The ancient menace man's worst nightmare has finally escaped from Lalonde & in the process it has shattered the Confederation's peaceful existence. Those who succumbled to the horror have aquired godlike powers but now follow a far from divine gospel as they advance inexorably from world to world. On planets & asteroids individuals battle for survival against brutal forces. Governments teeter on the brink of anarchy the Confederation Navy is dangerously over-stretched & a dark messiah prepares to invoke his own version of the final night. In such desperate times the last thing the galaxy needs is a new & terrifyingly powerful weapon. Yet Dr Alkad Mzu is determined to retrieve the Alchemist
- so she can complete her thirty-year-old vendetta to slay a star. But people on both sides had ideas on how to use the ultimate doomsday device. ' Mr Hamilton tells an excellent story here' SFSite.com ' The sheer scale of blazing action & galactic pursuit is genuinely impressive.. .a real page-turner' SFX