COME FOR THE GAMES. STAY FOR THE MURDER. A mystery in the Gordian Division universe. The Weltall Tournament's professional VR games were supposed to be a symbol of cooperation between SysGov and its militaristic neighbor, the Admin. But that was before star Admin player Elly Sako received a death threat, written in blood next to a copy of her own severed head. The Admin's Department of Temporal Investigation swiftly seizes control of the crime scene, and the tournament transforms into a flashpoint of charged politics and conflicting jurisdictions. SysPol Detective Isaac Cho and DTI Special Agent Susan Cantrell - partners in the officer exchange program - are sent in to take charge of the investigation and bring the situation under control. But solving this mystery won't be easy, and the pair struggles to determine who is telling the truth. A jilted relationship between players soon explodes into signs of a far-reaching conspiracy, and the two detectives find themselves racing against time before the tournament ends. Because the killer will be the only one who wins, should they fail. At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management). About The Janus File : "A satisfying, self-contained mystery for its mismatched protagonists to gradually unravel . . . moments of humor amid the expected culture clashes, and the exploration of the authors' well-realized far-future world . . . It's pure entertainment." - Publishers Weekly About prequel The Gordian Protocol : "Tom Clancy-esque exposition of technical details . . . absurd humor and bloody action. Echoes of Robert Heinlein . . . lots of exploding temporal spaceships and bodies . . . action-packed . . ." - Booklist "[A] fun and thrilling standalone from Weber and Holo. . . . Time travel enthusiasts will enjoy the moral dilemmas, nonstop action, and crisp writing." - Publishers Weekly With more than eight million copies of his books in print and 33 titles on the New York Times bestseller list, David Weber is a science fiction powerhouse. In the vastly popular Honor Harrington series, the spirit of C.S. Forester's Horatio Hornblower and Patrick O'Brian's Master and Commander lives on - into the galactic future. Books in the Honor Harrington and Honorverse series have appeared on 21 bestseller lists, including The Wall Street Journal , The New York Times , and USA Today . Additional Honorverse collaborations include the spin-off miniseries Manticore Ascendant with New York Times best-selling author Timothy Zahn, and with Eric Flint, Crown of Slaves and Cauldron of Ghosts contribute to Weber's illustrious list of New York Times and international bestsellers. Best known for his spirited, modern-minded space operas, Weber is also the creator of the Oath of Swords fantasy series and the Dahak Saga, a science fiction and fantasy hybrid. Weber has also engaged in a steady stream of best-selling the Starfire series with Steve White; the Empire of Man series with John Ringo; the Multiverse series with Linda Evans and Joelle Presby; and the Ring of Fire series with Eric Flint. Jacob Holo is a former-Ohioan, former-Michigander living in sunny South Carolina. He describes himself as a writer, gamer, hobbyist, and engineer who started writing after his parents bought him an IBM 286 desktop back in the '80s. He's been writing ever since.