The Ethos Effect » (Reprint)

L. E. Modesitt, Jr., is the bestselling author of The Saga of Recluce and of many other popular fantasy and SF novels. He lives in Cedar City, Utah.

Set in the same universe as The Parafaith War (but two centuries later, and intended to be read independently), The Ethos Factor is the story of Commander Van C. Albert of the Republic Space Force of Taran, a brave and resourceful officer who once defeated a larger enemy ship but indirectly caused the loss of a civilian liner in the process. Cleared by the board of inquiry, but an embarrassment to the high command, he retains his commission but is given only dead-end assignments. For a time, he must watch helplessly as cold war among economic, religious and political rivals evolves toward interstellar open warfare.

Assigned as a military attaché at the Taran embassy on Scandya, Van is seriously wounded foiling an assassination. Decorated, promoted and summarily retired while still in a coma, he wakes to find himself honorably but intolerably unemployed. Then the harmless sounding Integrated Information Systems foundation of the Eco-Tech Coalition recruits him to fly a starship, Van finds he now has a powerful new vantage point not just for observation, but for action. The IIS has interests everywhere and Van is not just a pilot, but their point man in a conflict that will shake the worlds.

Modesitt uses a distinctive blend of space battles, political and economic intrigue, and issues of race and religion to address deep questions of good and evil, ethics and self-interest. Van Albert makes his decisions; it is for you to decide if he is a hero.

Publishers Weekly

Set 200 years after the events in The Parafaith Wars (1997), Modesitt's complex, fast-paced stand-alone offers a traditional space-adventure hero and heavy doses of philosophy laced with ethical issues. Commander Van C. Albert, of the Republican Space Force of Taran, moves with bewildering speed from command of the Fergus, a light cruiser where he's serving under a cloud, to military adviser to the Taran ambassador on the planet Gotland, Scandya system. Feeling both confused and inadequate to the post, he sets out to research the untimely death of his predecessor and uncovers mortal intrigue among three large planet clusters. He gets the chance to display his ability to both reason and act when he saves the Scandyan leader from assassination. While recovering from near-fatal injuries, he realizes the complicity of his own interplanetary government in acts of war and oppression. He later becomes a sort of "fixer" for the mysterious IIS (Integrated Information Systems), a private organization that's backed by the even more mysterious Farhkan race. As ever, Albert tries to make the best decisions in tragic situations. Despite some expository lumps and wooden characterization, thoughtful SF readers will appreciate this weighty tale of humanitarian intentions and social speculations. (Oct. 22) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.