend to survive what’s coming.

But in the end, the fate of humanity in the galaxy and beyond may hinge on the choice of an uncertain ally—one who has nothing to gain and everything to lose by siding with the upstart humans.Ryk E. Spoor was born in Omaha, Nebraska, and has lived in South Dakota, Georgia, New York, and Pennsylvania. Severe asthma forced him to spend most of his childhood reading and, by the time he was six, writing. While he began reading fantasy such as Oz and science fiction starting with Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, it was his 5th grade teacher that sent him on the course that would make him a science-fiction author, by lending Ryk a battered copy of E.E. Doc Smith's Second-Stage Lensmen; this sent him on a reading spree that devoured every science-fiction book he encountered for the next ten years, and instilled in him the conviction that being a science-fiction author was the greatest possible profession anyone could aspire to.

At the turn of the 21st century, Ryk succeeded in achieving this ambition by first launching a clever plan to be published through the diabolical strategem of insulting Eric Flint in public. (Note that neither Eric norl³I