Combining the suspense of the detective thriller with the awesome wonder of space/time adventure. Crux of Battle begins an epic tale of a war across one million alternate Earths."One of the most able and impressive of SF's rising stars!" —The Washington PostAn exciting blend of time travel, alien invasion, and chase/action from the critically hailed author of Mother of Storms, Kaleidoscope Century, and other novels published by Tor.

The second volume in a fast-action science fiction series that blends time travel, alien invasion, and high-tech adventure.The almost-human Closers are waging a war of annihilation across a million alternate timelines. Crux Op agent Mark Strang is on special assignment to colonial America to track down a missing time agent. But in this version of reality, George Washington is Duke of Kentucky, and Britain's King George III has been replaced by a ruthless impostor. Strang's scheme to rescue the real king leads him into battle in the skies on both sides of the Atlantic.

The alien Closers are waging a war of annihilation and extermination on a million alternate Earths. To stop them, orbiting Hyper Athens recruits Crux Ops fighters from every human era. Private eye Mark Strang has battled the Closers in every century, with weapons old and new, from laser beam to crossbow. But now the Timelines are mysteriously closing, and he must storm the Roman Forum with knife in hand, risking the most hideous death of all - crucifixion!