In Cherryh's suspenseful sequel to Hammerfall (2001), Marak's World has been embargoed for a millennium due to the illicit nanotechnology it harbors, yet Marak Trin Tain himself, rendered nearly immortal by that technology, lives on. Marak is focused on rebuilding his planet's biosphere, which was nearly destroyed when the enigmatic alien ondat bombarded it some hundreds of years earlier, wiping out virtually all life not preserved in deep shelters. Meanwhile, in orbit around Marak's World, Concord Station has kept uneasy watch on the reawakening planet for centuries. The station is ruled over jointly but uncomfortably by two human cultures: one centered on Earth and strongly opposed to all forms of genetic manipulation; the other, the Outsider worlds, more willing to accept experimentation. Among the many nicely drawn characters is Procyon Stafford, a Concord technician charged with the important duty of communicating with Marak and recording everything he does.

Only at tiny Concord Station, orbiting at the far edge of the galaxy,can humans from Earth and the strange Outsider worlds coexist, along with the powerful alien ondot, for all are bound to the fate of the fragile world below. Returning to life centuries after the threat of uncontrolled nanotechnology spawned the cataclysmic Gene Wars that devastated the cosmos, the evolving planet and its people are being shepherded toward a wondrous new future by Marak trJn Tain, the immortal but not invulnerable son of a desert prince. But high above,intrigues, power plays, and dangerous alliances-intensified by the unexpected arrival of a ship from Earth-could crush the developing miracle and shatter the uneasy peace keeping the far-spanning empires of the universe at bay. And the ondat-inscrutable, unpredictable, and merciless- are watching...

REFERENCE

History

Positional Map

Power

FORGE OF HEAVEN