In the midst of recovering from their successful if casualty prone first mission, the crew of the Alliance Space Ship

Vorpal Blade

are suddenly scrambled back into action. All other priorities take second place as word arrives on earth of a gate colony which has fallen to an unidentified alien assault. As the only space ship currently available to the Human-Adar Alliance, the

Vorpal Blade

is dispatched to find out what happened to the colony, rescue any survivors and learn the identity of the attackers.

With new complexities added to the universe started in the novel

Into the Looking Glass

and continued in

Vorpal Blade

,

Manxome Foe

continues the tradition of non-stop action, valorous if quirky characters and rigorous science drawn from the frontiers of current theory. The odd-ball crew of the

Vorpal Blade

is an unlikely savior of earth, but none dare say they quail at engaging the Manxome Foe.