The Sten Chronicles are a series of eight military

Military science fiction

Military science fiction is a subgenre of science fiction in which the principal characters are members of a military service and an armed conflict is taking place, normally in space, or on a planet other than Earth...

 science fiction

Science fiction

Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...

 novel

Novel

A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....

s by Chris Bunch

Chris Bunch

Christopher R. "Chris" Bunch was an American science fiction, fantasy and television writer, who wrote and co-wrote about thirty novels....

 and Allan Cole

Allan Cole

Allan Cole is an American author and television writer, who has written or co-written nearly thirty books.The son of a CIA operative, Cole was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and raised in Europe, the Middle East and the Far East...

 published from 1982 to 1993. The series was originally published by Del Rey

Del Rey Books

Del Rey Books is a branch of Ballantine Books, which is owned by Random House and, in turn since 1998, by Bertelsmann AG. It is a separate imprint established in 1977 under the editorship of author Lester del Rey and his wife Judy-Lynn del Rey. It specializes in science fiction and fantasy...

 and then re-released by Orbit

Orbit Books

Orbit Books is an international publisher that specialises in science fiction and fantasy books. It was founded in 1974 as part of the Macdonald Futura publishing company...

. Also called Sten Adventures.

Plot overview

The books follow Karl Sten, a young man born and raised on a dangerous factory world and saved from life as an outlaw by the head of Imperial Intelligence, Ian Mahoney. Mahoney takes Sten from the terrible world of his birth and enlists him in the military. Sten is thrust into a world of espionage, covert military actions, and galactic politics. His original training is in the super-secret covert ops group known as Mantis. The missions and actions taken are usually known only to a select few. However, a series of crucial missions ensures that Sten rises swiftly in rank until he becomes a troubleshooter and friend to the Emperor himself.

The series of 8 books are set three thousand years in the future. A vast empire, limited only by the universe itself, is ruled by the Eternal Emperor, a man who appears to be in his thirties but is in fact thousands of years old. He has mastered death in a way no one has guessed since the beginning of his rule. The source of his power is a powerful fuel called Anti-Matter Two (AM2). It is what fuels everything from the star ships that link the Empire, to industrial factories, to camping heaters. Only he controls its supply and price. And only he knows where to find it. It is only for this reason that he is able to rule.

Book synopses

• Sten—Sten joins a special ops team and causes the downfall of Vulcan
• The Wolf Worlds
  Sten Adventures Book 2: The Wolf Worlds
  The Wolf Worlds is the second book in Chris Bunch and Allan Cole's The Sten Adventures.-Plot summary:The Eternal Emperor needed the Lupus Cluster, otherwise known as the Wolf Worlds, brought under control. The cult of Talemein has gotten out of hand...
  
  —Sten's team overthrows a corrupt government
• The Court of a Thousand Suns
  Sten Adventures Book 3: The Court of a Thousand Suns
  The Court of a Thousand Suns is the third book in Chris Bunch and Allan Cole's The Sten Adventures.-Plot summary:Sten is now the commander of the Eternal Emperor's bodyguard, the Imperial Gurkhas. When a bombing occurs in a local bar, the Emperor immediately puts Sten on the case for reasons he...
  
  —Bodyguard Captain Sten foils a murder plot against the Emperor
• Fleet of the Damned
  Sten Adventures Book 4: Fleet of the Damned
  Fleet of the Damned is the fourth book in Chris Bunch and Allan Cole's The Sten Adventures.-Plot summary:In this book Sten goes to flight school to learn the ins-and-outs of space combat and then heads off to the front lines of the impending war with the militaristic Tahn.Being assigned on the...
  
  —Commander Sten fights the Tahn from space
• Revenge of the Damned
  Sten Adventures Book 5: Revenge of the Damned
  Revenge of the Damned is the fifth book in Chris Bunch and Allan Cole's The Sten Adventures.-Plot summary:Sten and Alex are now POWs in a Tahn prison camp. They were taken captive during the last story when their ship was rendered hors de combat...
  
  —POW Sten brings about the Tahn's downfall
• The Return of the Emperor
  Sten Adventures Book 6: The Return of the Emperor
  The Return of the Emperor is the sixth book in Chris Bunch and Allan Cole's The Sten Adventures.-Plot summary:The Eternal Emperor had been assassinated at the end of the last book...
  
  —Sten overthrows the Privy Council
• Vortex
  Sten Adventures Book 7: Vortex
  Vortex is the seventh book in Chris Bunch and Allan Cole's The Sten Adventures.-Plot summary:Sten, former covert ops team leader and close friend of the Eternal Emperor, is sent on an ambassadorial mission to a far away planet resembling a Middle East-like war zone...
  
  —Ambassador Sten tries to bring peace to a planet
• Empire's End
  Sten Adventures Book 8: Empire's End
  Empire's End is the eighth and final book in Chris Bunch and Allan Cole's The Sten Adventures.-Plot summary:The book begins moments after Sten prevents Admiral Mason from destroying a planet to cover up the Emperor's poor handling of its internal politics...
  
  —rebel Sten defeats the insane Eternal Emperor

External links

• Allan Cole: The Sten Chronicles—the co-author's official page, including sample chapters and "The Sten Cookbook".
• The Sten Chronicles—from Allan Cole's bibliography.