This first in a "fresh new sci-fi" (Jason M. Hough, New York Times
bestselling author) series follows a powerful woman who can destroy
planets with a single word but is suddenly faced with an adversary that
threatens the entire known universe.
Far in the future, human beings have seeded themselves amongst the
stars. Since decoding the language of the universe 8,000 years ago, they
have reached the very edges of their known galaxy and built a
near-utopia across thousands of worlds, united and ruled by a powerful
organization known as the Ascendance. The peaceful stability of their
society relies solely on their use of this Deep Language of the cosmos.
But this knowledge is a valuable secret, and a holy order of monastics
known as the First House are tasked with monitoring its use and
"correcting" humanity's further development. Elyth is one such
mendicant, trained as a planetary assassin, capable of infiltrating and
ultimately destroying worlds that have been corrupted, using nothing
more than her words.
To this end, Elyth is sent to the world Qel in response to the
appearance of a forbidden strain of the Deep Language that was supposed
to have died out with its founder over seven hundred years prior. What
she finds on the backwater planetoid will put her abilities to the test
and challenge what she knows of the Deep Language, the First House, and
the very nature of the universe.
