Asimov Science Fiction Readers’ Choice, and RT Reviewers’ Choice.

Hurtling through the blackness of space, Boss detects a mysterious blip from an unknown source that sets her heart pounding…

Boss dives derelict space vessels, for money, yes, but more for their historical value. So, when she uncovers the find of a lifetime, she enlists the best divers she knows to help her pursue it—off the grid and under the Empire’s radar.

Boss’s discovery leads her and her team to the Room of Lost Souls. Boss remembers the Room. It haunts her. Her mother died there. Now, a client wants her to go back to help uncover the Room’s mysteries. But the truths they discover might destroy everything Boss holds sacred.

Because the more they discover, the less they realize they know—and the more it will cost them all.

Read all 11 novels in the Diving Universe!

Diving Into the Wreck

City of Ruins

Boneyards

Skirmishes

The Falls

The Runabout

Searching for the Fleet

The Renegat

Thieves

Squishy’s Teams

The Chase

“This is classic sci-fi, a well-told tale of dangerous exploration. The first-person narration makes the reader an eyewitness to the vast, silent realms of deep space, where even the smallest error will bring disaster. Compellingly human and technically absorbing, the suspense builds to fevered intensity, culminating in an explosive yet plausible conclusion.”

—RT Book Reviews Top Pick

“Diving into the Wreck has much to offer, including what even Boss—the avid researcher into lost forms of science—describes as ‘secrets which, if understood, can teach us more about ourselves than any science can.’”

—Locus Magazine

“Rusch delivers a page-turning space adventure while contemplating the ethics of scientists and governments working together on future tech.”

—Publisher’s Weekly

Kristine Kathryn Rusch is a New York Times bestselling author whose fiction has won dozens of awards and critical accolades.

Years after stumbling across her first Dignity Vessel, Boss now leads a team of people searching for “loose” stealth technology. She takes a team to Vaycehn to investigate a phenomenon called death holes, thinking they might lead her to stealth tech.

Captain Jonathon “Coop” Cooper and the crew of the Ivoire finally find a way out of foldspace despite their damaged anacapa drive. But he soon realizes the ship’s return to normal space is anything but normal.

Coop and Boss hold the answer to questions both seek. But what they discover will change everything.

“City of Ruins has two great strengths going for it. One is the characters. Rusch does a marvelous job of bringing even minor characters to life…. The other appeal is the constant tension….Each scene is a taut wire, ready to snap.”

—Josh Vogt, SpeculativeFictionExaminer.com

Captain Tory Sabin knows all too well the dangers of the anacapa drive, and that sometimes ships enter foldspace never to return. The ships simply disappear, taking their crews with them.

Responding to a distress call from Captain Jonathan “Coop” Cooper, Sabin knows she must race against time to find him and his ship. Because although the Ivoire becomes the latest ship to enter foldspace and not return, she refuses to give up hope. She resolves to find the Ivoire. But her search for answers will lead to truths that will change her life forever. 

Winner of the Asimov’s Readers Choice Award for best novella, The Application of Hope adds a rich layer to the complex story about foldspace and the anacapa technology that drives the Fleet.

“The Diving Universe, conceived by Hugo Award-winning author Kristine [Kathryn] Rusch is a refreshingly new and fleshed out realm of sci-fi action and adventure. And the latest offering…doesn’t disappoint.”

—Dave Dickinson, Astroguyz on Skirmishes

“A combination of first-person and third-person narrative and flashback segments makes this a complex and compelling story. It’s like having three tales in one, with an added peek into the bad guys’ activities, all of them intriguing, classic science fiction. It leaves the reader eager to explore this universe again and see what will happen next with these characters.”

—RT Book Reviews on Skirmishes

“…there's wreck diving, space battling, and even a bit of romance here. Throw in plenty of suspense and several plot twists, and you have adventure SF in the old tradition.”

—Bill Crider’s Pop Culture Magazine on Skirmishes

“The latest Diving Universe science fiction (see City of Ruins, Diving Into The Wreck and Boneyards) is a fabulous outer space thriller that rotates perspective between the divers, the Alliance and to a lesser degree the Empire. Action-packed and filled with twists yet allowing the reader to understand the motives of the key players, Skirmishes is another intelligent exciting voyage into the Rusch Diving universe.”

—Midwest Book Review on Skirmishes

Stealth tech: a lost science everyone wants to reclaim. The woman who helped Boss dive the Dignity Vessel, known then as Squishy, claims a long and storied history with stealth tech. Her research into the lost science caused deaths before, and she failed to prevent more during a fateful dive. Now, she vows to find a way to destroy the technology once and for all.

Coop and Boss want to keep stealth tech out of the Empire’s hands, too, but for different reasons. “Stealth tech” powers Coop’s ship in the form of its anacapa drive. A drive that malfunctioned, leaving Coop and his crew stranded. But to find a way home, he must know what happened in the past.

When Squishy’s actions threaten Coop’s mission, he must make a choice—help Boss attack the Empire, or risk losing his hope for a future.

“Rusch follows Diving into the Wreck and City of Ruins with another fast-paced novel of the far future.”

—Publisher’s Weekly

“Filled with well-defined characters who confront a variety of ethical and moral dilemmas, Rusch’s third Diving Universe novel is classic space opera, with richly detailed worldbuilding and lots of drama.”

—RT Book Reviews

An epic search sparked by a dangerous hope.

Leaving Boss behind to continue diving the Boneyard, Ivoire Engineer Yash Zarlengo returns to the Lost Souls Corporation’s headquarters to analyze the data from the runabout they discovered there.

Convinced that the experience in the Boneyard proves the Fleet still exists, Yash buries herself in her work, interested in little else.

Ivoire Captain Jonathan “Coop” Cooper notices Yash’s growing obsession with finding the Fleet and joins her in her search.

For the first time in six years, the crew of the Ivoire feels real hope. Coop and Yash know all too well the dangers hope can pose. But this time their hope might just lead them somewhere no one expected.

A page-turning adventure, Searching for the Fleet expands Kristine Kathryn Rusch’s award-winning Diving series into uncharted territory.

“By mixing cerebral and investigative elements, emotional character segments, and the adrenaline of action, Rusch tells a complete yet varied tale that will please science fiction readers looking for something different from the usual fare.”

—Publishers Weekly

“[The Runabout] is so good, it will make you want to read the other stories.”

—SFRevu

 “Amazing character construction, building a plot that riveted me almost from the moment it began. I will now absolutely have to read the preceding titles and I cannot wait to see what will come as a result of The Runabout.”

—Tangent Online

 “Kristine Kathryn Rusch is best known for her Retrieval Artist series, so maybe you’ve missed her Diving Universe series. If so, it’s high time to remedy that oversight.”

—Don Sakers, Analog

The Diving Universe, conceived buy Hugo-Award winning author Kristine [Kathryn] Rusch is a refreshingly new and fleshed out realm of sci-fi action and adventure. And the latest offering…doesn’t disappoint.

—Dave Dickinson, Astro Guyz on Skirmishes

As a young recruit, brilliant engineer Nadim Crowe accidentally destroys an entire Scrapheap full of ships. Now, decades later, he ends up on the crew of the Renegat, the only ship in the Fleet ever sent on a mission backwards to investigate an ancient Scrapheap.

Something invaded that Scrapheap and the Fleet wants to know what. Or who.

The Renegat: The only ship the Fleet dares risk. The Renegat: A ship of misfits and screw-ups sent on an impossible mission. All alone in deep space.

A thrilling new addition to the Diving Universe.

Praise for the Diving Series:

Rusch’s handling of the mystery and adventure is stellar, and the whole tale proves quite entertaining.

—Booklist Online on Diving into the Wreck

This is classic sci-fi, a well-told tale of dangerous exploration. The first-person narration makes the reader an eyewitness to the vast, silent realms of deep space, where even the smallest error will bring disaster. Compellingly human and technically absorbing, the suspense builds to fevered intensity, culminating in an explosive yet plausible conclusion.

—RT Book Reviews Top Pick on Diving into the Wreck

Rusch delivers a page-turning space adventure while contemplating the ethics of scientists and governments working together on future tech.

—Publishers Weekly on Diving into the Wreck

Rusch keeps the science accessible, the cultures intriguing, and the characters engaging.  For anyone needing to add to their science fiction library, keep an eye out for this.

—Josh Vogt, Speculative Fiction Examiner.com on City of Ruins

Filled with well-defined characters who confront a variety of ethical and moral dilemmas, Rusch’s third Diving Universe novel is classic space opera, with richly detailed worldbuilding and lots of drama.

—RT Book Reviews on Boneyards

When the captain and senior crew abandon the Renegat, linguist Raina Serpell assumes command. She needs to get the ship and remaining crew home.

As the ship comes under attack from the planet below, Raina must first figure out how to operate the ship’s firepower. Harder still, she must battle her own past to become captain in more than just name alone.

A gripping, fast-paced read. Award-winning Kristine Kathryn Rusch working at the top of her form.

“Escaping Amnthra is a full-fledged action adventure filled with high stakes and near-death experiences.”

—Realms & Robots

“As I frequently say, of Rusch’s stories, they are enormously entertaining and I can’t wait for the next one.”

—SFRevu

A race against time.

Weeks after Boss’ injury from the runabout dive, she continues the mission to salvage Fleet wrecks for the Lost Souls Corporation. But Boss feels like she lost something after that fateful dive.

Until something happens in the Boneyard to catch her attention. Something that sparks her interest with an intensity she thought she lost.

Now, Boss must assemble a team—her old team—to dive this new discovery.

But Boss worries that someone knows her plans. That the Boneyard might prove more sentient than she knows.

She feels the clock ticking—and she worries time will run out once and for all.

A thrilling new adventure, Thieves provides pulse-pounding new developments in Kristine Kathryn Rusch’s award-winning Diving series.

“By mixing cerebral and investigative elements, emotional character segments, and the adrenaline of action, Rusch tells a complete yet varied tale that will please science fiction readers looking for something different from the usual fare.”

—Publishers Weekly on Searching for the Fleet

“Think of the Diving universe as an exciting mystery saga, pitting the drama of ship salvage against the dangers of space.”

—Astroguyz

“Kristine Kathryn Rusch is best known for her Retrieval Artist series, so maybe you’ve missed her Diving Universe series. If so, it’s high time to remedy that oversight.”

—Don Sakers, Analog

“[The Runabout] is so good, it will make you want to read the other stories.”

—SFRevu

“Amazing character construction, building a plot that riveted me almost from the moment it began. I will now absolutely have to read the preceding titles and I cannot wait to see what will come as a result of The Runabout.”

—Tangent Online

Diving readers know that Squishy enlisted others to help her destroy stealth tech in the novel Boneyards. But exactly what happened to those teams remained a mystery—until now.

Ten people signed up to help Squishy in her fateful mission. Only five returned.

Paired up in teams of two, they set out across the Enterran Empire to infiltrate and sabotage the Empire’s bases used to back up their stealth tech research.

But what exactly happened on those bases? Who survived? Squishy’s Teams provides the answers to those burning questions and reveals twists to the ongoing saga no one sees coming.

Note: Before reading Squishy’s Teams, please read Boneyards.

“Rusch follows Diving into the Wreck and City of Ruins with another fast-paced novel of the far future.”

—Publisher’s Weekly on Boneyards

“Filled with well-defined characters who confront a variety of ethical and moral dilemmas, Rusch’s third Diving Universe novel is classic space opera, with richly detailed worldbuilding and lots of drama.”

—RT Book Reviews on Boneyards

On the run.

After fleeing pursuers from two different missions, Boss and Coop reconvene at the Lost Souls Corporation headquarters. Both share exciting but troublesome news.

And a whole lot of questions.

But before they begin to even scratch the surface of the new information, they face threats from all quarters.

And when an old adversary of Coop’s gets involved, Boss questions who to trust to survive and find some long-awaited answers.

A nonstop new adventure, The Chase provides thrilling new details about Kristine Kathryn Rusch’s award-winning Diving series.

“By mixing cerebral and investigative elements, emotional character segments, and the adrenaline of action, Rusch tells a complete yet varied tale that will please science fiction readers looking for something different from the usual fare.”

—Publishers Weekly on Searching for the Fleet

“Think of the Diving universe as an exciting mystery saga, pitting the drama of ship salvage against the dangers of space.”

—Astroguyz

“Kristine Kathryn Rusch is best known for her Retrieval Artist series, so maybe you’ve missed her Diving Universe series. If so, it’s high time to remedy that oversight.”

—Don Sakers, Analog

“[The Runabout] is so good, it will make you want to read the other stories.”

—SFRevu

“Amazing character construction, building a plot that riveted me almost from the moment it began. I will now absolutely have to read the preceding titles and I cannot wait to see what will come as a result of The Runabout.”

—Tangent Online

Nedda Ferguson-Lithe lost her father on the Gabriella’s final mission. The ship’s disappearance remains one of the great mysteries of the sector.

But as Nedda interviews the crew’s survivors, she finds more questions than answers.

No one knows who or what causes the maelstroms that make exploring Nájar Crater on Madreperla so dangerous. But everyone knows that the rumors of the crater’s riches prove far too tempting despite the danger.

Every time a ship ventures into that crater, a maelstrom drives it out. Or destroys it. Nedda hopes to find out which fate met the Gabriella—and her father.

Nominated for the Asimov’s Readers Choice Award for best novella, Maelstrom proves a heart-wrenching addition to Kristine Kathryn Rusch’s award-winning Diving Series.

“Like everything [Kristine Kathryn Rusch] writes, the story is beautifully-told and has a lot of heart. Who could ask for anything more?”

—SFRevu