Far away from Erin and The Wandering Inn, another girl from Earth named Cara wakes up in a cold dark place. Welcome to Noelictus, The Kingdom of Shade, where the sun never shines and the dead never rest, that is, without proper precautions. After wandering for days through a seemingly endless tomb filled with hundreds of thousands of sarcophagi, and while singing to herself, Cara catches the attention of the ghost of Ser Dalius. Dalius shouldn't have woken and there should have been a Tomb Keeper revenant to send him back to rest, but here he is waging an endless battle against the mice that have burrowed through the walls despite the magical seals that secure the Tomb. He explains how the Tomb of Afiele was built to hold the honored dead so that their sealed bodies would generate the magic that keeps the land of Noelictus fertile and how they would rise to do battle when called upon to defend their people. But Cara can think of nothing but escaping before she dies in the dark and thinks nothing of breaking open the entrance with only Dalius to defend it. With Afiele under siege by a horde of undead. how can Cara survive let alone redeem herself with only a few pop music songs from Earth?

Now that Lindon and Yerin are no longer constrained to the Sacred Valley, we learn just how backwards that isolated location was. The Elders of Lindon's clan were Jade rank sacred artists and they had amazing powers, but out in the larger universe, Jade is nothing. The next rank up, Gold, has three levels of its own, Lowgold, Highgold, and Truegold and there are plenty of ranks above Gold. In fact, outside of Sacred Valley almost everyone is at least Lowgold, so Lindon is even more of a fish out of water; however, he does learn that he is not actually unsouled. This means that Lindon actually can progress through the ranks, if only he can find someone to teach him.

With people from the Undercity joining the Raylicon track and field team, Bhajaan has added assistant coach to her work as a private investigator and her unofficial role as the government's liaison with the Undercity. Competing in the Interstellar Games alongside other teams from their own Skolian Imperialate, Earth's planets, and the horrible Euban empire (aka The Traders) highlights new characters and fresh storylines. In the background Bhaj is investigating a corporate takeover for Vaj Majda. At first it seems unimportant but then Bhaj starts uncovering startling secrets that once again emphasize that the Undercity, City of Cries, and the noble houses of Raylicon are all deeply intertwined no matter how much they all deny it.

No one has left Sacred Valley in a hundred generations, and it is here than Lindon is born within the Wei clan, one of three clans to call the valley home. All natural things in Sacred Valley exude vital aura, and Lindon's people are sacred artists capable of cycling that aura into madra within their bodies. There are many aspects of madra and a sacred artist will typically use only one or two of them, depending on the Path that they follow. Twice a year the elders of Sacred Valley test their children, starting as early as age six, using a bowl of pure madra, the material from which souls are made. If the madra clings to a child, that child has the soul of an enforcer and will become a warrior, if the madra retreats away from a child, that child will be a striker, if the madra rises then that child will be a ruler, and finally if it freezes, that child will be a forger. Lindon begs for the madra to freeze as he puts he his hand in the bowl, as wishes to follow the path of his mother and create wondrous items of pure madra. He places his hand in the bowl and nothing happens.....Lindon is unsouled.

In the future, the megacorps rule the Earth. When emissaries of the galactic community come to evaluate humans for membership, they are appalled that the corps not only tried to bribe them for a favorable review but by the corruption and repression of the population. They embargoed Earth, but also left behind a gift. A game played while sleeping called Tower of Somnus, where players advance and weakened versions of their skills can then be used in their real lives. The true purpose of the game is to promote community and cultural understanding among the varied races, but naturally humans see it only as a way to gain a bit more power. Kat is just finishing her mandatory schooling at 18, but despite her high scores, she couldn't afford to go to college even if the slots didn't all go to the children of managers. In her spare time she is a runner for an information broker hoping to save up enough credits to someday pay off her corporate debt. Everything changes when a friend offers her a subscription to the Tower if she helps him advance. Kat loves it, but Arnold is a terrible player and constantly risking their "lives". If you die it's game over, and you have to acquire another subscription, which neither can afford. Her new skills come just in time to help her in real life, because someone is out to get her.

The Catenan Republic is built upon the Hierarchy, a social structure where those at the top sap the Will of those below them to gain strength and live longer. In this pyramid structure which is eight levels deep, the Octavi are the lowest of the low, and of course, the most numerous. They receive Will from no one, yet cede half of their own Will to the Septimus above them, thus they are weaker and shorter lived. Each Septimus receives Will from eight Octavi and cedes half their own Will to the Sextus above them, who receives Will from seven Septimi, and so on up the Hierarchy. There are three primary pyramids in this society: Religion, Military, and Governance and they are all vying for power. This society has become so strong that they have conquered everyone around them. But like most empires, when there is no external threat to focus on, in fighting becomes the norm. Then there is Vis, born to ruling family of Suus, the last society to fall to the might of the Hierarchy. Vis has kept his identity hidden and vowed to never cede his Will to those who killed his family, but soon he will be the age where he must. Can the vengeance of one young man topple an empire?

Mira's parents wish she'd get a real job, but she's living the dream with her cat Kline in a small house that she has surrounded with poisonous plants after getting her degree in botany. Then the System arrives and everyone is whisked away to a world that has more magic than technology. A System entity known as the Oracle explains the basics and asks about the kind of life Mira wants. Does she want to be a badass adventurer, perhaps a combat mage pursuing godhood, or would she prefer a safer life as a normal civilian? All Mira wants to do is work with plants,so she could be a farmer, but that sounds boring. Irritated with the whole situation she declares that what she wants to be is a botanist. That's not a standard class so she is automatically classed with those struggling for power and not afraid of violence, and furthermore, since she doesn't like people, she wants to be dropped into a forest far away from everyone else. The Oracle does try to talk her out of it because the available area matching that description is a deadly forest full of poisonous plants and higher level animals that can only be accessed once a year. Luckily for Mira, the System sends all pets with their owners as they start their new life!

The fighting at the US government level is over, but at the local level it has just begun. Los Angeles is now controlled by various crime factions, the local government and police are mostly corrupt, and those who try to adhere to a code of ethics are at a big disadvantage. The Morretti crime family has a big advantage because the Mayor is in their pocket,along with the police, but they are still stretched thin dealing with adversaries. Their drug supplier is becoming unreliable, the rival gangs are getting bolder, and old enemies back in Italy also need some attention. Meanwhile, the LAPD has a similar set of issues, but none bigger than the corruption that runs rampant throughout their ranks. It is hard to fight back against the crime families when you can't trust your fellow officers to have your back. It is within these multiple levels of chaos on both sides of the battle that the main characters fight to come out on top, or die trying.

A few years ago, gigantic circular portals opened up across the Earth and for the first few months they did nothing. Then suddenly they released hordes of monsters and millions died. Since that time we've learned that the portals lead to world fragments with a core that can be destroyed before the monsters reach critical mass and invade Earth. We've also learned that these fragments are rich in valuable minerals and plants, which is a huge help in fighting the monsters, but our best weapons are actually the few humans who have developed Talents. Talents are superpowers that can grow more powerful with use or even gain additional skills. Some can summon an invulnerable shield once a day, manipulate lightning, or move with amazing speed and make up strike teams to destroy the cores. Other Talents aren't combat related, but might be even more valuable, like Adaline's ability to evaluate the importance of what she sees, which allows teams to extract rare minerals and plants. For ten years she has risked her life in the Breaches, but today is her unlucky day. Alone and wounded, she still tries to help a dying humanoid who passes on an unusual inheritance.

Nicholas Sansbury Smith is the king of apocalyptic story telling, with a portfolio of series that range from realistic to fantastic. This one definitely falls on the realistic side of the scale, so much so that classifying it as science fiction isn't exactly accurate. Ten years ago it might have felt pretty fictional, but in the current tribal political climate in the US it now feels way too possible. The US National Guard is rebranded as the American Military Patriots (AMP) and these federal troops are used to invade various states that are branded as rebels. The US Marines are blamed for some of the chaos going on in the country and before we know it, we have US troops fighting against each other on American soil. With infrastructure crumbling, the environment is ripe for gangs and crime families to prosper, and within this turmoil the Moretti family sets its sights on taking over the city of Los Angeles. With good cops fighting corrupt ones, Latino gangs fighting the mafia, and the marines fighting against AMP, Los Angeles becomes the battleground of an apocalyptic future.