respect of the Marines who come to see their Prince in a new light. Sergeant Nimashet Despereaux becomes attracted to the Prince, particularly after his more capable and effective potential is revealed, and Roger in turn with her, leading to a romantic tensions in the midst of the long march. Roger and the diminishing Company, supported by a growing group of Mardukan allies, eventually find their way to the spaceport and off the planet, but not before Roger learns that his siblings (and their families) have been killed and that the Empire (and some beyond) believes that Roger himself was responsible. In fact, Roger's biological father, the Duke of New Madrid, and his ally, Prince Jackson Adoula, set up the sabotage of his ship, and have framed Roger for the crime, he being conveniently lost and certainly dead. They have also taken the Empress captive, using a combination of cybernetic tampering, torture, sexual slavery, and drugs to control the normally ironwilled Empress. The conspirators plan to put a second son of New Madrid (being matured in an incubator) and the Empress on the Throne. Roger and the remaining 14 members of Bravo Company return to Earth, set themselves up as restaurateurs, make contact with former members of the Empress's Own, and with considerable difficulty, successfully launch a counter-coup. With the Empress rescued, the fetus destroyed by one of the conspirators' followers, and New Madrid in custody, Roger must cope with his mother's severely damaged condition, a half-destroyed navy, rebuilding the palace, restoring the line of succession, and with the very nearly inevitable threat of civil war thanks to the escape of Jackson Adoula. The fourth novel ends with the Empress abdicating the throne due to her condition, leaving Roger to reign as Emperor of the Throne of Man over an uncertain future. Books in the series March Upcountry (2001) (read online) March to the Sea (2001) (read excerpt) March to the Stars (2003) (read excerpt) We Few (2005) (read excerpt) Omnibus collections Empire of Man (February 2014) ; collects March Upcountry and March to the Sea Throne of Stars (August 2014) collects March to the Stars and We Few Future novels Both John Ringo and David Weber have said that they plan on writing more Empire of Man novels, Ringo going so far as to reveal that, after We Few, three more books have been contracted for the series. Weber