TO FEAR THE LIGHT

The sequel to To Save the Sun (1992) shares the previous book's large-canvas premise as the Empire of the Hundred Worlds pursues a generation-spanning project to save Earth's dying sun. Despite the hard-science backdrop, much of the plot concerns Lord Jephthah, a mysterious demagogue who preaches hatred of the alien Sarpan. Now the discovery of still another new race on a distant planet sends the finest minds of the Empire to study it — as does Jephthah, who seeks new evidence to discredit the Emperor, followed by Imperial agents hoping to catch Jephthah. Many of the central characters from the previous volume — long-lived through life-extension technology or cryogenic sleep — make return appearances. In an interesting, but insufficiently developed subplot, an Australian aborigine leader named Billy Woorunmarra attempts to reconnect his far-flung people with their traditions. Well-paced, if sometimes melodramatic; overall an improvement over its predecessor.