What do you think?
Rate this book
Safehold #2
By Schism Rent Asunder
In the nine centuries since the creation of the world, the Church of God Awaiting has grown all-powerful as the keeper of men's souls. It rules the planet of Safehold with the imprimatur of God Himself . . . and with an iron fist. Lately, the island kingdom of Charis has rejected the Church's authority. Charis has repelled the Church's first attack and is preparing to strike back. Yet not all those who support the Church are corrupt, and the Church stands ready to use the faith and belief of those blameless souls for its own cynical ends. The gauntlet has been cast down, and full-scale religious war – the ugliest war of all – looms over Safehold. To prevail, King Cayleb of Charis has one ally with resources not even he can imagine: the mysterious warrior monk called Merlin, who holds the secret knowledge Charis may need to survive. Merlin is Cayleb's adviser, protector, and friend . . . and, secretly, also the cybernetic avatar of a young woman named Nimue Alban, who died before the day of creation itself. Who was born on a murdered world called 'Earth'.
Audible Audio
First published July 21, 2008
416 people are currently reading
1601 people want to read
About the author
David Weber
322 books4,549 followersDavid Mark Weber is an American science fiction and fantasy author. He was born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1952.
Many of his stories have military, particularly naval, themes, and fit into the military science fiction genre. He frequently places female leading characters in what have been traditionally male roles.
One of his most popular and enduring characters is Honor Harrington whose alliterated name is an homage to C.S. Forester's character Horatio Hornblower and her last name from a fleet doctor in Patrick O'Brian's Master and Commander . Her story, together with the "Honorverse" she inhabits, has been developed through 16 novels and six shared-universe anthologies, as of spring 2013 (other works are in production). In 2008, he donated his archive to the department of Rare Books and Special Collections at Northern Illinois University.
Many of his books are available online, either in their entirety as part of the Baen Free Library or, in the case of more recent books, in the form of sample chapters (typically the first 25-33% of the work).
http://us.macmillan.com/author/davidw...
Many of his stories have military, particularly naval, themes, and fit into the military science fiction genre. He frequently places female leading characters in what have been traditionally male roles.
One of his most popular and enduring characters is Honor Harrington whose alliterated name is an homage to C.S. Forester's character Horatio Hornblower and her last name from a fleet doctor in Patrick O'Brian's Master and Commander . Her story, together with the "Honorverse" she inhabits, has been developed through 16 novels and six shared-universe anthologies, as of spring 2013 (other works are in production). In 2008, he donated his archive to the department of Rare Books and Special Collections at Northern Illinois University.
Many of his books are available online, either in their entirety as part of the Baen Free Library or, in the case of more recent books, in the form of sample chapters (typically the first 25-33% of the work).
http://us.macmillan.com/author/davidw...
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 288 reviews
September 20, 2024
The second installment of the Safehold series advances the story by about a year and by the end, you know this will be another long, drawn out series with little action but lots of feudal intrigue and politics. If you like that kind of stuff, you will love this; if you actually want action and space opera, you may toss this across the room.
The previous installment ended with Charis defeating the navies of 5 kingdoms and the death of the King of Charis. His son, Cayleb, picks up the crown and he, along with the new archbishop, break from the Church (e.g., the titular Schism). While the Charisian navy rules the seas, the Church obviously is not very happy. Cayleb and company know the Church will be back, and much of this installment deals with the frantic preparations for that eventuality. Cayleb knows he has to come to some accord with the neighboring kingdoms, especially the arch rival state of Emerald. He also knows he has to court allies, especially Chisholm, ruled by a young queen...
This hefty volume chronicles about a year, and after a quick peak at the future volumes, it seems like that is Weber's plan-- an endless series of installments, laboriously telling the tale of brave little Charis taking on the rest of the world. The good guys are all so good and the bad guys ever so bad. Weber does not deal with subtly very well, seemingly content to paint everything in black and white hues. This series reminds me of GRRM's work in the endless detail/prose given to depicting what everyone wears, eats, etc., while barely moving the plot. Yes, we have a few reveals here, giving us some more insight into the backstory of the planet, but primarily, this volume deals with the plots and intrigue our heroes will face shortly. I started to skim (never a good sign) over the endless details, hoping for some action, but alas, nothing here. While I still have a few volumes of this on my shelf, I am done with the series. 2.5 stars, rounding down.
The previous installment ended with Charis defeating the navies of 5 kingdoms and the death of the King of Charis. His son, Cayleb, picks up the crown and he, along with the new archbishop, break from the Church (e.g., the titular Schism). While the Charisian navy rules the seas, the Church obviously is not very happy. Cayleb and company know the Church will be back, and much of this installment deals with the frantic preparations for that eventuality. Cayleb knows he has to come to some accord with the neighboring kingdoms, especially the arch rival state of Emerald. He also knows he has to court allies, especially Chisholm, ruled by a young queen...
This hefty volume chronicles about a year, and after a quick peak at the future volumes, it seems like that is Weber's plan-- an endless series of installments, laboriously telling the tale of brave little Charis taking on the rest of the world. The good guys are all so good and the bad guys ever so bad. Weber does not deal with subtly very well, seemingly content to paint everything in black and white hues. This series reminds me of GRRM's work in the endless detail/prose given to depicting what everyone wears, eats, etc., while barely moving the plot. Yes, we have a few reveals here, giving us some more insight into the backstory of the planet, but primarily, this volume deals with the plots and intrigue our heroes will face shortly. I started to skim (never a good sign) over the endless details, hoping for some action, but alas, nothing here. While I still have a few volumes of this on my shelf, I am done with the series. 2.5 stars, rounding down.
January 9, 2009
Competent and well-written, with an intriguing premise (what if a Reformation was artificially engineered by a millenia-old human in an android body?). And Weber really knows how to write this sort of stuff by now.
And that's the problem. The book is under-edited - there's too much stuff where nothing much happens, too much talk-talk, too much diplomacy and not enough derring-do - and the pace is slow. And on a personal level, I feel like I have read all of these characters, or variations thereof, in his other books. All good characters are flawlessly 'good', everyone gets on just fine, all the plans seem to work without bumps or major hiccups - you can track the future development of this story easily enough.
I suppose I'd just like a bit of innovation. Still, I may be in a minority section of his fanbase, in that regard. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it!"
And that's the problem. The book is under-edited - there's too much stuff where nothing much happens, too much talk-talk, too much diplomacy and not enough derring-do - and the pace is slow. And on a personal level, I feel like I have read all of these characters, or variations thereof, in his other books. All good characters are flawlessly 'good', everyone gets on just fine, all the plans seem to work without bumps or major hiccups - you can track the future development of this story easily enough.
I suppose I'd just like a bit of innovation. Still, I may be in a minority section of his fanbase, in that regard. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it!"
May 4, 2022
The second book of the Safehold series continues to play to Webber's strong points. And his weak points.
The book starts very well by giving a number of different incidents across the world to reintroduce where things left off, and show where they're going. And these are followed up, and are important points to the wider story. So far, so solid structure, and nicely immersive writing. And, things progress naturally from there. Webber does a great job getting all the balls in the air again, and the action moves along briskly, with some very important plot points, and turning points in the history of this invented planet.
And then the book ends, with some of the most important bits not addressed at all. The main thing that is expected 'next' is dealt with peripherally all throughout the novel, with various preparations going on, and when everything is done, and the fleet sets sail, the book ends with a JoJo's-style "to be continued".
And you know, I enjoyed the book, I will continue on to book three, but I am gravely concerned. Despite how much I liked certain things, I dropped Wheel of Time hard after the first few books, because each one did well on its own, but while new plot elements and complications would be introduced, none of the old ones would get resolved, and the overall plot get bigger without moving forward. Jordan, at least, had written the ending scene when he started. He knew exactly where he was going, and the story merely grew in the telling. I don't know if Webber has any solid idea of what his overall plot here is. Certainly, the series pacing needs some work, and that at least implies a need for a tighter outline of the structure.
The book starts very well by giving a number of different incidents across the world to reintroduce where things left off, and show where they're going. And these are followed up, and are important points to the wider story. So far, so solid structure, and nicely immersive writing. And, things progress naturally from there. Webber does a great job getting all the balls in the air again, and the action moves along briskly, with some very important plot points, and turning points in the history of this invented planet.
And then the book ends, with some of the most important bits not addressed at all. The main thing that is expected 'next' is dealt with peripherally all throughout the novel, with various preparations going on, and when everything is done, and the fleet sets sail, the book ends with a JoJo's-style "to be continued".
And you know, I enjoyed the book, I will continue on to book three, but I am gravely concerned. Despite how much I liked certain things, I dropped Wheel of Time hard after the first few books, because each one did well on its own, but while new plot elements and complications would be introduced, none of the old ones would get resolved, and the overall plot get bigger without moving forward. Jordan, at least, had written the ending scene when he started. He knew exactly where he was going, and the story merely grew in the telling. I don't know if Webber has any solid idea of what his overall plot here is. Certainly, the series pacing needs some work, and that at least implies a need for a tighter outline of the structure.
July 30, 2011
INTRODUCTION: Multiple New York Times bestselling author David Weber, lovingly known by the many fans congregating on his forums at Baen's Bar as MWW—“Mad Wizard Weber"—does not need an introduction. I have been a big-time fan of Mr. Weber's work since the early 90's and I have read and re-read multiple times all of his novels. Even in the short time between receiving the ARC of “By Schism Rent Asunder” and writing this review, I've read the novel three times and it will likely be my favorite book of the year. Since “By Schism Rent Asunder” is volume two of the Safehold saga—after last year's bestseller, “Off Armageddon Reef”—there will be inevitable spoilers including the ending, so reader beware.
SETTING: Imagine a world where everyone KNOWS from childhood that about 900 years ago God and His Archangels created humanity. After all, there are the testimonies of the eight million Adams and Eves simultaneously created in Year Zero. There are also continual reminders of God's presence as manifested in various temples that have continuous heavenly lighting and climate conditioning as well as being untouched by the passage of time and the ravages of weather. Then there is the all powerful Church of God Awaiting, the Holy Writ and the Proscriptions that limit technology to roughly our age of Sail. Welcome to Safehold, the last known refuge of the once mighty Human Federation exterminated by the powerful aliens called the GBABA. It was not supposed to be like this though. Safehold was planned to stay at a pre-electric level for only a while to make sure no emissions would betray its presence to the GBABA, and the original eight million colonists volunteered to be “reborn” with false memories to avoid the temptations of premature high-tech. But the real human history was to be preserved. It was assumed that in time the descendants of the colonists would start working to reclaim humanity's place among the stars. This time though, prepared for the GBABA. But Langhorne, the leader of the expedition establishing the colony, decided that being almost a god is much better, so he marginalized the sane people among those that prepared Safehold for human occupation prior to waking up the colonists, and went on with his mad schemes for keeping Safehold at a pre-electric level forever with nobody in the future finding out its real origins. The most courageous of the dissenting voices, Pei Shan Wei, tried to stop this madness, but was outvoted on the ruling Council, so she tried to create an Alexandria enclave dedicated to preserving knowledge. Once Langhorne did not need Shan Wei's terraforming expertise anymore, he brought Rakurai—orbital fire—on Alexandria and obliterated it. The still barren land is now known as Armageddon Reef and has an evil reputation. Once Alexandria was destroyed, Shan Wei's husband, Commodore Pei of the Federation's navy and nominal military leader who pretended to be estranged from his wife for sixty years to keep his place in the ruling council, dropped by Langhorne and his closest associates with a pocket vest nuke. Since these events occurred roughly 900 years ago, Shan Wei is the fallen archangel in the Safeholdian mythology, the ‘Devil’ if you want, while Langhorne is the most holy of the archangels and his order in the Church is the most prestigious.
Merlin, an android/PICA having the memories, and some would say the soul of Nimue—an officer in the Federation's navy and protégée of the commodore, who sacrificed herself covering the convoy that established Safehold—wakes up in the year 890 of Safehold. After she is briefed by a recording of the commodore, she/it takes a male identity and body necessary in this patriarchal society and goes to the island continent of Charis to put “his” sword and knowledge at the disposal of King Haarahld, and initiate the long process of awakening Safehold. The Safeholdian renewal is ready to start and “Off Armageddon Reef” is the first installment of the saga, followed by “By Schism Rent Asunder”.
FORMAT/INFO: “By Schism Rent Asunder” stands at 494 pages of text and includes a large list of characters, a glossary and a note on Safeholdian timekeeping. The book is divided into several large chapters named by the months of the Safeholdian calendar in which the action takes place—there are ten such months, so no December and January—with multiple numbered subchapters. The narration is third-person present-tense with multiple POV's, most notably King Cayleb, Merlin, the group of four vicars that lead the Church, officers, scientists and magnates of Charis, enemy princes and nobles, and quite a few others. The naming conventions take a while to get used to due to Weber's skilled use of language drift across the centuries, but then it becomes fun to transliterate them and nobody will have any problem with names like the main villain Grand Inquisitor Zhaspahr Clyntahn; the leader of the Charisian church Archbishop Maikel Staynair; or its former official leader and current Inquisition “guest”, ex-Archbishop Erayk Dynnys, just to give a taste. The ending happens at a reasonable stopping point and I have to say that the next book in the series, “By Heresies Distressed”, is already my most anticipated book of 2009.
PLOT HINTS AND ANALYSIS: King Haarahld has died heroically in the battle at Darcos Sound, his sacrifice enabling the returning Prince Cayleb's galleons to utterly destroy the last large maritime force sent against Charis by the Group of 4 under the guise of their secular identity as Knights of the Temple Lands. Charis rules the seas of Safehold, and being an island continent, it is safe for the time being. But the Church controls the rest of Safehold, so more than 90% of its population and resources, though the control of the Church may be not as secure as it believes since quite a few Safeholdian leaders follow the church only as long as the Inquisition can reach them, although there are a lot of true believers. Former corrupt Archbishop, Charis Erayk Dynnys, is under arrest by the Inquisition in Zion, the Church capital, while the newly minted Archbishop Maikel boldly declares the secession of the Charisian Church and publicly indicts the Group of 4, name by name, for conspiring to destroy Charis, stealing Church funds for its purposes, and various other misdeeds. After this stunning opening to the book, the events precipitate and since a large part of the pleasure of reading David Weber is for the many surprises and plot twists, I will avoid any more spoilers.
Badly wounded by the complete destruction of its hired fleets and by the stunning public letter from Maikel, the Group of 4 is off balance and needs to do things to keep being overthrown by their opponents in the Council of Vicars. Things like public executions, denunciations of Charisian heresy, preparations for more fleets, and maybe even a “continental blockade”—the ultimate act of declaring Holy War. Since the original attack on Charis was done under the aegis of the Knights of the Temple Lands, not of the Church itself—though nobody is fooled by this pretension—involving the Church officially will raise the stakes dramatically precluding any possibility of peaceful resolution to the conflict. So what could Maikel have thought to send that inflammatory public letter that infinitely raised the probability of the above events happening sooner rather than later? Well, the answer comes on page 207 and it will shock you. Of the Group of 4 members, the Grand Inquisitor Clyntahn, though technically subordinate to the Chancellor Trynair, is assuming more and more power and his decisions start to prevail. The treasurer Rhobair though, is starting to rediscover God and the meaning of Faith, and has corresponding doubts about any deep escalation of the conflict. But as the saying goes, once you grab a tiger's tail, you gotta ride it... And ironically, Rhobair's newly found faith gives unexpected legitimacy to the Group of 4 within the rest of the Church leadership. While everyone knows and fears Clyntahn for his fanatical and corrupt ways, many high churchmen—who otherwise would get rid of Clyntahn the moment they could—start respecting Rhobair more and more.
On the Charisian side, newly crowned King Cayleb is looking for allies. Queen Sharleyan of Chisholm, being a natural partner of Charis, is returned all her captured galleys and people by Cayleb, who later sends her his First Minister on a secret mission that may change the shape of the conflict. Cayleb also plans to deal with his immediate enemies, Prince Nahrmahn of Emerald and Prince Hector of Corisande, since with all these neighboring island continents being brought in alliance or to heel, nothing can threaten Charis directly.
Merlin is busy protecting the King, the Archbishop, and spreading scientific & technical knowledge while keeping for now within the Proscriptions bounds—and of course keeping Cayleb informed of anything happening in the world through his tech surveillance devices. Unfortunately those devices cannot penetrate the Temple at Zion, so the direct decisions of the Group of 4 are as much a mystery to him as anyone.
Archbishop Maikel has some unexpected surprises for us. Most magnates, nobility, officers and common people of Charis are willing to follow Cayleb wherever he leads, even to “Hell and Damnation”, at least in the official Church's eyes, but there is some opposition, and “In the Name of the True Church” becomes a slogan for assassination attempts, arson and mayhem. Despite some requests from his councilors for a severe crackdown, Cayleb is willing to use surveillance and prosecution of actual crimes for now, rather than start handing treason indictments left and right. Will this be enough?
Queen Sharleyan of Chisholm has a hard decision to make. She is already marked as untrustworthy by the Group of 4 for her previous links with Charis, tardiness in sending her galleys to war against Haarahld, and now having the surviving vessels and people returned, and of course having the most such survivors since the Chisholmian ships had no compulsion for immediate surrender once Charisian naval supremacy was so stunningly revealed. Also, everyone knows that Hector ordered the assassination of her father. Luckily she has faced many such tough decisions since her ascension as a teenager to the throne, and now in her early twenties she is ready to make the most fateful decision ever for her country. What will it be?
On the secular enemies’ side, Prince Nahrmahn is in a pickle and he knows it. Already he is blockaded on Emerald by the Charisian navy and he is publicly known as the instigator of the assassination attempt on Cayleb just three years ago, when Merlin saved the day and made his dramatic public appearance as a Seijin from the Mountains of Light. Smarter than his jovial rotund appearance implies, Nahrmann knows a losing hand when he sees it, so he thinks to defy the Church too and try and deal with Cayleb, up to his “fertilizing a plot in Cayleb's garden” if necessary to spare Emerald and his family from certain invasion and the attendant horrors. But he hopes Cayleb will be smart enough to recognize that a compliant Nahrmahn is more useful than a dead one. Is he right?
Hector of Corisande has no illusions. He knows that after Emerald is dealt with, his turn comes next and for him there is only the “head on a spike” option if Cayleb wins, such is the deep enmity between his house and the houses of Ahrmahk of Charis and Tayt of Chisholm. So as the leader of the failed attack on Charis, he asks and gets tons of money from the Church to rebuild his navy and defenses. And he is willing to go to any lengths, including copying the newly minted Charisian military innovations that proved so deadly, whatever the Church says about proscriptions and such. Does he stand a chance?
Epic in dimension, full of stunning revelations and extraordinarily moving moments that made me almost cry, and featuring lots of intrigue and battles, “By Schism Rent Asunder” effortlessly exceeds the magnificence of its predecessor “Off Armageddon Reef”, and I cannot emphasize how much I want to read the next chapter in the Safehold saga…
SETTING: Imagine a world where everyone KNOWS from childhood that about 900 years ago God and His Archangels created humanity. After all, there are the testimonies of the eight million Adams and Eves simultaneously created in Year Zero. There are also continual reminders of God's presence as manifested in various temples that have continuous heavenly lighting and climate conditioning as well as being untouched by the passage of time and the ravages of weather. Then there is the all powerful Church of God Awaiting, the Holy Writ and the Proscriptions that limit technology to roughly our age of Sail. Welcome to Safehold, the last known refuge of the once mighty Human Federation exterminated by the powerful aliens called the GBABA. It was not supposed to be like this though. Safehold was planned to stay at a pre-electric level for only a while to make sure no emissions would betray its presence to the GBABA, and the original eight million colonists volunteered to be “reborn” with false memories to avoid the temptations of premature high-tech. But the real human history was to be preserved. It was assumed that in time the descendants of the colonists would start working to reclaim humanity's place among the stars. This time though, prepared for the GBABA. But Langhorne, the leader of the expedition establishing the colony, decided that being almost a god is much better, so he marginalized the sane people among those that prepared Safehold for human occupation prior to waking up the colonists, and went on with his mad schemes for keeping Safehold at a pre-electric level forever with nobody in the future finding out its real origins. The most courageous of the dissenting voices, Pei Shan Wei, tried to stop this madness, but was outvoted on the ruling Council, so she tried to create an Alexandria enclave dedicated to preserving knowledge. Once Langhorne did not need Shan Wei's terraforming expertise anymore, he brought Rakurai—orbital fire—on Alexandria and obliterated it. The still barren land is now known as Armageddon Reef and has an evil reputation. Once Alexandria was destroyed, Shan Wei's husband, Commodore Pei of the Federation's navy and nominal military leader who pretended to be estranged from his wife for sixty years to keep his place in the ruling council, dropped by Langhorne and his closest associates with a pocket vest nuke. Since these events occurred roughly 900 years ago, Shan Wei is the fallen archangel in the Safeholdian mythology, the ‘Devil’ if you want, while Langhorne is the most holy of the archangels and his order in the Church is the most prestigious.
Merlin, an android/PICA having the memories, and some would say the soul of Nimue—an officer in the Federation's navy and protégée of the commodore, who sacrificed herself covering the convoy that established Safehold—wakes up in the year 890 of Safehold. After she is briefed by a recording of the commodore, she/it takes a male identity and body necessary in this patriarchal society and goes to the island continent of Charis to put “his” sword and knowledge at the disposal of King Haarahld, and initiate the long process of awakening Safehold. The Safeholdian renewal is ready to start and “Off Armageddon Reef” is the first installment of the saga, followed by “By Schism Rent Asunder”.
FORMAT/INFO: “By Schism Rent Asunder” stands at 494 pages of text and includes a large list of characters, a glossary and a note on Safeholdian timekeeping. The book is divided into several large chapters named by the months of the Safeholdian calendar in which the action takes place—there are ten such months, so no December and January—with multiple numbered subchapters. The narration is third-person present-tense with multiple POV's, most notably King Cayleb, Merlin, the group of four vicars that lead the Church, officers, scientists and magnates of Charis, enemy princes and nobles, and quite a few others. The naming conventions take a while to get used to due to Weber's skilled use of language drift across the centuries, but then it becomes fun to transliterate them and nobody will have any problem with names like the main villain Grand Inquisitor Zhaspahr Clyntahn; the leader of the Charisian church Archbishop Maikel Staynair; or its former official leader and current Inquisition “guest”, ex-Archbishop Erayk Dynnys, just to give a taste. The ending happens at a reasonable stopping point and I have to say that the next book in the series, “By Heresies Distressed”, is already my most anticipated book of 2009.
PLOT HINTS AND ANALYSIS: King Haarahld has died heroically in the battle at Darcos Sound, his sacrifice enabling the returning Prince Cayleb's galleons to utterly destroy the last large maritime force sent against Charis by the Group of 4 under the guise of their secular identity as Knights of the Temple Lands. Charis rules the seas of Safehold, and being an island continent, it is safe for the time being. But the Church controls the rest of Safehold, so more than 90% of its population and resources, though the control of the Church may be not as secure as it believes since quite a few Safeholdian leaders follow the church only as long as the Inquisition can reach them, although there are a lot of true believers. Former corrupt Archbishop, Charis Erayk Dynnys, is under arrest by the Inquisition in Zion, the Church capital, while the newly minted Archbishop Maikel boldly declares the secession of the Charisian Church and publicly indicts the Group of 4, name by name, for conspiring to destroy Charis, stealing Church funds for its purposes, and various other misdeeds. After this stunning opening to the book, the events precipitate and since a large part of the pleasure of reading David Weber is for the many surprises and plot twists, I will avoid any more spoilers.
Badly wounded by the complete destruction of its hired fleets and by the stunning public letter from Maikel, the Group of 4 is off balance and needs to do things to keep being overthrown by their opponents in the Council of Vicars. Things like public executions, denunciations of Charisian heresy, preparations for more fleets, and maybe even a “continental blockade”—the ultimate act of declaring Holy War. Since the original attack on Charis was done under the aegis of the Knights of the Temple Lands, not of the Church itself—though nobody is fooled by this pretension—involving the Church officially will raise the stakes dramatically precluding any possibility of peaceful resolution to the conflict. So what could Maikel have thought to send that inflammatory public letter that infinitely raised the probability of the above events happening sooner rather than later? Well, the answer comes on page 207 and it will shock you. Of the Group of 4 members, the Grand Inquisitor Clyntahn, though technically subordinate to the Chancellor Trynair, is assuming more and more power and his decisions start to prevail. The treasurer Rhobair though, is starting to rediscover God and the meaning of Faith, and has corresponding doubts about any deep escalation of the conflict. But as the saying goes, once you grab a tiger's tail, you gotta ride it... And ironically, Rhobair's newly found faith gives unexpected legitimacy to the Group of 4 within the rest of the Church leadership. While everyone knows and fears Clyntahn for his fanatical and corrupt ways, many high churchmen—who otherwise would get rid of Clyntahn the moment they could—start respecting Rhobair more and more.
On the Charisian side, newly crowned King Cayleb is looking for allies. Queen Sharleyan of Chisholm, being a natural partner of Charis, is returned all her captured galleys and people by Cayleb, who later sends her his First Minister on a secret mission that may change the shape of the conflict. Cayleb also plans to deal with his immediate enemies, Prince Nahrmahn of Emerald and Prince Hector of Corisande, since with all these neighboring island continents being brought in alliance or to heel, nothing can threaten Charis directly.
Merlin is busy protecting the King, the Archbishop, and spreading scientific & technical knowledge while keeping for now within the Proscriptions bounds—and of course keeping Cayleb informed of anything happening in the world through his tech surveillance devices. Unfortunately those devices cannot penetrate the Temple at Zion, so the direct decisions of the Group of 4 are as much a mystery to him as anyone.
Archbishop Maikel has some unexpected surprises for us. Most magnates, nobility, officers and common people of Charis are willing to follow Cayleb wherever he leads, even to “Hell and Damnation”, at least in the official Church's eyes, but there is some opposition, and “In the Name of the True Church” becomes a slogan for assassination attempts, arson and mayhem. Despite some requests from his councilors for a severe crackdown, Cayleb is willing to use surveillance and prosecution of actual crimes for now, rather than start handing treason indictments left and right. Will this be enough?
Queen Sharleyan of Chisholm has a hard decision to make. She is already marked as untrustworthy by the Group of 4 for her previous links with Charis, tardiness in sending her galleys to war against Haarahld, and now having the surviving vessels and people returned, and of course having the most such survivors since the Chisholmian ships had no compulsion for immediate surrender once Charisian naval supremacy was so stunningly revealed. Also, everyone knows that Hector ordered the assassination of her father. Luckily she has faced many such tough decisions since her ascension as a teenager to the throne, and now in her early twenties she is ready to make the most fateful decision ever for her country. What will it be?
On the secular enemies’ side, Prince Nahrmahn is in a pickle and he knows it. Already he is blockaded on Emerald by the Charisian navy and he is publicly known as the instigator of the assassination attempt on Cayleb just three years ago, when Merlin saved the day and made his dramatic public appearance as a Seijin from the Mountains of Light. Smarter than his jovial rotund appearance implies, Nahrmann knows a losing hand when he sees it, so he thinks to defy the Church too and try and deal with Cayleb, up to his “fertilizing a plot in Cayleb's garden” if necessary to spare Emerald and his family from certain invasion and the attendant horrors. But he hopes Cayleb will be smart enough to recognize that a compliant Nahrmahn is more useful than a dead one. Is he right?
Hector of Corisande has no illusions. He knows that after Emerald is dealt with, his turn comes next and for him there is only the “head on a spike” option if Cayleb wins, such is the deep enmity between his house and the houses of Ahrmahk of Charis and Tayt of Chisholm. So as the leader of the failed attack on Charis, he asks and gets tons of money from the Church to rebuild his navy and defenses. And he is willing to go to any lengths, including copying the newly minted Charisian military innovations that proved so deadly, whatever the Church says about proscriptions and such. Does he stand a chance?
Epic in dimension, full of stunning revelations and extraordinarily moving moments that made me almost cry, and featuring lots of intrigue and battles, “By Schism Rent Asunder” effortlessly exceeds the magnificence of its predecessor “Off Armageddon Reef”, and I cannot emphasize how much I want to read the next chapter in the Safehold saga…
June 13, 2024
3.5⭐️
The second book has something that was distinctly lacking in the first (well, besides women) - humor!
The second book has something that was distinctly lacking in the first (well, besides women) - humor!
March 6, 2014
Boring.
The whole 25 hours of the Audible version can be summarised simply as "King Caleb got married": the content is so mundane that this is not even a spoiler. There are no major plot or character developments in this book and it seems solely designed to generate income for the author - while middle parts of series may sometimes be somewhat unfulfilling, this book takes that trend to a whole new level and, in the end, I just wanted it to end.
While I quite enjoy most of David Weber's work, I doubt that I will be investing in any more of the Safehold series unless they have excellent critical reviews or a free...
The whole 25 hours of the Audible version can be summarised simply as "King Caleb got married": the content is so mundane that this is not even a spoiler. There are no major plot or character developments in this book and it seems solely designed to generate income for the author - while middle parts of series may sometimes be somewhat unfulfilling, this book takes that trend to a whole new level and, in the end, I just wanted it to end.
While I quite enjoy most of David Weber's work, I doubt that I will be investing in any more of the Safehold series unless they have excellent critical reviews or a free...
September 3, 2022
A great series! 2020 re-read: each book seems to improve on the prior book, so enjoyable!
May 6, 2016
Second in the Safehold military/religious science fiction series revolving around Merlin Athrawes and his mission to help the planet of Safehold evolve into what the original pioneers had intended...if she feels that is the proper path.
My Take
Phew...another intense story from David Weber. It's only similarity to his Honor Harrington series is that it's science fiction. Every once in awhile, I have to try and remember that this is the same author. Dang, he's good!
Yes, it was zealous and passionate and I suddenly realized it was 6:33 am...but I only had some 40 pages to go…! Fortunately, it wasn't as intense as the first one, Off Armageddon Reef .
Weber has a number of parallels with our own world history: the numerous religious wars fought here versus a single planet-wide religion that was carefully created to have no conflicts; the Nazi-like repressions; and, the flat-out lying and abuse of their flock simply to maintain their own luxurious lifestyle.
It's interesting to read the use of words on both sides to lay off blame as well as place it within the range of reactions and beliefs as to their accuracy versus heretical ranting. Weber is really going to take advantage and stress the tension to the nth degree as he teases and retreats with hope and frustration. Arghhh! I must get the next in the series, By Heresies Distressed !
I need to know if Cayleb survives this next invasion---Weber never lets you get complacent. I need Merlin to get a SNARC inside the Group of Four's meeting place in Zion! How will the other countries jump when they learn of the two and possibly third alliance agreeing to join with Charis against the Church?? How will King Zhames react to Charisian retaliation? So many people are caught between their belief in the Church versus their acknowledgment of its corruption. Then there's that new group of priests working to gather evidence against the Group of Four...does anyone wonder if there's a connection to the Chinese Gang of Four from the early 20th century?? The assassination attempt against the archbishop. I love Merlin's sneaky ideas!
I love, love, love Dynnys' speech just before his execution. I sure hope it has greater reverberations than it has yet..!
Then there's the revelations from Archbishop Maikel and his super-secret group that prompts Merlin's own revelations. One of the sore points for Cayleb with the Group of Four was their backing (after some serious cash exchanged hands) of Tahdayo Mahntayl as the new Earl of Hanth. A totally spurious appointment. It's important now because Mahntayl finally sees the writing on the wall and abandons the county he paid so much for leaving the beleaguered Bishop Mylz Halcom to abandon his post in Hanth and head for Tellesberg to plot and destroy.
I love it when Wave Thunder reveals to Nahrman exactly how detailed is the information they have on everything Narhman has done over the past few months! Snarkkkk!
Then, of course, there is the age-old proverb: Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely" and, in this story, the Church has reigned supreme for the entire history of this world. Supreme and so powerful that they think nothing of ordering the destruction of an entire country, like choosing which pair of shoes to wear today.
Now, of course, they're on the defensive, especially after receiving the communique from the new Archbishop of Charis.
The Story
The second indication the Council of Vicars receives that their world has changed is the interception of Father Rahss (Ross) Sawal's courier ship and the messages he carries. No Charisian will allow a Temple courier to pass unhindered. Not now.
It's a complicated back-and-forth as Cayleb and his people push forward to protect their own lands as they prepare to invade others and gathering up unexpected allies as they go. Their enemies are doing their own dashing with varying degrees of success as they absorb their crushing defeat. And the Church refuses to admit to any of their wrongdoing, preferring to spread propaganda and increase the violence against an innocent group of people who are preparing their own defenses.
Privateers sanctioned and partially funded by the King Cayleb harass and destroy the shipping of Charis' enemies. Archbishop Maikel forces Merlin to don a disguise with him and accompany him to a shabby monastery. A move that brings that day into reality in which Merlin confesses all to Cayleb. The technical issues have calmed down and now revolve around solving the metal issue of bronze, iron, or wrought iron for cannons, what to use to maintain the rifling grooves in both cannon and rifles, and projectile shapes. A new Imperial spymaster.
Most of the planet is concerned with the text of the letter sent by the new archbishop and all but four of her bishops setting the Church of Charis aside from the Council of Vicars' jurisdiction. The same letter distributed throughout their world. Everyone on the planet sees through the fiction of the "Knights of the Temple Lands" who began this.
A little complication...Larys Shaikyr is the master of the galleon Raptor charged by the emperor with attacking enemy shipping with the men receiving one-fourth of the prize money. Hahl Urbahn is his first officer, Dunkyn Hyndyrs is the purser and they are working as a squadron with Slash Lizard, War Hammer, Windcrest, and Sea Kiss. The convoy they subdue is a bit more than expected---gold and silver bullion belonging to the Church. A nice chunk that one-fourth; even better if it's 100-percent.
Revenge for the massacre at Ferayd results in Admiral Rock Point leading 30-some ships of the Imperial Navy to attack the harbor.
The Characters
Seijin Merlin Athrawes is the male version of Nimue Alban, a PICA now, a human 900 years ago. As Cayleb's bodyguard, he's got his work cut out for him along with the planet-wide net of SNARCs he has to review 24/7.
Cayleb Zhan Haarahld Bryahn Ahrmahk (Caleb Jean Harold Brian Armac) is now King Cayleb II of Charis. Young and grieving his father's death, but determined to push ahead and protect his country by any means. Ahrnahld Falkhan (Arnold Falcon), a Charisian Marine, is now in charge of the new Crown Prince Zahn's security. Sergeant Payter Faircaster has transferred into the [king's] Guard from Cayleb's prince's guard to ensure Merlin's security.
Rayjhis Yowance (Regis), Earl of Gray Harbor, is his first councillor while Zhefry Ahbaht (Jeffrey Abbott) is his personal secretary. Ahlvyno Pawalsyn (Alvino?? Paulson), Baron Ironhill, is the Keeper of the Purse charged with figuring out how to pay for a whole lot more ships, weapons, and the men to man those ships and become the Charisian Army. Bynzhamyn Raice (Benjamin Race), Baron Wave Thunder, is his spymaster. Sir Rhyzhard Seafarmer (Richard) is Wave Thunder's second-in-command. Archbishop Maikel Staynair (Michael) is a Charisian and an honest man with a humongous and sacrilegious secret. High Admiral Bryahn Lock Island (Brian), Earl of Lock Island, commands key fortifications at Tellesberg's harbor mouth in Charis. Ehdwyrd Howsmyn (Edward Houseman) "owns two of the kingdom's three largest foundries and one of the largest shipyards and a small fleet of merchant ships; his wife, Zhain (Jane), is the daughter of an earl with a very well-developed sense of the social dynamics of Tellesberg and Charis. Raiyan Mychail (Ryan Michael) is the Royal Navy's primary sailmaker. Sir Dustyn Olyvyr (Dustin Oliver) is one of the top ship designers and the "chief naval constructor of the Royal Charisian Navy". Sir Ahlfryd Hyndryk (Alfred Hendrick), Baron Seamount, is a Navy captain and the gunnery expert of Safehold.
Commander Paitryk Hywyt (Patrick Hewitt) of the Royal Charisian Navy with HMS Wave's first lieutenant, Zhak Urvyn (Zak or Jacques? Ervin/Irvin) make the first interception of a Church courier. Admiral Sir Domynyk Staynair, (Dominic) newly created Baron of Rock Point, is being quite successful in his endeavors. Captain Sir Dunkyn Yairley (Duncan) of HMS Destiny seems to have a sixth sense; he leads the attack on the port at North Bay in Emerald. One of his midshipmen, Master Midshipman Hektor Aplyn-Ahrmahk, is also a new duke of the realm and adopted into the royal family of Charis. He was the lad who tried to save King Haarahld. Colonel Hauwerd Greygart (Howard) of the Royal Charisian Marines is the new Earl of Hanth. Brigadier Kynt Clareyk (Kent Clark??) is a Marine and has devised the first field artillery tactics and the needed training manual to integrate it with the new infantry. Lieutenant Layne (Lane) is his second-in-command and in charge of the ongoing training program.
Doctor Rahzhyr Mahklyn (Roger Maclin?), Dean of the Royal College of Charis, no longer has a choice about the king's insistence that they move. His daughter Ardhyn and her husband Sir Lairync Kestair and another daughter Tairys Kahnklyn and her husband Aizak Kahnklyn (the college's official librarians) must come along with. Aidryn and Eydyth and her twin Zhoel (13) are their children. Erayk is another grandchild. They think another son, Thomys, will be just fine with the move, when he shows up again.
Father Paityr Wylsynn (Peter Wilson) is the intendant (inquisitor) in Charis and Bishop Executor Zherald Ahdymsyn (A French "Gerald"?? Adamson) was Dynnys' representative in Charis year-round who were both "kept safe" until they decided which way to jump. Father Paityr opens the first-ever Patent Office! Erayk Dynnys (Eric Dennis) was the Archbishop of Charis who found God again. His wife Adoria and two sons, Tymythy Erayk (Timothy Eric) and Styvyn (Steven) find refuge in Charis. Madame Ahnzhelyk Phonda was Dynnys' mistress, a friend of his wife, and the proprietor of a very high-class whore house in Zion. Hmmmm, a plot between the two ladies?
Father Zhon Byrkyt (Jean Burckett) is the Abbot of Saint Zherneau's, a super-secret brethren composed of any and all orders which has existed since year one. Holding a most unexpected Testimony from one of the original Adams, Jeremiah "Jere" Knowles. Jere and several others were one of Pei Shan-wei's lines of defense.
Captain Ekohls Raynair is master and half-owner of the Blade, a privateer sailing off Dohlar's coast with her fellow ships, the Ax, Cutlass, and the Dirk. His current occupation is part patriotic, part capitalist, and wholly revenge.
Traivyr Kairee is a Charisian industrialist with no concern for his workers; he's also a Temple Loyalist.
Queen Sharleyan Tayt (Shirleyanne?? Charlaine? Tate) of Chisholm receives a very interesting offer from the new King of Charis. I love that she refuses to hand Gray Harbor over to the Bishop Executor!! Byrtrum, Duke Halbrook Hollow, is her uncle and while she greatly appreciates what he has done to help her stay alive and on the throne, in all good conscience, she must go forward with this decision despite his beliefs in Mother Church. Sergeant Edwyrd Seahamper is the Queen's personal armsman while Captain Gairaht (Garret) is in charge of the Queen's security. Mahrak Sandyrs (Mark Sanders), Baron Green Mountain, is First Councillor in Chisholm and remains behind to help rule Chisholm. Sir Lewk Cohlmyn (Luke Colman), Earl of Sharpfield and the senior admiral for the Chisholm Navy.
Prince Nahrmahn Hanbyl Graim Baytz (Norman Hannibal Graham Bates) of Emerald is in a very bad position with no navy left and a tight blockade on his ports; he does a truly excellent summing up of where everything stands now. His wife Princess Ohlyvya (Olivia) is quite pragmatic about the offer from Charis. Baron Hahl Shandyr (Hal Sander?) is his spymaster. Trahvys Ohlsyn (Travis Olson), Earl of Pine Hollow, is his chief councillor while Commodore Hainz Zhaztro (Hans?? Zastro??) is the most senior officer to return from the battle. He is quite single-minded about rebuilding the Emeraldian Navy. Hanbyl Baytz, (Bates) the Duke of Solomon, is Nahrmahn's uncle and the head of the Emerald Army with as sharp a wit as his nephew, but much less desire to play the "game".
Prince Hektor Daykyn of Corisande hates the Charisians. His son Hector is the heir and sounds like he's not too bright unlike his sister Irys who has it out for Charis. Phylyp Ahzgood (Phillip Osgood), Earl of Coris is his spymaster. Sir Lyndahr Raimynd (Raymond) is the treasurer with some novel ideas on how to raise the funds to rebuild the Navy and arm their military. Sir Taryl Lektor, the Earl of Tartarian is now the senior ranking admiral of the Corisandian Navy, what's left of it anyway. Rysel, Earl of Anvil Rock and his son Koryn (Corin) with Charlz Doyal (Charles Doyle) have been working hard to build and train three batteries of the new cannon. Captain Myrgyn managed to get sketches of the "new gun mounts and carriages and bagged powder charges"; they even have a captured Charisian ship with the new cannon. Oops. Tohmys Symmyns (Thomas Simmons) is the Grand Duke of Zebediah solely due to the grace of Hektor since he conquered and subjugated it. Still doesn't mean he's one of Hektor's supporters.
King Rahnyld IV (Ronald) of Dohlar has a Charisian price on his head and rapidly losing every ship he ever launched to...huh...Charisian privateers. Samyl Cahkrayn (Samuel Cochrane), Duke of Fern, is Rahnyld's chief councillor and in constant communication with the Gang of Four. Former Admiral Lywys Gardynyr (Lewis Gardener), Earl of Thirsk, was second-in-command of the Dohlar Navy sent out to ravage Charis. Now Malikai's brother-in-law, the Duke of Thorast, and the king have beached him for...well, obviously it must be incompetence. There's no way Malikai will accept that his incompetent brother could have screwed up!?! Admiral Pawl Hahlynd (Paul Holland) believes in Thirsk and comes to him for advice.
Tahdayo Mahntayl, the new Earl of Hanth, is on the run. Leaving one of the few bishops, Mylz Halcom, not to sign onto Archbishop Maikel's letter at loose ends and not inclined to stay with his flock. He'd much rather promote sedition and destroy what he can in Tellesberg. A very "Christian" thing to do. Father Ahlvyn Shumay (Alvin) is his personal aide.
Sir Vyk Lakyr is the senior officer in charge of Ferayd's military garrison in the kingdom of Delferahk. The Group of Four order him to mount an attack and sequester all Charisian merchant ships in the city's harbor. An attack that doesn't go as planned...do they ever?? King Zhames (James) of Delferahk can look forward to a miserable future after the attack on Charisian shipping. Edmynd Walkyr is the master of the merchant galleon Wave. His wife Lyzbet, his oldest son Greyghor,his brother Zhorj, brother-in-law Lywys, and his youngest brother Michail works and travels with him even in these trying times. Even in Ferayd, there is an underlying hostility. The officers aboard the Kraken are also uneasy: Kevyn Edwyrds, first lieutenant, and Captain Hairys Fyshyr manage to fight back and rescue nine other ships. When the Imperial Navy returns to let Ferayd know of their...displeasure...Lakyr sends Captain Thomys Kairmyn out of town with the evacuees.
Sir Rayjhis Dragoner (Regis ??) is the Charisian ambassador to Siddarmark. Deeply unhappy about the break between Mother Church and his country, he's torn about the oblique warning he's given by Rolf Khailee, a.k.a., Lord Avrahm Hywstyn (Abram Houston), the Lord Protector Greyghor's fourth cousin. A troubleshooter for the Lord Protector.
Four priests form a Council of Vicars, a.k.a., the Group of Four, the Church of God Awaiting's extremely corrupt and self-serving rulers: Zhaspyr Clyntahn (Jasper Clinton) is the Grand Inquisitor as well as a glutton with the ability to turn any mishap to suit his narrow-minded view; Zahsyn Trynair (Jason Trainer??) is the true power of the Council, the Chancellor; Rhobair Duchairn (a French "Robert"? ??) who has also found God but not his balls is the Treasurer General; and, Allayn Magwair (Allan ??) is the Captain General. Erek XVII is the Grand Vicar in name only.
Vicar Samyl Wylsynn meets with 20-odd other priests in Zion to relate the truth about the massacre in Ferayd. It's an underground group fighting to gather evidence, waiting the day they can overturn the Group of Four. Archbishop Zhasyn Cahnyr, Vicar Gairyt Tanyr, Vicar Hauwerd Wylsynn, Vicar Chiyan Hysin, Vicar Lywys Holdyn, Erayk, and Foryst.
The Cover and Title
It's a rather subdued Baen cover with its deep-burgundy rising into a black gradient background and a lime green bordered viewport of a window of Merlin floating above the planet in his skimmer as per the opening scene in the book.
The title is sadly true for By Schism Rent Asunder is the fate of this planet for the Gang of Four simply can't give up their "perks". Certainly not to care for their flock!
My Take
Phew...another intense story from David Weber. It's only similarity to his Honor Harrington series is that it's science fiction. Every once in awhile, I have to try and remember that this is the same author. Dang, he's good!
Yes, it was zealous and passionate and I suddenly realized it was 6:33 am...but I only had some 40 pages to go…! Fortunately, it wasn't as intense as the first one, Off Armageddon Reef .
Weber has a number of parallels with our own world history: the numerous religious wars fought here versus a single planet-wide religion that was carefully created to have no conflicts; the Nazi-like repressions; and, the flat-out lying and abuse of their flock simply to maintain their own luxurious lifestyle.
It's interesting to read the use of words on both sides to lay off blame as well as place it within the range of reactions and beliefs as to their accuracy versus heretical ranting. Weber is really going to take advantage and stress the tension to the nth degree as he teases and retreats with hope and frustration. Arghhh! I must get the next in the series, By Heresies Distressed !
I need to know if Cayleb survives this next invasion---Weber never lets you get complacent. I need Merlin to get a SNARC inside the Group of Four's meeting place in Zion! How will the other countries jump when they learn of the two and possibly third alliance agreeing to join with Charis against the Church?? How will King Zhames react to Charisian retaliation? So many people are caught between their belief in the Church versus their acknowledgment of its corruption. Then there's that new group of priests working to gather evidence against the Group of Four...does anyone wonder if there's a connection to the Chinese Gang of Four from the early 20th century?? The assassination attempt against the archbishop. I love Merlin's sneaky ideas!
I love, love, love Dynnys' speech just before his execution. I sure hope it has greater reverberations than it has yet..!
Then there's the revelations from Archbishop Maikel and his super-secret group that prompts Merlin's own revelations. One of the sore points for Cayleb with the Group of Four was their backing (after some serious cash exchanged hands) of Tahdayo Mahntayl as the new Earl of Hanth. A totally spurious appointment. It's important now because Mahntayl finally sees the writing on the wall and abandons the county he paid so much for leaving the beleaguered Bishop Mylz Halcom to abandon his post in Hanth and head for Tellesberg to plot and destroy.
I love it when Wave Thunder reveals to Nahrman exactly how detailed is the information they have on everything Narhman has done over the past few months! Snarkkkk!
Then, of course, there is the age-old proverb: Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely" and, in this story, the Church has reigned supreme for the entire history of this world. Supreme and so powerful that they think nothing of ordering the destruction of an entire country, like choosing which pair of shoes to wear today.
Now, of course, they're on the defensive, especially after receiving the communique from the new Archbishop of Charis.
The Story
The second indication the Council of Vicars receives that their world has changed is the interception of Father Rahss (Ross) Sawal's courier ship and the messages he carries. No Charisian will allow a Temple courier to pass unhindered. Not now.
It's a complicated back-and-forth as Cayleb and his people push forward to protect their own lands as they prepare to invade others and gathering up unexpected allies as they go. Their enemies are doing their own dashing with varying degrees of success as they absorb their crushing defeat. And the Church refuses to admit to any of their wrongdoing, preferring to spread propaganda and increase the violence against an innocent group of people who are preparing their own defenses.
Privateers sanctioned and partially funded by the King Cayleb harass and destroy the shipping of Charis' enemies. Archbishop Maikel forces Merlin to don a disguise with him and accompany him to a shabby monastery. A move that brings that day into reality in which Merlin confesses all to Cayleb. The technical issues have calmed down and now revolve around solving the metal issue of bronze, iron, or wrought iron for cannons, what to use to maintain the rifling grooves in both cannon and rifles, and projectile shapes. A new Imperial spymaster.
Most of the planet is concerned with the text of the letter sent by the new archbishop and all but four of her bishops setting the Church of Charis aside from the Council of Vicars' jurisdiction. The same letter distributed throughout their world. Everyone on the planet sees through the fiction of the "Knights of the Temple Lands" who began this.
A little complication...Larys Shaikyr is the master of the galleon Raptor charged by the emperor with attacking enemy shipping with the men receiving one-fourth of the prize money. Hahl Urbahn is his first officer, Dunkyn Hyndyrs is the purser and they are working as a squadron with Slash Lizard, War Hammer, Windcrest, and Sea Kiss. The convoy they subdue is a bit more than expected---gold and silver bullion belonging to the Church. A nice chunk that one-fourth; even better if it's 100-percent.
Revenge for the massacre at Ferayd results in Admiral Rock Point leading 30-some ships of the Imperial Navy to attack the harbor.
The Characters
Seijin Merlin Athrawes is the male version of Nimue Alban, a PICA now, a human 900 years ago. As Cayleb's bodyguard, he's got his work cut out for him along with the planet-wide net of SNARCs he has to review 24/7.
Cayleb Zhan Haarahld Bryahn Ahrmahk (Caleb Jean Harold Brian Armac) is now King Cayleb II of Charis. Young and grieving his father's death, but determined to push ahead and protect his country by any means. Ahrnahld Falkhan (Arnold Falcon), a Charisian Marine, is now in charge of the new Crown Prince Zahn's security. Sergeant Payter Faircaster has transferred into the [king's] Guard from Cayleb's prince's guard to ensure Merlin's security.
Rayjhis Yowance (Regis), Earl of Gray Harbor, is his first councillor while Zhefry Ahbaht (Jeffrey Abbott) is his personal secretary. Ahlvyno Pawalsyn (Alvino?? Paulson), Baron Ironhill, is the Keeper of the Purse charged with figuring out how to pay for a whole lot more ships, weapons, and the men to man those ships and become the Charisian Army. Bynzhamyn Raice (Benjamin Race), Baron Wave Thunder, is his spymaster. Sir Rhyzhard Seafarmer (Richard) is Wave Thunder's second-in-command. Archbishop Maikel Staynair (Michael) is a Charisian and an honest man with a humongous and sacrilegious secret. High Admiral Bryahn Lock Island (Brian), Earl of Lock Island, commands key fortifications at Tellesberg's harbor mouth in Charis. Ehdwyrd Howsmyn (Edward Houseman) "owns two of the kingdom's three largest foundries and one of the largest shipyards and a small fleet of merchant ships; his wife, Zhain (Jane), is the daughter of an earl with a very well-developed sense of the social dynamics of Tellesberg and Charis. Raiyan Mychail (Ryan Michael) is the Royal Navy's primary sailmaker. Sir Dustyn Olyvyr (Dustin Oliver) is one of the top ship designers and the "chief naval constructor of the Royal Charisian Navy". Sir Ahlfryd Hyndryk (Alfred Hendrick), Baron Seamount, is a Navy captain and the gunnery expert of Safehold.
Commander Paitryk Hywyt (Patrick Hewitt) of the Royal Charisian Navy with HMS Wave's first lieutenant, Zhak Urvyn (Zak or Jacques? Ervin/Irvin) make the first interception of a Church courier. Admiral Sir Domynyk Staynair, (Dominic) newly created Baron of Rock Point, is being quite successful in his endeavors. Captain Sir Dunkyn Yairley (Duncan) of HMS Destiny seems to have a sixth sense; he leads the attack on the port at North Bay in Emerald. One of his midshipmen, Master Midshipman Hektor Aplyn-Ahrmahk, is also a new duke of the realm and adopted into the royal family of Charis. He was the lad who tried to save King Haarahld. Colonel Hauwerd Greygart (Howard) of the Royal Charisian Marines is the new Earl of Hanth. Brigadier Kynt Clareyk (Kent Clark??) is a Marine and has devised the first field artillery tactics and the needed training manual to integrate it with the new infantry. Lieutenant Layne (Lane) is his second-in-command and in charge of the ongoing training program.
Doctor Rahzhyr Mahklyn (Roger Maclin?), Dean of the Royal College of Charis, no longer has a choice about the king's insistence that they move. His daughter Ardhyn and her husband Sir Lairync Kestair and another daughter Tairys Kahnklyn and her husband Aizak Kahnklyn (the college's official librarians) must come along with. Aidryn and Eydyth and her twin Zhoel (13) are their children. Erayk is another grandchild. They think another son, Thomys, will be just fine with the move, when he shows up again.
Father Paityr Wylsynn (Peter Wilson) is the intendant (inquisitor) in Charis and Bishop Executor Zherald Ahdymsyn (A French "Gerald"?? Adamson) was Dynnys' representative in Charis year-round who were both "kept safe" until they decided which way to jump. Father Paityr opens the first-ever Patent Office! Erayk Dynnys (Eric Dennis) was the Archbishop of Charis who found God again. His wife Adoria and two sons, Tymythy Erayk (Timothy Eric) and Styvyn (Steven) find refuge in Charis. Madame Ahnzhelyk Phonda was Dynnys' mistress, a friend of his wife, and the proprietor of a very high-class whore house in Zion. Hmmmm, a plot between the two ladies?
Father Zhon Byrkyt (Jean Burckett) is the Abbot of Saint Zherneau's, a super-secret brethren composed of any and all orders which has existed since year one. Holding a most unexpected Testimony from one of the original Adams, Jeremiah "Jere" Knowles. Jere and several others were one of Pei Shan-wei's lines of defense.
Captain Ekohls Raynair is master and half-owner of the Blade, a privateer sailing off Dohlar's coast with her fellow ships, the Ax, Cutlass, and the Dirk. His current occupation is part patriotic, part capitalist, and wholly revenge.
Traivyr Kairee is a Charisian industrialist with no concern for his workers; he's also a Temple Loyalist.
Queen Sharleyan Tayt (Shirleyanne?? Charlaine? Tate) of Chisholm receives a very interesting offer from the new King of Charis. I love that she refuses to hand Gray Harbor over to the Bishop Executor!! Byrtrum, Duke Halbrook Hollow, is her uncle and while she greatly appreciates what he has done to help her stay alive and on the throne, in all good conscience, she must go forward with this decision despite his beliefs in Mother Church. Sergeant Edwyrd Seahamper is the Queen's personal armsman while Captain Gairaht (Garret) is in charge of the Queen's security. Mahrak Sandyrs (Mark Sanders), Baron Green Mountain, is First Councillor in Chisholm and remains behind to help rule Chisholm. Sir Lewk Cohlmyn (Luke Colman), Earl of Sharpfield and the senior admiral for the Chisholm Navy.
Prince Nahrmahn Hanbyl Graim Baytz (Norman Hannibal Graham Bates) of Emerald is in a very bad position with no navy left and a tight blockade on his ports; he does a truly excellent summing up of where everything stands now. His wife Princess Ohlyvya (Olivia) is quite pragmatic about the offer from Charis. Baron Hahl Shandyr (Hal Sander?) is his spymaster. Trahvys Ohlsyn (Travis Olson), Earl of Pine Hollow, is his chief councillor while Commodore Hainz Zhaztro (Hans?? Zastro??) is the most senior officer to return from the battle. He is quite single-minded about rebuilding the Emeraldian Navy. Hanbyl Baytz, (Bates) the Duke of Solomon, is Nahrmahn's uncle and the head of the Emerald Army with as sharp a wit as his nephew, but much less desire to play the "game".
Prince Hektor Daykyn of Corisande hates the Charisians. His son Hector is the heir and sounds like he's not too bright unlike his sister Irys who has it out for Charis. Phylyp Ahzgood (Phillip Osgood), Earl of Coris is his spymaster. Sir Lyndahr Raimynd (Raymond) is the treasurer with some novel ideas on how to raise the funds to rebuild the Navy and arm their military. Sir Taryl Lektor, the Earl of Tartarian is now the senior ranking admiral of the Corisandian Navy, what's left of it anyway. Rysel, Earl of Anvil Rock and his son Koryn (Corin) with Charlz Doyal (Charles Doyle) have been working hard to build and train three batteries of the new cannon. Captain Myrgyn managed to get sketches of the "new gun mounts and carriages and bagged powder charges"; they even have a captured Charisian ship with the new cannon. Oops. Tohmys Symmyns (Thomas Simmons) is the Grand Duke of Zebediah solely due to the grace of Hektor since he conquered and subjugated it. Still doesn't mean he's one of Hektor's supporters.
King Rahnyld IV (Ronald) of Dohlar has a Charisian price on his head and rapidly losing every ship he ever launched to...huh...Charisian privateers. Samyl Cahkrayn (Samuel Cochrane), Duke of Fern, is Rahnyld's chief councillor and in constant communication with the Gang of Four. Former Admiral Lywys Gardynyr (Lewis Gardener), Earl of Thirsk, was second-in-command of the Dohlar Navy sent out to ravage Charis. Now Malikai's brother-in-law, the Duke of Thorast, and the king have beached him for...well, obviously it must be incompetence. There's no way Malikai will accept that his incompetent brother could have screwed up!?! Admiral Pawl Hahlynd (Paul Holland) believes in Thirsk and comes to him for advice.
Tahdayo Mahntayl, the new Earl of Hanth, is on the run. Leaving one of the few bishops, Mylz Halcom, not to sign onto Archbishop Maikel's letter at loose ends and not inclined to stay with his flock. He'd much rather promote sedition and destroy what he can in Tellesberg. A very "Christian" thing to do. Father Ahlvyn Shumay (Alvin) is his personal aide.
Sir Vyk Lakyr is the senior officer in charge of Ferayd's military garrison in the kingdom of Delferahk. The Group of Four order him to mount an attack and sequester all Charisian merchant ships in the city's harbor. An attack that doesn't go as planned...do they ever?? King Zhames (James) of Delferahk can look forward to a miserable future after the attack on Charisian shipping. Edmynd Walkyr is the master of the merchant galleon Wave. His wife Lyzbet, his oldest son Greyghor,his brother Zhorj, brother-in-law Lywys, and his youngest brother Michail works and travels with him even in these trying times. Even in Ferayd, there is an underlying hostility. The officers aboard the Kraken are also uneasy: Kevyn Edwyrds, first lieutenant, and Captain Hairys Fyshyr manage to fight back and rescue nine other ships. When the Imperial Navy returns to let Ferayd know of their...displeasure...Lakyr sends Captain Thomys Kairmyn out of town with the evacuees.
Sir Rayjhis Dragoner (Regis ??) is the Charisian ambassador to Siddarmark. Deeply unhappy about the break between Mother Church and his country, he's torn about the oblique warning he's given by Rolf Khailee, a.k.a., Lord Avrahm Hywstyn (Abram Houston), the Lord Protector Greyghor's fourth cousin. A troubleshooter for the Lord Protector.
Four priests form a Council of Vicars, a.k.a., the Group of Four, the Church of God Awaiting's extremely corrupt and self-serving rulers: Zhaspyr Clyntahn (Jasper Clinton) is the Grand Inquisitor as well as a glutton with the ability to turn any mishap to suit his narrow-minded view; Zahsyn Trynair (Jason Trainer??) is the true power of the Council, the Chancellor; Rhobair Duchairn (a French "Robert"? ??) who has also found God but not his balls is the Treasurer General; and, Allayn Magwair (Allan ??) is the Captain General. Erek XVII is the Grand Vicar in name only.
Vicar Samyl Wylsynn meets with 20-odd other priests in Zion to relate the truth about the massacre in Ferayd. It's an underground group fighting to gather evidence, waiting the day they can overturn the Group of Four. Archbishop Zhasyn Cahnyr, Vicar Gairyt Tanyr, Vicar Hauwerd Wylsynn, Vicar Chiyan Hysin, Vicar Lywys Holdyn, Erayk, and Foryst.
The Cover and Title
It's a rather subdued Baen cover with its deep-burgundy rising into a black gradient background and a lime green bordered viewport of a window of Merlin floating above the planet in his skimmer as per the opening scene in the book.
The title is sadly true for By Schism Rent Asunder is the fate of this planet for the Gang of Four simply can't give up their "perks". Certainly not to care for their flock!
August 20, 2009
This sequel to the truly great Off Armegeddon Reef is a pretty good book, but it suffers in comparison to the first book because it is a little too talkative, much slower paced and because David Weber spends a lot of the time on diplomatic scenes and negotiations, imperial matters and church related activities, spycraft and setting up the plot lines of the various main characters. I understand that he needs to set up these various scenes to set the stage for the epic battles ahead, but I think he could have advanced the plot a little better. There could also have been more scenese with the delightful character of Merlin and more science as Merlin helps the Charisians expand there knowledge. There are also a lot of characters to keep track of. I reread the book again as part of reading the third book and I think my prior review was on the mark. Merlin's scientific advancements are present but not as much, but we do have why the Charis Church is more apt to accept Merlin and its a good way for the people to find out what he is.
Still a good book and I liked it a lot, but not as amazing or as good a the first book.
Still a good book and I liked it a lot, but not as amazing or as good a the first book.
May 9, 2013
Besides falling victim of an oppressive and corrupt church, the entire population of Safehold has been afflicted with verbose, wooden dialogue. The aliens that destroyed the Earth should come back and pillage the verbiage. A good ransacking would leave the surviving words stronger and desperate to have a purpose. Once the excess is culled there would be a decent story here. But if this is a possible future for humanity, I'm rooting for the aliens to destroy us.
Just shy of halfway through, and I'm calling the game on account of boredom. Even when the veil of opaque language is pierced, nothing is happening to advance the story. Actually, in homage to the writing, I should probably qualify my "nothing" and instead write something like, the story is developing geologically. Or, as humans on Earth would say, "blech."
Just shy of halfway through, and I'm calling the game on account of boredom. Even when the veil of opaque language is pierced, nothing is happening to advance the story. Actually, in homage to the writing, I should probably qualify my "nothing" and instead write something like, the story is developing geologically. Or, as humans on Earth would say, "blech."
June 17, 2009
Absolutely nothing happens in this book. I wouldn't be surprised if you could skip directly from book one to book three and not miss a beat. This is the first of his books I have ever been dissapointed with. I bought it the day it came out and nearly returned it a day later once I had finished it because I was so upset with how stupid it was.
April 30, 2023
I am a sucker for a good romance and this one delivered. Maybe it was the romance, the wedding, the focus on two characters that made this 2nd installment in the safehold series easier to read. Or maybe it just didn’t have the complications of too much info dump as the first. Whatever the cause - 5 stars!
July 25, 2015
Another great book by David Weber. the current conflict between Charis and The Temple Lands is increasing. King Cayleb is fighting an ever more aggressive Mother Church which is being lead by the Group of Four. He finally finds his love. Who is it? What happens? Read the book to find out more.
June 30, 2017
Wow, this book just gripped me and made it hard to let go, and I was yelling at the characters as i am known to do when I get wrapped up in it
I love the twists and turns and the character development as well and look forward to reading the next book in the series
I love the twists and turns and the character development as well and look forward to reading the next book in the series
November 13, 2015
Oh even better that I had hoped.
I really like David Weber.
His world building always comes together so well..
I really like David Weber.
His world building always comes together so well..
April 26, 2020
Review in “Off Armageddon Reef”.
October 3, 2025
I won't gush as much about this book as I did book #1,
Off Armageddon Reef
. Although I'm still sold on the series and David Weber's writing, By Schism Rent Asunder is a slow burn compared with its predecessor. I agree some of the plot and character developments were necessary but overall it didn't have as many memorable action sequences or extremely exciting moments... plus some of the "puppy love" got annoying. *puke*
Considering how slowly the plot moved in this one, I'm curious how much time will pass in the rest of the series. I'm still looking forward to book #3, By Heresies Distressed , but I'll wait a tad before I read it.
Considering how slowly the plot moved in this one, I'm curious how much time will pass in the rest of the series. I'm still looking forward to book #3, By Heresies Distressed , but I'll wait a tad before I read it.
March 17, 2019
A huge book in all senses of the word. This book had many more pages than Goodreads stated at 510, as it actually finished at 688. Also huge in scope & world building, as David Weber continues to alter the lives of the Safehold world, pushing the population through the character of Merlin towards sea changes in thinking & engineering. This novel gets long winded in some chapters, overly descriptive of thought processes, but eventually picks back up with plot flow & action. I’ll definitely read the next book.
July 28, 2014
This is the second book in the Safehold serie. Not much happens in terms of action but we encounter the same cast of sympathetic heroes, with a few more added to the list ( esp the new Queen). It is kind of a filler book but I went fast through it and enjoyed so it still gets 3 stars. It is however not of the same caliber as the first book( and from what I am being told, this does not improve with later books where the story keeps dragging on).
August 28, 2008
A sequel to Armageddon's reef, This takes a look at religious fundamentalism at an extreme. Add in super science and a malevolent alien race bent on annihilation of everything not them and you have the back drop to this series.
I love it myself
I love it myself
August 18, 2009
Even more talking than book 3, if that's possible. Mr. Weber needs to remember that people are reading his books to see stuff get blown up, not to hear about the geopolitical ramifications of barrel rifling.
July 11, 2014
Did not finish.
Way too wordy. Pages and pages of conversations that go almost nowhere and are, in any event, dull. The story needs to move forward faster than this to maintain my interest and I am just not willing to make the investment in time. There is too much else I want to read...
Way too wordy. Pages and pages of conversations that go almost nowhere and are, in any event, dull. The story needs to move forward faster than this to maintain my interest and I am just not willing to make the investment in time. There is too much else I want to read...
May 9, 2020
Notes:
This is one of the longest transition books I've read where not a whole lot happened. lol However, I liked some of the unexpected plot turns and may dive into the #3 sooner vs later.
This is one of the longest transition books I've read where not a whole lot happened. lol However, I liked some of the unexpected plot turns and may dive into the #3 sooner vs later.
June 12, 2022
More politics and character development vs action, which worked out nicely.
July 29, 2022
I keep reading these even though some things bother me. And then I get the next one and read it.
March 19, 2024
Time for some sci-fi. I read another book by this copious and wordy author (Heirs of Empire) and enjoyed it so here goes - all 500 plus pages of it. Starting out with a lot of political scene-setting. I'll need to pay attention. So far it's similar to Jack Vance's Lyonesse Trilogy... w/o the magic. Vance's saga is set in Medieval times, while this far away(in time and space) outpost of human culture seems a bit closer to 17th/18th c. Europe. Quite similar to the setting for "Heirs of Empire".
- Weber uses "Eraystor Bay" Jack Vance uses "Erastor". AND... those awkwardly spelled names that phonetically seem close to "our" names? Must've cause a fair amount of time spent to create.
I'm just past the halfway point of this unexciting, mildly interesting slog of a book. The author uses this middle book of the series to describe the social, political, religious environment of Safehold. I assume the third installment will present the battle to end all battles and will likely be much more interesting. In the hands of a better writer this might work all right, but Mr. Weber is no Jack Vance. For some reason he creates a bunch of names based on the relentless use of the letter "y" and proceeds to demonstrate how many tongue twisters he can create in 400 pages. They just keep coming and I've given up on keeping them all sorted out. Speaking "softly" seems to be the order of the day and everyone seems to have a "crooked" grin on his/her face. Speaking of which... where are all the women at?
So, I've switched to skip-skim mode and that should bring me to the end soon. Whether or not I can bring myself to read #3 is unknown at the moment. We'll see.
- The occasional use of some of our colloquialisms seems inappropriate: "pissed off"???
- Boats don't moor at docks, they tie up.
- Looks like Brad Pitt posed for the cover modeling Merlin's "lopsided smile".
- Should the word "cute" turn up in this book?
- Clyntahn = A sneering john Cleese.
Well... Emperor Caleb has shimmied off to war with a kiss from the Empress, and I'm soooo glad all the blah-blah is done with. Maybe I'll read the last installment - maybe not.
- Weber uses "Eraystor Bay" Jack Vance uses "Erastor". AND... those awkwardly spelled names that phonetically seem close to "our" names? Must've cause a fair amount of time spent to create.
I'm just past the halfway point of this unexciting, mildly interesting slog of a book. The author uses this middle book of the series to describe the social, political, religious environment of Safehold. I assume the third installment will present the battle to end all battles and will likely be much more interesting. In the hands of a better writer this might work all right, but Mr. Weber is no Jack Vance. For some reason he creates a bunch of names based on the relentless use of the letter "y" and proceeds to demonstrate how many tongue twisters he can create in 400 pages. They just keep coming and I've given up on keeping them all sorted out. Speaking "softly" seems to be the order of the day and everyone seems to have a "crooked" grin on his/her face. Speaking of which... where are all the women at?
So, I've switched to skip-skim mode and that should bring me to the end soon. Whether or not I can bring myself to read #3 is unknown at the moment. We'll see.
- The occasional use of some of our colloquialisms seems inappropriate: "pissed off"???
- Boats don't moor at docks, they tie up.
- Looks like Brad Pitt posed for the cover modeling Merlin's "lopsided smile".
- Should the word "cute" turn up in this book?
- Clyntahn = A sneering john Cleese.
Well... Emperor Caleb has shimmied off to war with a kiss from the Empress, and I'm soooo glad all the blah-blah is done with. Maybe I'll read the last installment - maybe not.
January 16, 2025
Rereading this almost felt like a big segue between books 1 and 3 to discuss the impact of the Industrial Revolution + Martin Luther’s 95 theses on a fictional planet set in the equivalent of the 1600s. Jokes on u tho I’m into that shit.
April 24, 2025
The first book was much better. Its less and less sci-fi and I don't want to read 8 more books in this series
October 7, 2013
If anything this book feels more like Weber is working to advance the world building and setting up for bigger conflicts. It is clear that Weber has a long term goal for the series but all the setup in this issue comes off as a little unsatisfactory when put next to the epic battles that closed out the previous installment. On the bright side for readers who like political maneuvering and Machiavellian schemes this book will hit the right notes and by the end there is a fairly complex web set up. A lot of time is devoted to looking in on the “great game” of politics on Safehold and the various factions attempts to prepare for the conflict that is just on the horizon. Unfortunately by the end of the book that conflict is still just on the horizon.
We get the same basic cast of characters as in the first book with the exception of a handful of new players. This helps some because instead of whole sections devoted to introduction of a character Weber can now focus on developing and fleshing those characters out. While the main cast was pretty robust by the end of Armageddon’s Reef the supporting cast still felt a bit flimsy and much of that is resolved here. In particular you get really good development in Calyeb, the new king of Charis. He really comes into his own as the strong ruler of men Weber seemed to be gunning for and feels more like the Henry VIII analogue that Weber wanted. And more importantly we get Prince Nahrman as a major player. In a book focused on scheming and plotting this is the character to watch. He comes off as pure id and is simply a pleasure to follow, every moment the story is with him you can’t help but enjoy the man’s guile.
There is one issue in the characterization that bumps against all this good development. Weber chose to write in a romance between Cayleb and Queen Charleyan and has the same weakness that hurts most sci-fi writers I have read, he simply cannot write believable romance. The two characters fall in love at the drop of a hat and their coupling comes off as entirely forced. While I do enjoy them together once there are paired off, and probably would have had no problems with their relationship had they been initially presented as a couple, I just do not buy the love story. This is a pretty big problem since a large portion of the book is dedicated to their falling in love.
To be clear this isn’t a bad book, it’s just a deviation from Off Armageddon Reef and really Weber’s normal style in general. For fans of Weber or the first book I would say stick with this series, he is clearly building to something massive that you will not want to miss.
We get the same basic cast of characters as in the first book with the exception of a handful of new players. This helps some because instead of whole sections devoted to introduction of a character Weber can now focus on developing and fleshing those characters out. While the main cast was pretty robust by the end of Armageddon’s Reef the supporting cast still felt a bit flimsy and much of that is resolved here. In particular you get really good development in Calyeb, the new king of Charis. He really comes into his own as the strong ruler of men Weber seemed to be gunning for and feels more like the Henry VIII analogue that Weber wanted. And more importantly we get Prince Nahrman as a major player. In a book focused on scheming and plotting this is the character to watch. He comes off as pure id and is simply a pleasure to follow, every moment the story is with him you can’t help but enjoy the man’s guile.
There is one issue in the characterization that bumps against all this good development. Weber chose to write in a romance between Cayleb and Queen Charleyan and has the same weakness that hurts most sci-fi writers I have read, he simply cannot write believable romance. The two characters fall in love at the drop of a hat and their coupling comes off as entirely forced. While I do enjoy them together once there are paired off, and probably would have had no problems with their relationship had they been initially presented as a couple, I just do not buy the love story. This is a pretty big problem since a large portion of the book is dedicated to their falling in love.
To be clear this isn’t a bad book, it’s just a deviation from Off Armageddon Reef and really Weber’s normal style in general. For fans of Weber or the first book I would say stick with this series, he is clearly building to something massive that you will not want to miss.
October 1, 2014
By Schism Rent Asunder continues the plight of Merlin Athrawes to free Safehold from the tyrannical and corrupt grip of the Church of God Awaiting. My review of Off Armageddon Reef sets the stage here and, while I had gotten used to the naming conventions enough to follow the story, Weber decided to increase his use of the internal monologue as a storytelling device. Moreover, this rote exposition is rarely necessary or of any value add, often recapping things without need, or showing you the detailed logic of how a certain character reacts to the event. Given the fact that the characters are fairly simple and well constructed I found that I knew how a character would react before it got into the literary phaffing explaining why they reacted that way.
Bottom line, this is a marvelous and well thought out world that is eminently engaging, but is hurt by some poor authoring choices. I am still grabbing the third book from the series, By Heresies Distressed, simply because the world is so fascinating.
2/5*
Bottom line, this is a marvelous and well thought out world that is eminently engaging, but is hurt by some poor authoring choices. I am still grabbing the third book from the series, By Heresies Distressed, simply because the world is so fascinating.
2/5*
Displaying 1 - 30 of 288 reviews