On a Galactic Mission from God

Here begins an exciting new epic adventure by Jack L. Chalker, a favorite of science fiction fans for years!

When the wormholes mysteriously failed and the Great Silence fell across a third of humanity's interstellar civilization, it was up to the Church to tie together what remained. As had happened long before, during the Middle Ages, faith kept hope alive in a new Dark Age for mankind.

Ishmael Hand, one of the Church's "Prophets" or cyborg scouts, comes across a system with a gas giant and three habitable moons, matching the description of the fabled star system of the Three Kings, an El Dorado long sought by prospectors across the galaxy. Like most Prophets, Hand is not completely sane; he disappears after his final message-which does not include the location of the system.

Centuries later, Doctor Karl Woodward, preacher and leader of the starship The Mountain, brings the Word to a* lost colony of farmers on an uncharted world, and discovers that saving their souls is the least of his problems. A stranded crew of space pirates has terrorized the peaceful villagers for decades. Now their captain holds Woodward's crew hostage as well. And he wants The Mountain....

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jack L. Chalker is one of science fiction's most prolific and popular authors, with a readership numbering in the hundreds of thousands. His bestselling novels and series include The Changewinds, Midnight at the Well of Souls and its sequels, The Quintara Marathon trilogy, the "Soul Rider" series, the "Rings of the Master" series, and others. His novels have been translated into many foreign languages and many have been book club selections. He is a familiar figure at SF conventions, often as a guest speaker, frequently as toastmaster. He lives in Maryland with his wife and son.