Ghost Engine
Two thirds of a million years in the future, humanity has fissioned into numerous subspecies and expanded to occupy the Local Group of galaxies, largely through the agencies of a shadowy organization known as the Authority which holds a monopoly on the creation of artificial wormholes – the only practical mechanism for faster than light travel – and enforce it ruthlessly. The Authority are secretive, paranoid, and fabulously wealthy: needless to say, lots of sapients and AIs dislike this situation and want to change it...
Charles Stross
Charles David George "Charlie" Stross (born 1964) is a writer based in Edinburgh, Scotland. His works range from science fiction and Lovecraftian horror to fantasy. Stross was born in Leeds.
Stross is sometimes regarded as being part of a new generation of British science fiction writers who specialise in hard science fiction and space opera. His contemporaries include Alastair Reynolds, Ken MacLeod, Liz Williams, Neal Asher and Richard Morgan.