Scourge of Stars — Henry Gee

Print edition of Book Two of Henry Gee's incredible Sigil Trilogy The Brethren of a remote and lonely monastery are preparing for the Apparition of the Goddess, a festival that happens once every 2,058,416 years. But will the Goddess arrive in time to save them from an apparition of an altogether more hostile kind? Mr Haraddzjin Khorare, Trader in Textiles from the Very Great and Ancient City of Axandragor, is on a routine business trip. But when his vessel is attacked by pirates, his adventure takes an altogether more astonishing turn. The discoveries of Jack Corstorphine and Jadis Markham have stunned the world. But more is to come, With their adopted son Tom, their student Shoshana Levinson, their colleague Avram Malkeinu, and their mentor, scientist-priest Domingo, they are about to witness at first hand the full horror of the War of the Last Days. Scourge of Stars is the second volume of The Sigil Trilogy, Henry Gee's epic tale that explores the nature of humanity, religion and love. Praise for THE SIGIL TRILOGY: "Great stuff. Touches of Douglas Adams, Barrington Bayley, David Britton and Steve Ayelet only emphasise the splendid originality of this book. Henry Gee is thoughtful, funny, original. And pretty thoroughly mind-expanding in the tradition of Wells, David Lindsay, Stapledon and Clarke. In fact everything you yearn to find in a very good contemporary SF novel. Really enjoyed it " -SFWA Grandmaster Michael Moorcock "Siege is compelling, grandiose, and breathtaking in its spacetime and its characters are intriguing, personal, and complex....This book of Henry's is going to be high on the charts." -Greg Laden, scienceblogs.com "Echoes of Olaf Stapledon and Arthur C. Clarke, with more interesting characters than either of them." - John Gribbin Cosmically deep and sensually rich, here is a very warm, enthusiastic and human book about great issues of our own world and of the whole universe, beautifully written. What can I say but: Gee Whiz (unless somebody already has...) - Ian Watson "One of the very best books I've ever read." -Critique.org "Henry Gee serves up a tasty stew of sex, science and space opera. Or should that read romance, rationality and retro-SF? Either way, the book is great entertainment." -Vaughan Stanger, author of Alternate Apollos "A great very-wide-screen story, with many interesting characters I cared about...the writing-and the palaeontology-are beautifully executed" -Jack Cohen, author of Wheelers and Heaven Reminiscent of Peter F. Hamilton's SF epics in its scope and ambition, "The Siege of Stars" is a wildly imaginative book set against the vivid locales scattered throughout time and space. Gee masterfully paints his protagonists in engaging, realistic and very human light. Their personalities and relationships drive the story forward as much as its grandiose scale, making "Siege" difficult to put down. - Alex Shvartsman "Henry Gee's crackling prose and fast-paced storytelling pull the reader right in, but it's the vividness of his characters that creates such a sense of intimacy in this large-scale cosmic tale. It's an impressive fiction debut, a page-turner that delivers the goods " -Mercurio D. Rivera "Henry Gee paints a stunning, thriving universe in which readers will delight." -Shelly Li "Siege of Stars is terrific - a highly original mash-up of wild archaeology and advanced aliens, with sympathetic characters, comedy and tragedy. Scientists (and Nature editors) can write science fiction." - Ian Stewart "The Sigil Trilogy is magnificently panoramic in breadth - a quirky, erudite and often hilarious tale of adventure mingling epic science fiction, archaeology, palaeontology and romance. Vividly entertaining " -Cecilia Dart-Thornton, bestselling author of the Bitterbynde series "SIEGE OF STARS is a fascinating story from start to finish, with great ideas, neat set pieces, and interesting characters. Gee knows his stuff." - Eric Brown, author of Engineman