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The Runner
A hunted human. A stolen starship. A galaxy-spanning Empire that cannot afford to let either survive.
Cody Perrin has spent ten years as a Runner: a captive released into the stars so Empire Security can hunt him for sport. He should have died within days. Instead, he became the most impossible fugitive in the galaxy.
The only Human the Empire has ever seen.
With Max, a fiercely loyal AI companion, Cody survives by stealing ships, outthinking patrols, and running before anyone can drag him back to Imperia. But when he captures a strange vessel from the future, everything changes. The ship is faster, smarter, and more dangerous than anything he has ever flown—and it may be the first real chance he has ever had to stop running.
Then Cody rescues Corassa, an Imperial cadet desperate to choose his own life, and Thora, a survivor fighting to save the last of her people. What begins as another escape becomes something Cody never expected: a crew, a cause, and the dangerous possibility of found family.
But the Empire is watching.
If it learns where Cody came from, Earth will no longer be hidden. Humanity will become the Empire’s next target.
For readers who love intergalactic space opera, gay sci-fi adventure, sci-fi found family, AI companions, stolen ships, alien empires, and a young male lead forced to become more than a survivor, The Runner launches a fast-paced series about freedom, loyalty, and the cost of becoming impossible to ignore.
Cody Perrin has spent ten years as a Runner: a captive released into the stars so Empire Security can hunt him for sport. He should have died within days. Instead, he became the most impossible fugitive in the galaxy.
The only Human the Empire has ever seen.
With Max, a fiercely loyal AI companion, Cody survives by stealing ships, outthinking patrols, and running before anyone can drag him back to Imperia. But when he captures a strange vessel from the future, everything changes. The ship is faster, smarter, and more dangerous than anything he has ever flown—and it may be the first real chance he has ever had to stop running.
Then Cody rescues Corassa, an Imperial cadet desperate to choose his own life, and Thora, a survivor fighting to save the last of her people. What begins as another escape becomes something Cody never expected: a crew, a cause, and the dangerous possibility of found family.
But the Empire is watching.
If it learns where Cody came from, Earth will no longer be hidden. Humanity will become the Empire’s next target.
For readers who love intergalactic space opera, gay sci-fi adventure, sci-fi found family, AI companions, stolen ships, alien empires, and a young male lead forced to become more than a survivor, The Runner launches a fast-paced series about freedom, loyalty, and the cost of becoming impossible to ignore.
446 pages, Paperback
Published September 14, 2025
About the author
James Matthews
4 books6 followersJames Matthews writes queer fantasy, science fiction, and coming-of-age stories about survival, found family, hope, and people who refuse to break. His books travel from magical academies and distant galactic empires to small-city Wisconsin in the 1990s, but at their heart are damaged people finding the ones who finally see them.
Midwestern-born and faith-inspired, James centers strong, non-stereotypical gay protagonists who take the lead rather than fade into the margins. He is the author of Waif’s Refuge, The Bonds of Magic, The Runner, and The Paperboy.
Midwestern-born and faith-inspired, James centers strong, non-stereotypical gay protagonists who take the lead rather than fade into the margins. He is the author of Waif’s Refuge, The Bonds of Magic, The Runner, and The Paperboy.
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