Where truth is sacred, a false accusation spells doom. A cosmic crime thriller from the New York Times–bestselling author of The X-Files novels. Atlas is a struggling colony on an untamable world, a fragile society held together by the Truthsayers. Parentless, trained from birth as the sole users of Veritas, a telepathy virus that lets them read the souls of the guilty, Truthsayers are Justice—infallible, beyond appeal. But sometimes they are wrong. Falsely accused of murder, Troy Boren trusts the young Truthsayer Kalliana . . . until, impossibly, she convicts him. Still shaken from a previous reading, Kalliana doesn’t realize her power is fading. But soon the evidence becomes impossible to ignore. The Truthsayers’ Veritas has been diluted and someone in the colony is selling smuggled telepathy. Justice isn’t blind—it’s been blinded. From an immortal’s orbital prison to the buried secrets of a regal fortress, Kalliana and Troy seek the conspiracy that threatens to destroy their world from within. For without truth and justice, Atlas will certainly fall. Praise for the writing of Kevin J. Anderson “Full of battles, chases, and hairbreadth escapes . . . An intelligently conceived and executed nailbiter.” —Booklist “In this stellar launch of a new series, bestseller Anderson delivers action, engaging characters and credible fantastic worlds in spades . . . [A] fascinating future epic one not to be missed.” —Publishers Weekly “A dynamic space opera featuring political intrigue and intense personal drama. Anderson’s skill in delivering taut action scenes and creating well-rounded human and alien characters adds depth and variety to a series opener that belongs in most sf collections.” —Library Journal
