The Middle Kingdoms are four small realms located at the heart of a world where humanity is slowly finding its feet again, many centuries after the banishment of an ancient evil. Their world is an alternate Earth—one of many millions of companion worlds gathered together in one small sheaf of the great, ever-shifting Pattern of universes. And while there are similarities to our own world, there are also many profound differences.

Here Dragons are real—ancient travelers from another world far away among the stars. Here magic, in several forms, is more or less a commonplace. Here the Goddess Who rules everything is not hidden away, but part of most people's lives, walking in Her world. And here the matter of who you love, and how, is between you and Her... no one else.

In such a world the impossible gives way unexpectedly to the marvelous. In such a world, a part-time blacksmith, a runaway prince, a rogue Dragon, a wandering swordswoman and an insatiably curious fire elemental can join forces to put the rightful King on his throne, defeat the Goddess's immortal and malicious Shadow, and (if they're very lucky) ultimately save a world that's very much worth saving...

The Lambda-award winning Middle Kingdoms series comprises (so far) three "main sequence" novels and numerous short works that explore the first fantasy universe created by New York Times bestselling author Diane Duane. Its early LGBTQ content garnered critical acclaim; the series' kickoff volume, The Door Into Fire, won DD two years' nominations in a row for the Astounding Award for best new SF/fantasy writer in the field.

New additions to this universe include the "Tales of the Five" prose miniseries, presently in progress, which when complete will form a bridge to the forthcoming final novel in the main sequence, The Door Into Starlight. 

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