The Pax- Earth's government, spanning 36 worlds and continuing to expand.
The Empryean- one of many colonies that broke away from their homeworld to establish their own government among the stars.
The dilemma- for nearly twenty years, the Empryean has been harvesting subatomic particles called "angels" from a black hole. These particles render humans logical, rational, and incapable of lying. All Empryean officials are required to wear one, and hunterships probe the edges of the nexus constantly in their efforts to harvest more.
The Pax see the angels as an alien threat to corrupt and subvert humanity. Enter Jereko Kosta, a rising scientist who suddenly finds himself given a crash-course in military espionage. With only the most basic principles, he's sent into the Empryean, to study this "alien" threat and determine what exactly the angels really are. But as he quickly discovers, the angels are the least of his worries...

While Zahn is an accomplished Star Wars writer, he has some of the best "one-shot" sci-fi novels I've ever seen. After my experience with his title "The Icarus Hunt," I decided to give "Angelmass" a try... let me tell you, Timothy Zahn has an [amazing] talent for building a believable sci-fi world, and he does it through the best way possible- character development. Kosta, Lleshi, Chandris, Forsythe, and many others... This man knows how to tell a story, and the execution is superb.

If you're looking for a good sci-fi adventure with no strings attached, this book is for you. From the first few pages, it will thrust you into the world of the Pax and Empryean- a world you won't be able to climb out of until the last period on the final page.

I bought it one evening, read the first three chapters, and had to put it down and sleep. When I picked it up again the next night, I was [physically unable] to put it away again until I'd finished.
My arm hurt from holding the pages open, my eyes ached from sleeplessness, and yet I could not tear myself away from the story unfolding inside.

This is a true masterpiece.

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Created Mar 17, 2005 at 3:17pm • Submit your own review...