Humanity pushed its way to the stars--and encountered the Gbaba, a ruthless alien race that nearly wiped us out. Earth and her colonies are now smoldering ruins, and the few survivors have fled to distant, Earth-like Safehold, to try to rebuild. But the Gbaba can detect the emissions of an industrial civilization, so the human rulers of Safehold have taken extraordinary measures to create a religion, with mind control and hidden high technology, designed to keep Safehold society medieval forever. But 800 years pass and in a hidden chamber on Safehold, an android from the far human past awakens and will begin the process of provoking technological progress, which the Church of God Awaiting has worked for centuries to prevent. His plan to kick off a new era of invention is bound to draw the attention of the Church...and, inevitably, lead to war.

David Weber is a science fiction phenomenon. His popular Honor Harrington space-opera adventures (most recently, At All Costs) are New York Times bestsellers and can’t come out fast enough for his devoted readers.