''Merovingen Nights'' is a series of

shared universe A shared universe or shared world is a fictional universe from a set of creative works where more than one writer (or other artist) independently contributes a work that can stand alone but fits into the joint development of the storyline, char ...

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imagination, imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, Paral ...

books set in writer

C. J. Cherryh Carolyn Janice Cherry (born September 1, 1942), better known by the pen name C. J. Cherryh, is an American writer of speculative fiction. She has written more than 80 books since the mid-1970s, including the Hugo Award-winning novels '' Downbel ...

Alliance–Union universe The Alliance–Union universe is a fictional universe created by American writer C. J. Cherryh. It is the setting for a future history series extending from the 21st century into the far future. To date, the corpus of the Alliance–Union un ...

. There are eight books in the series: a novel by Cherryh, ''

Angel with the Sword ''Angel with the Sword'' is a science fiction novel by American writer C. J. Cherryh, published in 1985 by DAW Books. It is set in Cherryh's Alliance–Union universe, and is the first book in the shared universe '' Merovingen Nights''. Recept ...

'', and seven short fiction

anthologies In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs or excerpts by different authors. In genre fiction, the term ''anthology'' typically catego ...

which Cherryh edited. The books were published by DAW Books between 1985 and 1991. ''Angel with the Sword'' was originally published by Cherryh in 1985 as a free-standing novel. The ''Merovingen Nights'' series came into being two years later when Cherryh began editing seven anthologies that were set in the same universe as ''Angel with the Sword''. ''Angel with the Sword'' was subsequently republished with the ''Merovingen Nights'' branding. The books take place on the planet Merovin in the Alliance-Union universe after AD 3240, and as such, they are definitively science fiction, but the level of

technology Technology is the application of knowledge to reach practical goals in a specifiable and reproducible way. The word ''technology'' may also mean the product of such an endeavor. The use of technology is widely prevalent in medicine, scie ...

on the planet is quite backwards for the 33rd century. For example, most personal weaponry is of the knife or sword variety; relatively few firearms are available and in any case nothing more advanced than a revolver. In addition, the planet Merovin is isolated, forsaken by the rest of humanity because of poor interstellar relations with an aggressive alien species, the Sharrh. Because of these limitations on technology, trade, and travel, and because many of the stories feature swordplay and skullduggery, the series is reminiscent of the old

sword and planet Sword and planet is a subgenre of science fantasy that features rousing adventure stories set on other planets, and usually featuring humans as protagonists. The name derives from the heroes of the genre engaging their adversaries in hand-to-han ...

subgenre of speculative fiction. As such, some claim that the term

science fantasy Science fantasy is a hybrid genre within speculative fiction that simultaneously draws upon or combines tropes and elements from both science fiction and fantasy. In a conventional science fiction story, the world is presented as being scienti ...

might be a more appropriate label for the books than

, but Cherryh has gone to great lengths to establish that despite the low technology level of the planet, the books fall clearly within the context of her Alliance–Union science fiction universe.

List of books

Novels * ''

'' (1985), C. J. Cherryh Anthologies * ''Festival Moon'' (1987) – ''Merovingen Nights'' #1 * ''Fever Season'' (1987) – ''Merovingen Nights'' #2 * ''Troubled Waters'' (1988) – ''Merovingen Nights'' #3 * ''Smuggler's Gold'' (1988) – ''Merovingen Nights'' #4 * ''Divine Right'' (1989) – ''Merovingen Nights'' #5 * ''Flood Tide'' (1990) – ''Merovingen Nights'' #6 * ''Endgame'' (1991) – ''Merovingen Nights'' #7

Contributing authors

The following authors contributed works of short fiction to the various anthologies: *

Lynn Abbey Marilyn Lorraine "Lynn" Abbey (born September 18, 1948) is an American fantasy author. Background Born in Peekskill, New York, Abbey was daughter of Ronald Lionel (an insurance manager) and Doris Lorraine (a homemaker; maiden name, De Wees). She ...

Nancy Asire Nancy Asire (born 1945) was an American fantasy and science fiction author, best known for her ''Twilight's Kingdoms'' fantasy trilogy and her contributions to the shared universe series ''Heroes in Hell'', '' Sword of Knowledge'' and ''Meroving ...

Robert Lynn Asprin Robert Lynn Asprin (June 28, 1946 – May 22, 2008) was an American science fiction and fantasy author and active fan, known best for his humorous series '' MythAdventures'' and '' Phule's Company''. Background Robert Asprin was born in St. ...

Leslie Fish Leslie Fish is a folk musician, author, and anarchist political activist. Music Along with The DeHorn Crew, in 1976 she created the first commercial filk recording, ''Folk Songs for Folk Who Ain't Even Been Yet''. Her second recording, ''Solar S ...

Mercedes Lackey Mercedes Ritchie Lackey (born June 24, 1950) is an American writer of fantasy novels. Many of her novels and trilogies are interlinked and set in the world of Velgarth, mostly in and around the country of Valdemar. Her Valdemar novels include ...

, who subsequently re-worked some of her contribution into '' Shadow of the Lion'' * Chris Morris *

Janet Morris Janet Ellen Morris (born May 25, 1946) is an American author of fiction and nonfiction, best known for her fantasy and science fiction and her authorship of a non-lethal weapons concept for the U.S. military. Background Writing Janet Morris be ...

Roberta Rogow Roberta Rogow (born March 7, 1942; ) is an American writer of speculative fiction and fan fiction, and a filk singer-songwriter. SHe graduated with a BA from Queens CUNY in 1962 and Columbia University with an MLS in 1971. Career Rogow is a ...

* Bradley H. Sinor {{Janet Morris Alliance–Union universe DAW Books books Science fiction anthology series Science fiction book series