A Mighty Fortress (novel)
Cover of A Mighty Fortress
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| Author | David Weber |
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| Cover artist | Stephen Youll |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Science fiction |
| Publisher | Tor Books |
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Publication date
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April 13, 2010 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover) |
| Pages | 720 |
| ISBN | |
| OCLC | 428027070 |
| Preceded by | By Heresies Distressed |
| Followed by | How Firm a Foundation |
A Mighty Fortress is the fourth book in the Safehold science fiction novel series by David Weber and published by Tor Books on April 13, 2010. It debuted at #9 on the New York Times hardcover fiction best seller list, following in the steps of previous titles in the series which also debuted on the list. The book dropped to #24 in the second week, then to #29 in week three before dropping off the list, for a total of three weeks on the list.
Preview chapters of the book were published before the book was released.
Following Charis' conquest of Corisande, the people of Corisande are becoming increasingly restive under the occupation (despite the fact that Charis is governing both wisely and compassionately) and two major resistance movements begin to coalesce—one in the capital city of Manchyr and one in the Northern aristocratic estates. Both conspiracies enjoin "Temple Loyalists", who view the Church of Charis as an abomination that must be destroyed, with secular leaders, who want to take back their nation from the foreign occupation and both seem to be getting very well organized. While Merlin uses his advanced technology to maintain a constant watch over these groups, he, Emperor Cayleb and Empress Sharleyan (who is now pregnant with her first child) decide not to move against them now and wait until they can crush all opposition in a single stroke. Meanwhile, in Talkyra—the capital city of Delferahk, where the surviving children of Corisandian Prince Hektor are now in exile—the Earl of Coris is summoned to Zion to consult with the church leadership. While Coris is loath to leave Princess Iris and Prince Daivyn alone and despite his suspicions regarding the Inquisition's involvement in their father's death, Coris has little choice but to comply with the Temple's demands.
As Sharleyan's pregnancy progresses, Merlin takes her to Nimue's Cave under the Mountains of Light so that she can be examined by the medical computer there. He's forced to come clean about the fact that he injected both them and several other people with the nanotech designed to fight diseases and help heal injuries faster and explains that he was determined not to lose any of them to some germ. In Dohlar, the Earl of Thirsk is once again put in a naval command when it becomes clear to his superiors that his reports about the Charisians' ships were accurate. Yet he is still forced to contend with court politics since his former, incompetent predecessor had all too many allies who did not enjoy being proven wrong. Nonetheless, Thirsk turns out to be a shrewd operator, as he manages to get his crews trained very well while changing the general practices of the Dohlaran Fleet, which earns him even more enemies in Dohlar and in the Temple. In Tellesberg, Archbishop Staynair is preparing for his journey to Corisande and reluctantly tells Baron Wave Thunder about the trunkloads of reports Adorai Dynnys handed to him about corruption within the temple. While Wave Thunder is angry at him for not sharing such intelligence with him, Staynair states that it was given to him under the seal of the confessional so as to protect the source who has already risked her life to get it to them and Wave Thunder relents. In Corisande, Father Tymahn Hahskans begins to draw attention to himself in his sermons on the corruption within the church that he has noticed for a long time yet was forbidden from speaking of. His sermons begin to pose a threat to the Temple Loyalists who are attempting to encourage public unrest and civil disobedience in the capital. As a result, Hahskans is abducted from his home and then brutally tortured to death and left in a public place upon the orders of Aidryn Waimyn, the former Intendent of Corisande. Merlin, who is notified about the abduction by OWL too late to save Hahskans, moves against the conspiracy in Manchyr, sending an anonymous message to Sir Koryn Gahrvai, the son of Earl of Anvil Rock, who proceeds to arrest the conspirators, among whom they find the former Intendent. He is later defroked from his post by the Church in Corisande and tried for murder and conspiracy and consequently executed along with most of his fellow conspirators.
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