A bishop is dead. As Detective Inspector Adam Ferguson picks through the rubble of the tiny church, he discovers that it was deliberately bombed. That it's a terrorist act is soon beyond doubt. It's been a long time since anyone saw anything like this. Terrorism is history ...After the Middle East wars and the rising sea levels - after Armageddon and the Flood - came the Great Revulsion. The first Enlightenment separated church from state. The Second Enlightenment has separated religion from politics. In this enlightened age there's no persecution, but the millions who still believe and worship are a marginal and mistrusted minority. Now someone is killing them. At first, suspicion falls on atheists more militant than the secular authorities. But when the target list widens to include the godless, it becomes evident that something very old has risen from the ashes. Old and very, very dangerous ...
Accolades
Shortlisted for BSFA Best Novel Award 2009
Reviews
'MacLeod spins a yarn that moves at a fast pace, and which doesn't disappoint; exciting and intriguing, it keeps a consistent level of interest throughout its passage ... a satisfying read' SciFiNow
'A twisting conspiracy tale shot through with MacLeod's gloriously mordant sense for the absurd' BBC Focus
'Gripping and clever near-future thriller' The Times
'A stunning indictment of fundamentalism of all kinds' Eric Brown, Guardian
Author Biography
Since graduating from Glasgow University in 1976, Ken MacLeod has worked as a computer analyst in Edinburgh. He now writes full time.
