Inquisition

Speak to any group of science-fiction authors, and you'll find admiration mixed with resentment whenever the name of Anselm Audley is mentioned. Why? Principally because of his youth and prestige, in that order: Audley is still a history student at Oxford, and achieved considerable success, both critical and commercial, with the first book of his Aquasilva trilogy, a fantasy saga of immense scope and ambition. This second book displays all the imaginative sweep of its predecessor, underpinned by a fastidious detailing of the political and social aspects of Audley's created world. As before, the abuse of religious power is at the heart of the narrative here. The Archipelago is about to suffer under a new Inquisition as the Domain decides to instigate a new order. The all-powerful Prime himself has sent out an edict that heretics and unbelievers are to be ruthlessly expunged, and anyone who dares to confront them is to be destroyed. As the flame claims more victims, Audley's protagonist Cathan abandons a placid life and plunges into the dark heart of the Archipelago to find the massive ship Aeon. For hundreds of years, the ship has been reputed to be a paradigm of all knowledge governing the storms which wreak havoc on the land, and only the Domain have power over these storms. But Cathan's quest is to be a highly dangerous one, as he is a threat to the power bases of too many people. What distinguishes Audley from so many of his rivals is the intelligence and ambition of his plotting: few fantasy sagas could take on such issues as the manipulation of clerical authority with quite the gravity that Audley displays here. Cathan is a well-rounded character, and the perfect focus for the reader as we are taken into the centre of the strange and threatening universe Audley creates here. (Kirkus UK)