Temple Dark Books

In a frozen and hopeless future, Raidon City stands, the last bastion of civilisation in an otherwise barbaric world. The city's elite soldiers, the Corps, keep its inhabitants safe, hunting the treacherous Ramasites scattered around the barren wastes who seek to bring the city to its knees. To the Corps, these outsiders are vermin, nothing more than animals to be slaughtered on sight - and they delight in this sport. To the citizens of Raidon, the Corps are their heroes, the offspring of noble lines sacrificing all to protect their beloved home. At least, this is how it seems. Fiercest among the corpsmen is Riven, whose prowess in battle is matched only by the intellect he evinces in the ritual games of their order. But Riven will learn of cracks in the propaganda of the city-state; of long-kept secrets festering in the darkness; and of rumours of a coming Ramasite invasion that conflict with the reality he sees beyond the walls. Questioning his own morals and introduced to truths that challenge a lifetime of indoctrination, Riven must tackle an eternal question at the risk of Raidon's demise... How can an intelligent man be so easily fooled?

Maria Rodrigues' parents were not who they seemed, and so the girl is raised apart from them, hiding without understanding. As she grows into adulthood and becomes enthralled by environmental activism, she meets a man whose genius is tempered by his questionable ethics, coming to learn that the lines between what is right and what is necessary are so easily blurred. Philosophy, ethics and science are at odds as a disparate cast of soldiers, technicians and explorers clash in the maelstrom surrounding the Ismud project – Earth's first crewed interstellar probe. Some will seek validation for past wrongs; others revenge for festering pain; some merely a meaning to their existence; while others will stop at nothing to see their genius brought to life. These lives are mapped with sympathetic immersion, narrating a multivalent trajectory that will see a future cut short as the Ismud launch looms...