Forge of Heaven

Lore & Background

Forge of Heaven takes place several centuries after Hammerfall. The transformation of Marak's World is monitored on the ground by Marak, assisted by Luz and Ian, and by planetary watchers on Concord Station using taps, nanocele implants that enable communication. Kekellen, the ondat's representative on the station, whom no one has ever seen, is particularly interested in Marak and uses the taps to understand humans. Procyon is Marak's watcher on Concord.

An Earth ship arrives unannounced, and ambassador Andreas Gide demands to interrogate Procyon about whether illegal First Movement technology is leaving the planet. During the interview, Gide is shot at with an armor-piercing shell that breaches his containment field, exposing him to Outsider contaminants. Procyon, concussed, wanders off and becomes lost. Kekellen rescues Procyon using station maintenance robots and implants a tap in him. It is revealed that Movement technology was leaked from the planet via the Ila's watcher and exported to Orb station. The Ila inadvertently kills her watcher when hacking Concord's tap system. With ondat help, Movement operatives are neutralized. Project operations resume, and on the planet, geological upheavals create a new sea, promising new life.

Reader's Guide

Forge of Heaven extends the Gene Wars narrative by exploring the long-term consequences of the conflict between Earth, Outsiders, and the ondat. The novel shifts from the intense third-person narrative of Hammerfall to a multi-threaded narrative, which reviewer Edward Carmien described as 'livelier' and more interesting. Paula Luedtke in Booklist noted the novel's uneven pace but said it 'gathers momentum toward the stunning and unexpected ending that is realized with masterly aplomb'. A Publishers Weekly review called it a 'suspenseful sequel' and praised Procyon as among the 'many nicely drawn characters'. Kirkus Reviews described the 'intrigue and strife' as a 'desperately complicated setup' with a plot 'going nowhere', but added that given Cherryh's storytelling strength, 'you almost don’t notice'. John Clute, in The Cherryh Odyssey, said Forge of Heaven is 'queerly and fascinatingly Asimovian' in its focus on the conflict between change and stability, the backbone of Asimov's Foundation and Robot series.

Did You Know?

• The novel is the second of two novels set in Cherryh's Gene Wars universe; the first, Hammerfall, was published in June 2001.
• The ondat representative on Concord Station, Kekellen, is never seen by any human.
• The Ila inadvertently kills her watcher when she attempts to hack Concord's tap system.