The Peacemaker

In the chaos of the Wall Decade, when Earth's superpowers tear each other apart and the outer worlds bleed, one man rises from piracy to become something unexpected: a symbol of peace. Jaq Merril commands a brotherhood of outlaws called the Compact, a loose federation of pirate captains who take what the great powers refuse to share. Through the eyes of his loyal lieutenant, we witness their meteoric rise: bold raids, impossible escapes, the intoxicating taste of freedom in a universe that has forgotten the word. They are thieves, yes. But they are also the only ones bold enough to challenge the empires squabbling over dying worlds. Yet when Earth's powers finally stop fighting each other and turn their unified fury outward, everything changes. The Compact faces weapons unlike anything they have encountered. The final raid on Luna becomes a catastrophe that redefines Merril's legacy and forces a reckoning with the nature of legend itself. Coppel delivers a muscular space opera where the line between hero and villain dissolves, and we are left to wonder whether we make our legends, or they make us.