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Exodus: The Ark
Interstellar Adventure by a Top-Selling Author of the Man-Kzin Series.
The Sequel to Genesis .
The gigantic starship Ark was launched on a voyage of ten thousand years from an Earth on the brink of collapse. Its mission was to carry a portion of the human race to a new home circling another star, but, centuries after its departure, the descendants of the original crew no longer remember that they are on a city-sized spaceship, and know nothing of the Ark ’s mission, nor of the starry universe outside. The Prophetsy, a theocracy based on slavery and terror, has ruled over most of the Ark for longer than anyone now living can remember, and it has just succeeded in conquering the few remaining free regions of the ship. Yet there are chinks in the monolithic tyranny . . .
Danil has been a slave since he was a young boy, but his spirit has never been broken, and his keen mind sees ways that the theocracy might be overthrown and envisions new weapons that could achieve that victory.
Annaya is the daughter of the Prophet Polldor, undisputed ruler of the Prophetsy. She is far more intelligent and strong-willed than her brother, but only a male heir can become the next Prophet. To her father, she is only a pawn, to be married off to a powerful ally. But she is determined that will not happen, even if she has to somehow overthrow both her father and the Prophetsy itself.
Olen ,the Prophet’s son, is anxious to become the next Prophet. He will cooperate in his sister’s plans as long as he thinks they will lead to his assuming the throne and gaining absolute power, but he is a more dangerous ally than Annaya realizes.
These three, each with a different motive, will strive to change the course of history for the Ark . But even if they restore freedom to their artificial world, can they discover the nature of that world, and regain the knowledge necessary for the successful completion of its mission?
Master storyteller Paul Chafe presents The Ark , the gripping second book of the Ark trilogy.
The Sequel to Genesis .
The gigantic starship Ark was launched on a voyage of ten thousand years from an Earth on the brink of collapse. Its mission was to carry a portion of the human race to a new home circling another star, but, centuries after its departure, the descendants of the original crew no longer remember that they are on a city-sized spaceship, and know nothing of the Ark ’s mission, nor of the starry universe outside. The Prophetsy, a theocracy based on slavery and terror, has ruled over most of the Ark for longer than anyone now living can remember, and it has just succeeded in conquering the few remaining free regions of the ship. Yet there are chinks in the monolithic tyranny . . .
Danil has been a slave since he was a young boy, but his spirit has never been broken, and his keen mind sees ways that the theocracy might be overthrown and envisions new weapons that could achieve that victory.
Annaya is the daughter of the Prophet Polldor, undisputed ruler of the Prophetsy. She is far more intelligent and strong-willed than her brother, but only a male heir can become the next Prophet. To her father, she is only a pawn, to be married off to a powerful ally. But she is determined that will not happen, even if she has to somehow overthrow both her father and the Prophetsy itself.
Olen ,the Prophet’s son, is anxious to become the next Prophet. He will cooperate in his sister’s plans as long as he thinks they will lead to his assuming the throne and gaining absolute power, but he is a more dangerous ally than Annaya realizes.
These three, each with a different motive, will strive to change the course of history for the Ark . But even if they restore freedom to their artificial world, can they discover the nature of that world, and regain the knowledge necessary for the successful completion of its mission?
Master storyteller Paul Chafe presents The Ark , the gripping second book of the Ark trilogy.
496 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 2009
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29 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
June 26, 2017
I can't say I cared much for the book. While the concept of a generation ship was appealing to me I was a bit put of by the medieval fantasy setting within the space ship. And a over thousands of years nothing changes that structure.
Anywhere else structure was sorely missed, did the author ever heard of that newfangled invention called chapters. His segments literally spread over hundreds of pages without any real breaks.
Anywhere else structure was sorely missed, did the author ever heard of that newfangled invention called chapters. His segments literally spread over hundreds of pages without any real breaks.
August 10, 2011
It was an okay book. I liked it overall, but I didn't really like how the sections were split up. Each section seemed to have different characters, though they had similar circumstances. It was more like a bunch of short stories that occurred over a long period of time, with the only connecting factor, that the stories all occurred in the same world.
June 8, 2020
This followed the same narrative format of a few different stories from several generations as the first book. It was a departure from the hard sci-fi offirst novel. Outside the fact that the setting is a generational interstellar colony ship, this was more a fantasy based on a religious oligarchy. Another review mentions the thousands of years that passed on the ship, yet technology and society have remained relatively primitive; there should be some advancement... I didn't dislike this book but would be hesitant to give it a recommendation to most people.
September 11, 2011
I thought this a very good book, well written and a great story. I picked the book on sale and am not sure if it's the 1st or 2nd in the series, but it stood very well on its own.
While taking place on a generation ship, this is almost more a historical fiction than science fiction. It's a series of stories over a span of thousands of years of a human society that is has lost its past and is rediscovering itself and science.
In many ways this story reminded me of David Weber's Safehold series, an society surrounded by science so far advanced that it's godlike to them, slowly discovering and rediscovering their past, coming to grips with their changing perceptions of the world around them and their "real" past.
All in all, a great book with believable premise (assuming you can believe that mankind of the future can build such a huge ship that can last ten thousand years as it journeys from Earth to another start...)
While taking place on a generation ship, this is almost more a historical fiction than science fiction. It's a series of stories over a span of thousands of years of a human society that is has lost its past and is rediscovering itself and science.
In many ways this story reminded me of David Weber's Safehold series, an society surrounded by science so far advanced that it's godlike to them, slowly discovering and rediscovering their past, coming to grips with their changing perceptions of the world around them and their "real" past.
All in all, a great book with believable premise (assuming you can believe that mankind of the future can build such a huge ship that can last ten thousand years as it journeys from Earth to another start...)
August 30, 2011
This was a nice new look at the idea of generation ships.
It focused on the people of the voyage, and the difficulties that they have down the road, way down the road, like lost in the time down the road after the launch.
really it is three different stories that take place in the same same ship.
Refreshing view point worth the time to read it.
It focused on the people of the voyage, and the difficulties that they have down the road, way down the road, like lost in the time down the road after the launch.
really it is three different stories that take place in the same same ship.
Refreshing view point worth the time to read it.
April 5, 2010
2.5/5 - Interesting enough for me to finish the book, but I wouldn't recommend it. The world and concept isn't new, but I was hoping for a good spin on the topic that just wasn't there. The plot and characters were average, and the book was overall a little disappointing.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews