Absolution Gap

The Inhibitors are machines of immense age, built to find and destroy any life that reaches a certain level of intelligence. Woken after eons of dormancy, they have now turned on humanity.

The first wave of attacks has driven Clavain, a war veteran, and a loose band of refugees into hiding. Their leaders are losing their grip and their position is worsening. Then a visitor arrives at their small colony: an avenging angel who has the power to lead people to safety or to bring their deadliest enemy down on them.

She guides the group toward a moon that looks unremarkable, many light-years away. As the journey goes on, Clavain and his companions begin to see a hard possibility. Defeating the machines may mean striking a bargain with something far worse.

This is science fiction on a galactic scale, built around a war of survival against an enemy that cannot be reasoned with. The mood is bleak and tense, with a fugitive group short on options and a guide whose motives carry as much risk as the pursuit behind them.