Stephen Craig

This sequel to Remnant 1 - the Resurrection takes some of the prime characters of the first book on a space ship to a planet long quarantined from the rest of these futuristic worlds. Within Remnant's brain are computerized remnants of two opposing AIs - Nyx and Braille - that give him an advantage over almost all enemies. But accompaning him is Gwyneth, the inquisitor of the Family, who is hot and cold toward Remnant, having killed him in the Rift but his AIs resurrected him and retrained him as a savior to Gwyneth when she was attacked by Syndic, Church, and Family.
Now on a new planet running under Syndic domination, wealth and power are the only virtues. By working together Remnant and Gwyneth overcome great odds to get to the seat of power and hopefully release Prometheus, a fellow AI to Nyx and Braille, who is somehow confined in the lowest regions. But Gwyneth, confident in her own ability, knocks out Remnant with a hypo thrust to his neck, immobilizing him. Gwyneth finds herself in an auction for someone to buy and enslave her, which is the result of the degeneration of this planet.
The description of the battles fought, the dress and archictecture of this world, but mostly the concepts that control these people, is high class writing. The technical descriptions alone are almost believable. The descriptions are enough to make a reader pause and reflect a moment, but the action keeps drawing one ahead to the final ending -- a delightful surprise.… (more)

They named him "Remnant" as it was all he seemed. With all their technique they could not decipher this survivor of an attack in the Rift. Syndic, Church, or Family -- the triune rulers of this milieu -- could not imagine how this wasted body had survived in the toxic surroundings of the Rift - the world's garbage pit - for so long. Remnant wondered too, since he had no memory and his body was infused with so many disabilities, yet he knew he wanted to escape from the Rift. When he was found, he was beaten severely as a Scavanger, the inhabitants of the Rift, and brought to a special lab to be healed so they could interrogate him.
The society of this world is 1000 years removed from the warring factions that almost decimated earth and caused the destructions that now filled the Rift. But a Mesh of computer connections and some AI's sometimes called gods, and a structured society kept all things running.
This sci-fi novel is intricately crafted and provides rewarding crises amid hints of revelations to come in the life of "Remnant." The Guardians, Althea and Gwyneth, are prominent in this story. Members of the Family, they are beautiful and almost ageless. The dramatic conclusion of this novel then points to a sequel.
This is a very good read. I liked it even better the second reading.… (more)