It follows a group of survivors who have settled a planet they name Safehold, a place where they had sought to escape from a terrible war, but that becomes the scene of a new struggle to uphold the principles of human civilization.

Beyond opposing his madness on moral grounds, Pei Shan-Wei holds that eventually Langhorne's religion will collapse, leaving humanity defenseless as it returns to the stars with no memory of the past.

Yet Shan-Wei had a backup plan: the immortal cybernetic avatar of one of the Terran Federation's young military officers, Nimue Alban, who gave her life to allow the Safehold colonists to escape the Solar System.

Secreted for centuries away in caverns full of weapons and technology, Nimue awakens, learns of what has transpired, and vows to guide humanity until it is ready to face the Gbaba.

He bonds deeply with the Ahrmahks, who govern with the support of a cadre of brilliant, noble lieutenants and an elected parliament, while evading questions about his true nature.

Though repeat efforts to undermine Haarahld and uncover his "heresy" are for naught, the Group of Four eventually orders every naval power of Safehold to attack Charis anyway.

The conflict destroys the ability of every Charisian rival to make war at sea, but leaves King Cayleb's people to stand alone against a ruthless church that commands the devotion of nearly every human alive.

Classic, and often interesting, themes such as 1) the ability of money and power to corrupt otherwise "good" individuals, 2) the influence of duty and morals in relation to the good of the "many", 3) the power of faith and its tension with orthodoxy, 4) the importance of truth balanced with the need for secrecy, 5) the drive for human innovation and progress, 6) the hopeful human will to survive, even in the face of overwhelming odds, 7) the separation of church and state, and 8) the tension of whether the "ends" truly justify the "means".

Author David Weber says he was setting out to create a series in which high technology fused with "the feel of a 'last defender of elfland', but without the urban fantasy matrix"; the cybernetic protagonist who is unsure of his own humanity "grew naturally for me out of that initial basic premise."

[7] Eric Brown writing for The Guardian in 2008 found Off Armageddon Reef to have a predictable ending and called the character development "perfunctory", but applauded Weber's pacing and vision.