The Ethos Effect
A Novel
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- £13.99
Publisher Description
Van C. Albert is a commander in the Republic Space Force of Taran. His bravery led to the defeat of a larger enemy ship but caused the inadvertent destruction of a civilian liner. Although his name was cleared, he now seems doomed to a life of backwater postings. He can only watch as a simmering cold war erupts into a fierce interstellar war, fuelled by the pull of religious fanaticism, economic and political rivalry.
Van is seriously wounded on assignment, and wakes from a coma to find that he has been decorated and summarily retired from military service. Desperate to escape boredom, he jumps at the chance to fly a starship for the Integrated Information Systems foundation. Seemingly harmless, the IIS's influence is far reaching and Van soon finds himself at the centre of the action, a key player in a war which will shake all human worlds.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Set 200 years after the events in The Parafaith Wars (1997), Modesitt's complex, fast-paced stand-alone offers a traditional space-adventure hero and heavy doses of philosophy laced with ethical issues. Commander Van C. Albert, of the Republican Space Force of Taran, moves with bewildering speed from command of the Fergus, a light cruiser where he's serving under a cloud, to military adviser to the Taran ambassador on the planet Gotland, Scandya system. Feeling both confused and inadequate to the post, he sets out to research the untimely death of his predecessor and uncovers mortal intrigue among three large planet clusters. He gets the chance to display his ability to both reason and act when he saves the Scandyan leader from assassination. While recovering from near-fatal injuries, he realizes the complicity of his own interplanetary government in acts of war and oppression. He later becomes a sort of "fixer" for the mysterious IIS (Integrated Information Systems), a private organization that's backed by the even more mysterious Farhkan race. As ever, Albert tries to make the best decisions in tragic situations. Despite some expository lumps and wooden characterization, thoughtful SF readers will appreciate this weighty tale of humanitarian intentions and social speculations.
