On a distant world of cruel belief and harsh reality, Dr. Thanakar and his cousin, Mad Prince Abu, enter the city of Charn and become involved in a society of freedom, oppression, intrigue, and power

The second book in the Starbridge Chronicles, SUGAR RAIN relates the stories of Thanakar and Charity Starbridge during the revolution that ended the first book in the series, SOLDIERS OF PARADISE. The generations-long winter has drawn to a close, and with it the power of the tyrannical Starbridge theocracy that maintained order during the years of hunger. But a cruelly pragmatic priest has set the stage for a new faith, and even those who defy him seem fated to play out roles that will inevitably bring it to pass. As Thanakar struggles in exile to find safe harbor for his adopted family, Charity Starbridge undertakes a mythic journey to join him, passing through various underworlds to defy a tragic destiny.

As intellectual oppression reigns in Charn, a pair of changeling twins—seduced by the violent extremes of an outlaw religion—usher in a bizarre and terrifying future. Reprint.