Jurisdiction Series by Susan R. Matthews, Stefan Rudnicki

A promising young surgeon, Andrej Koscuisko has come, with great reluctance, to study at a military orientation center adrift in black space. Against his will, he will train here to serve as a "Ship's Inquisitor" — a vocation that runs counter to his deepest moral convictions.During his tenure, Andrej will earn the devotion of his personal slave. He will gain the grudging respect of the Station Administration. He will make a deadly enemy of his fellow student... moreA promising young surgeon, Andrej Koscuisko has come, with great reluctance, to study at a military orientation center adrift in black space. Against his will, he will train here to serve as a "Ship's Inquisitor" — a vocation that runs counter to his deepest moral convictions.During his tenure, Andrej will earn the devotion of his personal slave. He will gain the grudging respect of the Station Administration. He will make a deadly enemy of his fellow student. He will learn a frightening truth about himself. And ultimately, he will be forced to sacrifice all that he holds dear… less

He wanted to be a doctor, but his family sent him to be a Ship’s Inquisitor. Only his fierce determination to hold to justice wherever he can find it has preserved his sanity -- his own force of will, and a peculiar partnership with a man condemned by the Bench to serve on pain of agonizing punishment inflicted by the “governor” in his brain.In Port Rudistal, a defeated people have been consigned to the authority of their ancestral enemies to suffer and work and die like cattle... moreHe wanted to be a doctor, but his family sent him to be a Ship’s Inquisitor. Only his fierce determination to hold to justice wherever he can find it has preserved his sanity -- his own force of will, and a peculiar partnership with a man condemned by the Bench to serve on pain of agonizing punishment inflicted by the “governor” in his brain.In Port Rudistal, a defeated people have been consigned to the authority of their ancestral enemies to suffer and work and die like cattle.Bereft of his friend, drunk on absolute license to work his will on prisoner after prisoner, will Andrej realize what horrors are contained within the walls of the Domitt Prison, and can he bring the truth to light before his enemies silence him forever?At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management).Andrej is a compelling character...[The federation] makes a powerful background for these tales of heroic torment — and leaves room for interesting exploration in future volumes.-Carolyn Cushman, LocusLike the first book, this is dark, delicious, edgy and disturbing. Go for it.-Barnes & NobleMatthews has the ability to translate the ugliness of human society into highly readable prose. One of the most original and enjoyable works to be found in the genre in quite a while.-StarlogMatthews has a knack for working with horrific material in a way that acknowledges human capacity for humour, decency, affection, and survival without ever minimizing the horror. She also has a knack for writing stuff that really ought to come with nightmare warnings…Susan R. Matthews is among the best writers of ethical arguments at work in science fiction today.-Liz Bourke, Tor.com less

A stand-alone novel within the author's critically-acclaimed "Judiciary" universe, this title focuses on Bench specialist Garol Vogel and his attempts to make peace with the Langsarik people--the people his own Judiciary drove into a life of piracy.

Burkhayden is a subject colony, leased by the Bench to a Dolgorukij familial corporation for economic exploitation. When a Nurail woman from the service house is brutally raped and beaten, Andrej Koscuisko –- Ship’s Inquisitor on board the Jurisdiction Fleet Ship Ragnarok –- is called upon to render services under contract.One of Koscuisko’s bond-involuntary Security slaves recognizes the tortured woman. And murder is done in port Burkhayden... moreBurkhayden is a subject colony, leased by the Bench to a Dolgorukij familial corporation for economic exploitation. When a Nurail woman from the service house is brutally raped and beaten, Andrej Koscuisko –- Ship’s Inquisitor on board the Jurisdiction Fleet Ship Ragnarok –- is called upon to render services under contract.One of Koscuisko’s bond-involuntary Security slaves recognizes the tortured woman. And murder is done in port Burkhayden. The only way Andrej can protect a man he loves is to condemn a guiltless man to atrocious torment. Will he commit the ultimate crime?Before one fateful night is out Andrej Koscuisko will put himself under sentence of death by doing what he realizes at last he should have done from the beginning.And Port Burkhayden will burn.At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management).The series remains a mix of compelling storytelling, frighteningly intense depictions of evil, sentimental portraits of loyalty and courage, and some strangely reimagined conventions and stereotypes. Matthews keeps returning to the possibility of right action in a hideously wrong world, of decency struggling to assert itself despite the threat of pain and death, of the durability of compassion and respect.-Russell Letson, Locus[Matthews] brilliantly uses science fiction’s freedom of creation to make a world in which she can explore deep moral conflicts.-Denver PostMatthews’ Jurisdiction novels are deeply focused on character, and intensely interested in anguish, the dynamics of absolute power, and the tension between conflicting – I hesitate to say “moral,” but perhaps “dutiful” will do – imperatives. I have yet to read science fiction by another author that takes these themes from a similar angle.”-Liz Bourke, columnist at Tor.com less

Andrej Koscuisko, the Ragnarok’s Ship's Inquisitor, is going home on leave. His ship of assignment is participating in training exercises, and when an observer station unexpectedly explodes –- killing the Ragnarok’s captain -– Pesadie Training Command has to come up with a cover story in a hurry or risk exposure of its black-market profiteering.There is a conveniently obvious explanation: the Ragnarok did it on purpose... moreAndrej Koscuisko, the Ragnarok’s Ship's Inquisitor, is going home on leave. His ship of assignment is participating in training exercises, and when an observer station unexpectedly explodes –- killing the Ragnarok’s captain -– Pesadie Training Command has to come up with a cover story in a hurry or risk exposure of its black-market profiteering.There is a conveniently obvious explanation: the Ragnarok did it on purpose. All Pesadie needs are a few confessions -- obtained by judicial torture, which creates its own truth. And a bitter enemy from Andrej’s earliest days in Fleet has been waiting for just such an opportunity to set a trap and bait it with the lives of people Andrej loves.Andrej will have to fight Fleet itself to bring the Ragnarok the only thing that can save the ship and crew from destruction –- a single piece of evidence with the potential to change the course of the history of Jurisdiction Space forever.At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management).A tightly woven space opera full of grand heroic gestures and characters strong enough to sustain all the action.-BooklistMatthews' work here -- of projecting a concentrated vision of the horrors of the last hundred years into a space-operatic future -- is extraordinarily risky and emotionally difficult, but now that she has shown that the Judiciary universe holds hope as well as pathology and pain, I will be able to follow Koscuisko to whatever fate awaits him with an easier mind.-Locus Magazine less

The Ragnarok's legal status has been ambiguous since it had to shoot its way out to save the lives of its crew. Suddenly an incident from Ship's Inquisitor Andrej Koscuisko's past comes back to haunt him. More alone than he has ever been, he must face the deadliest threat he has ever encountered.

THREE CRITICALLY-ACCLAIMED EPIC SCIENCE FICTION NOVELS TOGETHER FOR THE FIRST TIME from the Under Jurisdiction series by John W. Campbell award finalist Susan R. Matthews. THE SECOND OF TWO SERIES OMNIBUS VOLUMES following Fleet Inquisitor. This volume includes series entries Hour of Judgment, The Devil and Deep Space, and Warring States. Fleet Renegade will be followed by the new Under Jurisdiction novel Blood Enemies... moreTHREE CRITICALLY-ACCLAIMED EPIC SCIENCE FICTION NOVELS TOGETHER FOR THE FIRST TIME from the Under Jurisdiction series by John W. Campbell award finalist Susan R. Matthews. THE SECOND OF TWO SERIES OMNIBUS VOLUMES following Fleet Inquisitor. This volume includes series entries Hour of Judgment, The Devil and Deep Space, and Warring States. Fleet Renegade will be followed by the new Under Jurisdiction novel Blood Enemies.  Hour of Judgment Burkhayden is a subject colony, leased by the Bench to a Dolgorukij familial corporation for economic exploitation. When a Nurail woman from the service house is brutally raped and beaten, Andrej Koscuisko –- Ship’s Inquisitor on board the Jurisdiction Fleet Ship Ragnarok –- is called upon to render services under contract. Before one fateful night is out Andrej Koscuisko will put himself under sentence of death by doing what he realizes at last he should have done from the beginning. And Port Burkhayden will burn. The Devil and Deep Space Andrej Koscuisko, the Ragnarok’s Ship's Inquisitor, is going home on leave. His ship of assignment is participating in training exercises, and when an observer station unexpectedly explodes. Andrej will have to fight Fleet itself to bring the Ragnarok the only thing that can save the ship and crew from destruction –- a single piece of evidence with the potential to change the course of the history of Jurisdiction Space forever. Warring States Chilleau Judiciary’s senior administrative officer has been murdered in the very heart of Chambers. Bench Intelligence Specialist Jils Ivers has been unable to ferret out the perpetrator, and that means she’s the Bench’s prime candidate for execution –- so that justice may be seen to have been done, whether or not she is guilty. Andrej Koscuisko means to take this opportunity to execute a daring theft. And if he is successful, the rule of Law will be rocked to its very core, and the fundamental nature of the Bench will be changed forever. About Fleet Renegade: "Starting with An Exchange of Hostages, I devoured Susan R. Matthews 'Koscuisko' novels—all six of them—when they first appeared.  Books with this much courage, clarity, and empathy are rare. The Under Jurisdiction series is a remarkable and unprecedented accomplishment.”—Stephen R. Donaldson, New York Times best-selling author of the Thomas Covenant series. More praise for Susan R. Matthews: “[Matthews] brilliantly uses science fiction’s freedom of creation to make a world in which she can explore deep moral conflicts.”—Denver Post “. . . has a dark energy . . . an extremely compelling read.”—New York Review of Science Fiction “A chilling and engaging novel of false accusation and the power of personal responsibility.”—Booklist on Angel of Drestruction “A tightly woven space opera full of grand heroic gestures and characters strong enough to sustain all the action.”—Booklist on The Devil and Deep Space less

A new entry in the legendary, critically acclaimed under jurisdiction series!To end a genocidal menace, a retired torturer must again take up his hated trade.Andrej Koscuisko is a former Fleet Medical Officer for the enormous totalitarian star empire, the Jurisdiction. But when he served in the Fleet, Andrej's real job was not medicine, at least not primarily medicine, but to act as a torturer of prisoners, whether they had information to give or not... moreA new entry in the legendary, critically acclaimed under jurisdiction series!To end a genocidal menace, a retired torturer must again take up his hated trade.Andrej Koscuisko is a former Fleet Medical Officer for the enormous totalitarian star empire, the Jurisdiction. But when he served in the Fleet, Andrej's real job was not medicine, at least not primarily medicine, but to act as a torturer of prisoners, whether they had information to give or not. To help him in his duties, Andrej was attended by "bond involuntaries" - slaves - men he'd come to look upon as friends and family. Finally, enough was enough. Andrej absconded with six of his Fleet-provided security slaves and sent them into the no-man's land of Gonebeyond Space - beyond the reach of the Jurisdiction's tyrannical Bench.Now the Angel of Death, a savage terrorist organization from Andrej's system of origin, means to make Gonebeyond its own. But its ancestral enemy - the secret service of the Dolgorukij church, the Malcontent - has planted a double agent on the inside of the Angel of Death. Finally this interstellar menace might be destroyed forever.But there is trouble. Andrej Koscuisko wasn't expected to escape from protective custody at Safehaven Medical Center and come looking for his freed bond involuntaries, and now the Malcontent faces Andrej's unplanned intervention at the worst possible time. Now the only way to save the mission and bring down an organization that has slain whole systems of men, women, and children is for Andrej to embrace the savagery in his own heart and once again take on the role of Judicial torturer - a role that he had fought long and hard to escape. He must deploy every dirty trick and brutal stratagem he knows against the Malcontent agent whose secret he has unwittingly betrayed. less

THE BEST-SELLING UNDER JURISDICTION SERIES FROM CAMPBELL AWARD-NOMINATED AUTHOR SUSAN R. MATTHEWS CONTINUES. A new installment in the Phillip K. Dick-nominated series that Janis Ian called "a very scary series." Fleet Inquisitor Andrej Koscuisko finds himself out of the frying pan and into the fire: to fight back against a devious crime syndicate that is trying to murder him and bring  slavery and darkness to Gonebeyond Space... moreTHE BEST-SELLING UNDER JURISDICTION SERIES FROM CAMPBELL AWARD-NOMINATED AUTHOR SUSAN R. MATTHEWS CONTINUES. A new installment in the Phillip K. Dick-nominated series that Janis Ian called "a very scary series." Fleet Inquisitor Andrej Koscuisko finds himself out of the frying pan and into the fire: to fight back against a devious crime syndicate that is trying to murder him and bring  slavery and darkness to Gonebeyond Space.GONEBEYOND JUSTICE Gonebeyond space: get there and you may find freedom from torture and genocide under Jurisdiction. Yet go there at your own risk. The Rule of Law has only a tenuous hold on Gonebeyond, and undefended settlements can be exploited with impunity. Until now. The Langsariks’ Hilton Shires has forged a coalition to bring the worst of the Gonebeyond criminals—slavers—to justice. The criminal cartels that have profited from the freedom of Gonebeyond for so long aren’t having any of it, and they know the key to taking down Shires is to get rid of his ally, renegade Fleet Inquisitor Andrej Koscuisko. But where can they find an assassin with the moxie to “disappear” Andrej Koscuisko? Many have tried. None have succeeded. Enter his Excellency Danyo Pefisct. But this torturer from the Jurisdiction hasn't reckoned on one thing: Andrej Koscuisko is even more relentless and effective than before. The difference? Now Andrej serves the cause of Gonebeyond justice! Priase for Crimes Against Humanity: "...a tightly styled, simply plotted examination of ambition, obsession, and the many faces of justice..."—Publishers Weekly "Fans of space opera with a dark or grim twist will enjoy the idiosyncratic setting, full of former torturers and mind-control devices. . . ."—Booklist About Blood Enemies: "A very satisfying entry in a very scary series!"—Janis Ian "Starting with An Exchange of Hostages, I devoured Susan R. Matthews 'Koscuisko' novels—all six of them—when they first appeared. Books with this much courage, clarity, and empathy are rare. The Under Jurisdiction series is a remarkable and unprecedented accomplishment.”—Stephen R. Donaldson, New York Times best-selling author of the Thomas Covenant series. More praise for Susan R. Matthews: “[Matthews] brilliantly uses science fiction’s freedom of creation to make a world in which she can explore deep moral conflicts.”—Denver Post “. . . has a dark energy . . . an extremely compelling read.”—New York Review of Science Fiction “A chilling and engaging novel of false accusation and the power of personal responsibility.”—Booklist on Angel of Drestruction “A tightly woven space opera full of grand heroic gestures and characters strong enough to sustain all the action.”—Booklist on The Devil and Deep Space less