that to do so would increase the translation error sevenfold at least. Trystin arrives, his ship and himself nearly dead, 13 years later in a Farhkan system. The Farhkans take him in after he declares Rhule Ghere as his patron, and restore his body over two years. Part of the process requires inflicting biological immortality upon Trystin, to aid the necessary natural healing processes. After, he returns to base in the Chevel system, to find nearly everything changed. War has ended, and been replaced with a tense peace. "Brother Hyriss" was named a new prophet, one without his own holy book but with a popular collection of sayings taken from Trystin's few days on Orum. Many of the scriptures had been reexamined, and some even rewritten in light of the message of the new prophet. Trystin has also been promoted twice to Commander in the intervening time, though most had considered it a posthumous promotion. In the meantime, however, Trystin's only surviving relative, his father, has finally died and left the family home to him. He returns home, leaving an invitation to now Commander Freyer to retire and join him. Characters Lieutenant Trystin Desoll Elsin Desoll - Trystin's father, a systems engineer Nynca Desoll - Trystin's mother, a music teacher Salya Desoll - Trystin's sister, a biologist in the Service Ulteena Freyer - colleague in the Coalition military through the Maran perimeter and flight training James Sasaki - rich scion of the Sasaki arms manufacturers, captain of the Willis Rhule Ghere - Farhkan researcher Carson Orr - rev intelligence officer Societies A large part of Modesitt's science fiction writing involves the construction of future societies, something not neglected in The Parafaith War. He features two major societies, the Coalition and the Revenants. Two others, the Hyndjis and the Argentis, are mentioned briefly but get almost no attention until The Ethos Effect. The Eco-Tech Coalition The Coalition is effectively a protagonist in the book. They combine high technology with extreme ecological awareness, trying to create a society that has power, but also wisdom and self-restraint. Their seminal document is The Eco-Tech Dialogues, a treatise on the ethics and principles of power. The Dialogues are quoted in small excerpts throughout the book. While other societies, like the revs, look at the abundance of resources from controlling dozens of planets, the Coalition holds back from exploiting that bounty. They consistently work to planoform