Off Armageddon Reef: A Novel in the Safehold Series (#1) - David Weber

nHumanity pushed its way to the stars - and encountered the Gbaba, a ruthless alien race that nearly wiped us out. n nEarth and her colonies are now smoldering ruins, and the few survivors have fled to distant, Earth-like Safehold, to try to rebuild. But the Gbaba can detect the emissions of an industrial civilization, so the human rulers of Safehold have taken extraordinary measures: with mind control and hidden high technology, they've built a religion in which every Safeholdian believes, a religion designed to keep Safehold society medieval forever.

n n800 years pass. In a hidden chamber on Safehold, an android from the far human past awakens. This rebirth was set in motion centuries before, by a faction that opposed shackling humanity with a concocted religion.

Via automated recordings, Nimue - or, rather, the android with the memories of Lieutenant Commander Nimue Alban - is told her fate: she will emerge into Safeholdian society, suitably disguised, and begin the process of provoking the technological progress which the Church of God Awaiting has worked for centuries to prevent. n nNothing about this will be easy. To better deal with a medieval society, Nimue takes a new gender and a new name, Merlin.

His formidable powers and access to caches of hidden high technology will need to be carefully concealed. And he'll need to find a base of operations, a Safeholdian country that's just a little more freewheeling, a little less orthodox, a little more open to the new. n nAnd thus Merlin comes to Charis, a mid-sized kingdom with a talent for naval warfare.

He plans to make the acquaintance of King Haarahld and Crown Prince Cayleb, and maybe, just maybe, kick off a new era of invention. Which is bound to draw the attention of the Church...and, inevitably, lead to war. n nIt's going to be a long, long process.

And David Weber's epic Off Armageddon Reef is can't-miss sci-fi. n nSafehold Series n1. Off Armageddon Reef n2.

By Schism Rent Asunder n3. By Heresies Distressed n4. A Mighty Fortress n5.

How Firm A Foundation n6. Midst Toil and Tribulation n7. Like A Mighty Army n8.

Hell's Foundations Quiver n9. At the Sign of Triumphn