Indigo Starling
In a galaxy that bears the scars of millennia of war, peace is maintained by the Dioscuri, a near-mythical group of assassins. Mordax L'Amfour is a Traveller, an interstellar trader, scratching out a living on the fringes of civilisation with his father and the crew of their ship, the Indigo Starling. When cargo haulers begin disappearing, Mordax can't understand his father's insistence on investigating. But after his family is attacked, he has only one goal: revenge. Even if that means knocking on the door of the Dioscuri themselves.
Akira Kudo is the daughter of the leader of the Kudo-kai. Once their empire spanned half the galaxy and innumerable worlds. That's all gone. Dismantled by the Dioscuri until all that's left to them is a single star system. But now the supply of fuel for their starships, their lifeblood, has been cut off and even the remnants of their empire are under threat. Akira must travel to a hostile planet and negotiate with a madman to save her family's fortunes. That is, if she can stay alive long enough to get there.
Indigo Starling, the debut novel from Dundas Glass is out now.
Indigo Starling - the players
Mordax L'Amfour
Mordax is a Traveller. An interstellar nomad who travels between planets not only as a way of making a living but as a way of life. Aboard his father’s ship, the Indigo Starling, he and the crew have survived for years on the fringes of the galaxy.
His father, Stephan, is content to keep plying the same old trade routes. Avoiding risk but also missing out on profits. Mordax yearns to grasp for something greater. But he may be about to get more than he can handle.
Akira Kudo
Her family’s fortunes have crumbled almost to dust. The Kudo-kai used to rule half the galaxy and spent aeons battling for the other half but they have been laid low by the Dioscuri, ghost-like assassins that have maintained a power vacuum across the galaxy for generations.
What is the point of endless studying when the rehabilitation of her family’s empire requires action? Akira is the daughter of Daisuke Kudo, the leader of the Kudo-kai, a man as ruthless as he is brilliant. When a problem arises that even Daisuke can’t solve, it should be a dream come true that he suggests sending her to fix it. But does she stand a chance or is Daisuke rolling the dice with her life?
Matsuko Ito
Adviser and spymaster to Daisuke Kudo, the leader of the Kudo-Kai.
Kind, sage and with a sense of humour that often has him slapping his prodigious belly with mirth, Matsuko has been more of a father to Akira than Daisuke has.
He’s always done his best to protect her. But when Daisuke proposes to send Akira on a dangerous mission, even Matsuko’s dark arts might not be enough to keep her safe.
Lazarus
Lazarus earned his nickname flying mining tugs on missions so dangerous that he shouldn’t have returned from them.
He has been part of the crew of the Indigo Starling for a decade. A brilliant pilot but chronically agoraphobic, he refuses to leave the ship and spends all of his time with his irascible pet lizard, Marvin.
For years he has followed the lead of his captain, Stephan L’Amfour, unquestioningly. But is Stephan about to the lead the Starling into a situation that even Lazarus won’t be able to pilot them out of?
More profiles coming soon!
Check back here for more profiles of the key characters of Indigo Starling.