By Schism Rent Asunder | 
| Author: David Weber
Creator: Oliver Wyman
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Category: Book
List Price: $69.95
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Avg. Customer Rating:  63 reviews
Sales Rank: 454580
Format: Audiobook, Cd
Media: Audio CD
Edition: Unabridged
Number Of Items: 20
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.3
Dimensions (in): 6 x 4.9 x 2.2
ISBN: 1427204292
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9781427204295
Publication Date: July 22, 2008
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Product Description
The world has changed. The mercantile kingdom of Charis has prevailed over the alliance designed to exterminate it. Armed with a multitude of small technological improvements—better sailing vessels, better guns, better devices of all sorts—Charis faced the combined navies of the rest of the world at Darcos Sound and Armageddon Reef, and broke them. Despite the implacable hostility of the Church of God Awaiting, Charis still stands, still free, still tolerant, still an island of innovation in a world in which the Church has worked for centuries to keep humanity locked at a medieval level of existence.
But the powerful men who run the Church aren’t going to take their defeat lying down. Charis may control the world’s seas, but it barely has an army worthy of the name. And as King Cayleb knows, far too much of the kingdom’s recent good fortune is due to the secret manipulations of the being that calls himself Merlin—a being that, the world must not find out too soon, is more than human. A being whose very existence is the result of a centuries-ago final desperate roll of the dice. A being on whose shoulders rests the last chance for humanity’s freedom.
Now, as Charis and its archbishop make the rift with Mother Church explicit, the storm gathers. Schism has come to the world of Safehold. Nothing will ever be the same.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 58 more reviews...
 An Alliance Against the Church November 28, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
By Schism Rent Asunder (2008) is the second SF novel in the Safehold series, following Off Armageddon Reef. In the previous volume, Charis developed a powerful navy through their own creativity and a few innovative hints from Merlin. When the Group of Four ordered five seafaring nations to attack Charis, the Charisan navy decisively defeated the attacking fleets. But King Haarahld of Charis was killed in that attack and his son Cayleb was enthroned as his successor.
In this novel, Merlin Athrawes -- PICA of Nimue Albans -- spends some time in orbit reviewing the SNARC data and contemplating the events that had led to the present circumstances. Strictly speaking, he did not have to come into space to gather the data, but orbit provides some peace from the troubles on the surface of Safehold. Besides, space is the proper environment of a Terran naval officer.
Cayleb Ahrmahk is now king, but he needs to marry. He has an heir in his younger brother, but none from his own body. Many of his subjects are worried about the succession.
Rayjhis Yowance -- Earl of Gray Harbor -- is Cayleb's First Councilor. He had also been First Councilor to Cayleb's father and has known the present king since his birth. He also knows more about Merlin than most of the King's advisors.
Sharleyan Tayt has been queen of Chisholm from an early age. Her navy was one of the attacking fleets, but she has done everything she can to confound the alliance against Charis. Under her orders, the Chisholm navy vessels surrendered as soon as they came under fire.
Mahrak Sahndyrs -- Baron Green Mountain -- is Sharleyan's maternal uncle and her First Councilor. He has been her main supporter ever since she lost her father and gained the throne. He is really the only noble in the realm that she entirely trusts.
In this story, a Charisan ship blockading Eraystor Bay fires on a Church courier ship, captures the crew and takes the dispatches from a strongbox. The Charisans show small respect for the crew and none at all for Mother Church. No one is hurt in this action, but future incidents probably will not be so bloodless.
Cayleb discusses the succession with his inner council. He sends Gray Harbor to Chisholm to pass on his proposal to Queen Sharleyan. She discusses the proposal with Baron Green Mountain and decides to accept. She then announces the proposal and her acceptance in a public session of her court.
Cayleb has not only proposed marriage, but also has proposed merger of the two Kingdoms into the Empire of Charis. The couple will be equal co-rulers, living part of the time on Charis and the same length of time on Chisholm. They will spend a significant amount of time sailing between capitals.
When Cayleb is away from the empire, Sharleyan will be his regent and will continue the practice of moving the crown between Kingdoms. When one of them dies, the other will become Emperor/Empress over both Kingdoms. When both are dead, the imperial crown will be passed to one of their children.
Cayleb is worried about Prince Nahrmahn of Emerald and the Group of Four, but his primary concern is Prince Hektor of Corisande. Hektor is already working on the new technologies and has detailed information on several of the innovations. Moreover, he has talented and dedicated people producing the new weapons and tactics.
Prince Nahrmahn knows that he is a prime target for the Charis forces. Still, he too is worried about Corisande and the Group of Four. He also thinks that the whole affair has been mishandled. He now regrets his attempt to assassinate Cayleb, but he sends his First Councilor to Charis with extraordinary powers to seek an accommodation with Charis.
Meanwhile, the Group of Four is continuing to dig themselves into a deep hole. Grand Inquisitor Clyntahn has convinced himself that the Charisan heretics have brought their problems on themselves, readily forgetting his own contributions to the troubles. Captain General Maigwair is filled with arrogance and Chancellor Trynair sees only the political problems.
Treasurer General Duchairn is regaining his faith, but considers Mother Church as essential to the salvation of the people of Safehold. Even the horrible death of Erayk Dennys only reinforces his conviction that the Church of God Awaiting must remain supreme. He obviously disagrees with the theology of Archbishop Maikel Staynair of Charis, the locally appointed successor of Erayk Dennys.
This tale tracks events in Charis, Chisholm, the City of Zion, Emerald, Corisande and elsewhere. Merlin has planted sensors everywhere except in the Temple. Cayleb has the benefit of detailed intelligence on his friends and enemies. Yet even with the assistance of OWL -- a Terran Navy AI -- Merlin is almost overwhelmed by the amount of data he has to personally review.
Naturally, this basic idea is not new. Lest Darkness Fall is a classic SF novel based on a very similar concept. Since the ideas are not new, the details are greatly important to maintaining the interests of the readers. This series will probably address only the significant renaissance of innovation within the society rather than addressing the future problems of returning to space.
This volume contains numerous and sometimes surprising preparations for the war against Prince Hektor and the Group of Four. It concludes with the sailing of the Charisan forces against Corisande. The next volume should be filled with military, naval and political action. Enjoy!
Highly recommended for Weber fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of religious politics, innovative societies, and a bit of romance.
-Arthur W. Jordin
 A little less conversation, a little more action November 14, 2008
I liked this book but pick up the pace. At this rate, it will be another 100 books before we make it back into space. The concept is wide open for almost anything and we are forced to spend our time discussing the painful details of how a flintlock works. I can tune into the Discovery Channel if I want to know the history of firearms.
I'm sure I'll read the next but I hope this doesn't turn into a never ending story like Jordan's Wheel of Time series.
If you want a quick, action-packed read, keep looking. If you want to sign on for the long haul, enjoy!
 not science fiction November 5, 2008
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
You can skip this book and wait for the next in the series (or maybe the one after that). There is nothing in this book that makes it science fiction. Read a few pages and then skipped to the end. Suggest you doi the same, but do it in a bookstore and save a few $$
I hate meetings November 5, 2008
One of the things drummed into me at my writer's group meeting is "show" don't "tell." And that is my issue with this novel. But with a twist, because, for the most part, the author isn't "telling" what's happening directly. Rather, he is having his characters, in one meeting after another, "tell" what's happening in the novel, i.e. in other parts of the world. Page after page of this group or that group debating some event that happened weeks before and what they plan to do about it. And when something is done, again for the most part, we don't see the action, rather some other group debates about it later. There is some "show" in this, but the "tell" drags on and on.
And there is a "cast of hundreds" with speaking parts to try to keep up with (look at the appendix in the back.) I don't know how he kept them all straight. I know I couldn't -- at least not the Baron of this or that that really all sounded the same.
I will say this. In the queen, Weber has his first female character in all his novels that I can distinctly recognize as a woman -- beyond the obvious physical description. His other female characters are disturbingly male in the way they talk and act and have little or no interest in members of the opposite sex.
 By Schism Drifting Off to Sleep October 29, 2008
While I really enjoyed Off Armageddon Reef, this book was extremely slow with endless expositions of political minutiae that did not advance the story or plot. At the end of the book, the story has advanced little, and I was left dissatisfied. Some of Weber's Harrington books are like this as well, so I hope this is not the way the series will play out.
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