Pro tip: When a bunch of alien cats from outer space start blowing up cities without warning, prior plans may have to be altered. Be prepared to improvise.

Yosi Weismann had a simple gig: Babysit a grossly irresponsible young man, who just happened to be a prince. Let His Excellency sow his wild oats. Don’t let him kill himself, or anyone else, in the process.

Piece of cake for a man of his skills. A glorified vacation. That's how things were supposed to go, at any rate.

Now Yosi is marooned on a foreign world, surrounded by people whom he doesn’t understand, hunted by enemies who literally want to eat him alive. But these are the least of his problems. Because the biggest war in living memory has set all of Known Space aflame in an instant. And if Yosi Weismann is to ever get back home, he first needs to build an army…

Mindless Pap Readers' Guild Warning: Contains alien cultures, foreign morals, complex characters, strange societies, complicated politics, total war, extensive realism, romantic romance, savage savagery, scientific science, an actual plot and a distinct lack of pre-chewed infodumps spoon fed by Captain Obvious. May challenge assumptions. Use of brain required. Proceed at own risk.

Yea, verily – it's grimdark future history. Night falls, the fires grow, millions die in the first fifty pages. And that's the nice, sweet, happy part of the story.

Satisfied? You'll either love it, or you'll hate it. Middle ground seems hard to come by. Now go read the preview already. What are you waiting for?