# Diamant

In the year 421 of the new calendar, Rungard Avar Valdorian stands at the end of a long, ruthless life. At 147 years old, he has reached the limits of biological rejuvenation technology—genetic decay is now accelerating his aging despite all his wealth and power. As the 'Primus inter pares' of the Consortium, one of two great economic powers controlling human-settled space, Valdorian has clawed his way to the top through ambition and murder. But all his power cannot save him from death. His only hope lies in finding a Kantaki pilot named Diamant, whom he knew long ago.

The Kantaki are an insectoid alien species who gave humanity the technology for faster-than-light travel, enabling the colonization of distant worlds. Their pilots form symbiotic bonds with living ships and exist partially outside normal time, granting them extraordinary abilities. Lidia DiKastro, known as Diamant (Diamond), is one such pilot—a woman who abandoned ordinary human connections to explore the cosmos. The narrative alternates between Valdorian's desperate search for her and Lidia's own journey through strange dimensions and realities.

The story is set thousands of years in the future, after a devastating 'Time War' that left temporal anomalies scattered throughout the galaxy—regions where the normal laws of space and time no longer apply. The Temporals, the enemies who fought that war, were imprisoned in a timeless dimension called the Null. But they have been working for generations to escape, and they see both Valdorian and Diamant as keys to their liberation.

As Valdorian pursues Diamant across exotic worlds and alternate dimensions, Brandhorst reveals a universe of staggering imagination. Each location—from corporate-controlled planets to dimensions of pure mathematics—showcases his ability to create vivid, otherworldly settings. The conflict between Valdorian's materialism and Lidia's transcendent philosophy drives the narrative, forcing both characters to confront fundamental questions about life, death, and what makes existence meaningful.

The novel builds toward a confrontation that sets events in motion for the entire trilogy. Valdorian's actions, driven by his fear of death, risk releasing the Temporals from their prison. The relationship between Valdorian and Diamant—adversarial yet deeply connected—becomes central to the fate of the galaxy. Diamant won the Kurd-Laßwitz-Preis and established Brandhorst as a major voice in German science fiction, launching a six-book saga that would explore time, consciousness, and the nature of reality.