By Heresies Distressed

May 4, 2009
In this tangled follow-up to 2008's By Schism Rent Asunder
, the corrupt Church of God Awaiting has ruthlessly suppressed technology on the planet Safehold for the past 800 years. Merlin Athrawes, a cybernetic avatar bodyguard serving the king of Charis, has introduced a sequence of innovations that allow the united island kingdoms to defeat the Church's agents, but the Church's rulers soon adopt the very technology they proscribe. Their greater resources, combined with a fanatical fifth column not averse to assassination, make the long-term prospects of the “heretical” empire appear bleak, especially as Charis must pause to pacify new territories while responding to recent massacres. The personalities and motivations of the numerous characters are particularly well drawn and credible, and Weber makes grand strategies and political machinations easily accessible to casual readers.

May 1, 2009
Weber (At All Costs, 2007, etc.) delivers the third installment in his ongoing Safehold saga.

In the first two books, the planet Safehold was colonized by the last remnants of humanity, fleeing an Earth destroyed by aliens. They forged a society dominated by religion, to prevent the building of new technology that might attract the alien threat. Dissenters, however, created a cybernetic being, Merlin, who awakened some 800 years later and helped the nonconforming kingdom of Charis develop technology and fight against the powerful Church of God Awaiting. In this volume, Charis and its allies battle Corisande, a Church-assisted princedom. Like its predecessors in the Safehold series, the novel paints a vast, stunningly complex political and military tapestry, with wonderful battle scenes that compensate for occasionally overlong stretches of dialogue. Weber's portrayal of the Church and criticism of organized religion also continue to make these books interesting. That said, readers shouldn't pick up this volume without first reading Off Armageddon Reef (2007) and By Schism Rent Asunder (2008); the glossary and list of characters bringing newbies up to speed spans 15 pages.

Initiates will be more than satisfied by this ambitious fantasy variant on the timeworn tale of a monolithic world institution challenged by reformers.

(COPYRIGHT (2009) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

May 15, 2009
For political reasonsbut also with genuine love and respectCayleb of Charis and Sharleyan of Chisholm have united as corulers of their lands. Now the Temple Lands, home to a reactionary Church that suppresses new technologies, must intervene or face a rebellion that could lead to their overthrow. Set in the distant world of Safehold (e.g., "Off Armageddon Reef"), Weber's new generational saga follows Cayleb, Sharleyan, and the Artificial Personality Merlin Athrawes as they try to convince their subjects that everything they know and believe is wrong. The popular author of the Honor Harrington series writes skillfully about naval battles and political intrigue, serving up another fascinating chapter in an sf epic with medieval trappings. Series fans will demand.

Copyright 2009 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 15, 2009
The third book in Webers new saga of Safehold begins in optimism. A dynastic marriage has united the kingdoms of Charis and Chisholm in an empire that may be able to hold its own against the repressive theocracy of Mother Church. It has also brought Queen Sharleyan of Chisholm personal happiness she hadnt expected to find in a dynastic marriage. Unfortunately, the Group of Four that runs Mother Church has hidden resources, accumulated over the last thousand years ofits dominance, and the alien Gbaba will surely wax menacing should now-imperial humanity break out of cultural stasis. The android warrior-monk Merlin may hold the key to human survivalif those seeking its liberation ever realize that possibility. A formidable mixture of romance, intrigue, action, and well-realized settings, this book seems a trifle ambiguous about the sagas future direction. Faithful readers of Off Armageddon Reef (2007) and By Schism Rent Asunder (2008) will give Weber the benefit of the doubt as well as their full attention.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)