In the second book of The Inhibitor Trilogy, Alastair Reynolds pushes
the boundaries of science fiction and "confirms his place among the
leaders of the hard-science space-opera renaissance" (Publishers
Weekly).
Late in the twenty-sixth century, the human race has advanced enough to
accidentally trigger the Inhibitors -- alien killing machines designed
to detect intelligent life and destroy it. The only hope for humanity
lies in the recovery of a secret cache of doomsday weapons -- and a
renegade named Clavain who is determined to find them. But other
factions want the weapons for their own purposes -- and the weapons
themselves have another agenda altogether . . .