The second high-octane instalment in Adrian Tchaikovskys Final Architecture space opera trilogy. One of the most interesting and accomplished writers in speculative fiction. Christopher Paolini

This time, the artefacts that preserved entire worlds from destruction are ineffective.

And no planet is safe. The Human Colony worlds are in turmoil as they face extinction. Some believe alliances with other species can save them. Others insist humanity must fight alone.

But no one has the firepower or technology to ensure victory, as the Architects loom ever closer. Idris spent decades running from the last wars horrors. Yet as an Intermediary, altered to navigate deep space, hes one of humanitys only weapons. Hes therefore forced back into action.

With a handful of allies, Idris must find something anything to stop the Architects pitiless advance. But to do so, he must return to the nightmare of unspace, where his mind was broken and remade. What he discovers there will change everything.