Sterling Lanier’s planned Hiero Trilogy (Hiero’s Journey, The Unforsaken Hiero, and Hiero’s Answer) will reach its conclusion in September of this year.

After suffering a traumatic head injury in an auto accident in the 80s which left him unconscious for over a week, Lanier was no longer able to concentrate for long periods without succumbing to migraines. This essentially ended his career as an author.

His god daughter, Lucy Andrews Cummin, found his original notes for the trilogy’s conclusion and set about to concluding the series.

From him I had seventy pages and a very very sketchy bit of what can’t be quite called an outline, more like . . . thoughts, but I took what I had and ran. Sterling had a more or less eidetic memory and great imagination so one of the challenges for me was reading through his reference library for ideas, inspiration and information. His workroom, a repurposed and rather mildewed greenhouse/shop attached to the house was full of his books, and on visits I got to work at the same kitchen table from his childhood home where he liked to sit and write. The temptations in that room often won. Who could ever resist a pile of Cryptozoology magazines? Not me.

Overall the biggest challenge was bringing the whole story into the twenty-first century. Much has changed. There are several strong and developed women characters balancing the men somewhat, and everyone involved is transformed by their experiences in some way. I worked hard to retain that light touch and sheer fun and to include as many of the characters as I could and, of course, to resolve as many unanswered questions as I could. (Thus, the title.)

Heiro’s Answer is currently slated for an e-book release on September 4th, 2025 from Gateway Publishing (the folks behind the SF Masterworks series).  The publication was pushed back from Sept 14 of 2024, and there is no pre-order information available, but you certainly want to keep an eye out!

https://www.sfgateway.com/titles/sterling-e-lanier/hieros-answer/9781399620604/