Ten thousand years in the future, and Earth is a much different place. Man has evolved to a point where his thoughts are broadcast across a net, cyber-warriors are considered just as human as those whose bodies dictate their abilities, and after war and an exodus of most of the cybs, a universal moral code has been established on the earth.
L.E. Modesitt, Jr. is a prolific writer of science fiction, but this is my first attempt at his literature. Sci-fi and fantasy authors are often tempted to insert new and strange words into the language to give it a futuristic feel, but in this case, it makes it so foreign that there’s not much familiar to give the reader a foothold on the plot. I consider myself somewhat intelligent. I don’t expect ever tenth word in a book to be made up. It took about five chapters for me to really understand what was going on and now that I’m a hundred pages in, I’m slowly warming to the characters.
The cyber-warriors have returned to Earth to find the truth of their past and to see if it truly is a Planet of Death. Ecktor is a demi who has been chosen as coordinator, to deal with the situation and to represent Earth. No one on Earth trusts the cybs and the cybs don’t trust the earthlings.
The book is sprinkled with philosophical sayings: “Society is based on morality. Morality rests on consensus and requires the use of power to remove those who will not accept that consensus.”
