By Schism Rent Asunder
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| Author | David Weber |
|---|---|
| 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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July 2008 |
| Media type | Print (hardback) |
| Pages | 512 |
| ISBN | |
| OCLC | 184823014 |
| 813/.54 22 | |
| LC Class | PS3573.E217 B9 2008 |
| Preceded by | Off Armageddon Reef |
| Followed by | By Heresies Distressed |
By Schism Rent Asunder is a science fiction book written by David Weber. It is the second book in the open-ended Safehold series, after Off Armageddon Reef. The publication date was July 22, 2008. The third book in the series is named By Heresies Distressed
Nimue Alban, known to the people of the planet Safehold as "Merlin Athrawes", has been very busy. Over the course of several months, Nimue has continually steered the Kingdom of Charis towards confrontation with Safehold's all-powerful Church of God Awaiting. The combined duties of being the guardian and adviser of Charis' King Cayleb, as well as the source of Charis' rapid advancements in military technology, are tiring for even an android. Her only escape is space, somewhere nobody else on Safehold can follow her. Meanwhile, she is forced to remain concerned about the very same kinetic bombardment platform that killed her mentor Pei Shan-Wei and most of her supporters after the Church's founder Eric Langhorne used it to destroy her Alexandria enclave.
Planetside, the Kingdom of Charis has been emboldened by its devastating naval victory over the forces sent to destroy it by the Church. Archbishop Mikael Staynair of Charis, who has become the effective Martin Luther of Safehold, declares a schism between the Church of God Awaiting and his see on Charis, accusing the "Group of Four" which controls the Church of being responsible for the massive sneak attack that was launched on Charis during the events of Off Armageddon Reef. King Cayleb, who has ascended to the throne following his father's death in the attack, is locked in a desperate struggle with the Church. The Charisian Navy, which now essentially rules the seas of Safehold, extensively disrupts international commerce and communication with swift and well armed privateer fleets.
Meanwhile, the Group of Four set plans into motion to build a force capable of challenging Charis, and in the meantime to attack the Kingdom in any way possible. They order the brutal public execution of the previous Archbishop of Charis, Erayk Dynnis, although things do not exactly go as planned, and they suffer a setback after Dynnis bravely publicly denounces them before his death. They also declare that Cayleb and Staynair are apostates and enemies of God, which creates domestic problems for Cayleb. Merlin barely manages to prevent the assassination of Archbishop Staynair at the hands of Charisian Church loyalists, who also burn the Royal College. The Group of Four urge all of the nations loyal to the Church to close their ports to Charisian shipping in an attempt to attack Charis via economic means. In the nearby Kingdom of Delferahk, the Church's Office of Inquisition is resisted by Charisian merchants as it attempts to seize docked vessels. The ensuing massacre by the Inquisition pushes Safehold to brink of Holy War.
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