Once the Empire spanned light years, uniting farflung mankind in peace and harmony. Now it is rotten to the core, and a half-mad empress rules with a fist of iron. This is the future fate of humanity as envisioned by the genius imagination of Simon R. Green

Before the rise of Owen Deathstalker, other heroes defended this perilous galaxy. Their exciting stories are told in three action--packed novellas set in the amazing Deathstalker universe. "Mistworld " introduces the intrepid Investigator Topaz as she battles an Imperial fiend on a distant pirate haven. "Ghostworld" is Base thirteen, where Jhon Silence and his crew investigate a mystery more chilling than the vacuum of space. And in "Hellworld" Captain Hunter and his fellow scouts are stranded on a planet straight out of their worst nightmares. For in the final years of the Empire, there is no safety anywhere.