Afsan, the Quintaglio counterpart of Galileo, must convince his people of the truth about their place in the universe before astronomical forces rip the dinosaurs' new home apart.
Toroca, a Quintaglio geologist (and son of Afsan, from the previous book), is under attack for his controversial theory of evolution.
But the origins of his people turn out to be more complex than he ever imagined, for he soon discovers the wreckage of an ancient starship -- a relic of the aliens who transplanted Earth's dinosaurs to this solar system.
Now Toroca must convince Emperor Dybo that evolution is true; otherwise, the territorial violence inherited from their Tyrannosaur ancestors will destroy the last survivors of Earth's prehistoric past.
While the Quintaglios rush to develop space travel, the discovery of a second species of intelligent dinosaurs rocks their most fundamental beliefs.
Descended from earth's dinosaurs, (specifically, Tyrannosaurs), they live on a moon orbiting a gas giant that they refer to as "The Face of God".
Isolation on the Quintaglio Moon (along with some genetic modifications to their Tyrannosaur ancestors by the aliens that transplanted them there to push them in the right direction), ensured that one day they would evolve into a sentient species.
Rather than standing with their backs parallel to the ground like a normal theropod, they usually maintain a semi-erect posture, although while running they do stoop forward into a traditional theropod-like stance.
The culling of eggs is necessary as Quintaglios have a large sense of territoriality, socially acceptable close quarters means anywhere from 7 to 10 paces between each person.
Quntaglios who feel that their space has been violated, along with other factors (such as having not hunted in a long time) tend to get fierce, and if not calmed might enter dagamant and fight the intruder(s) to the death.
This religion adds a new tradition to Quintaglio society; that of sailing across the ocean to retrace Larsk's voyage and gaze upon The Face of God.
The story of the first book in the series revolves around Afsan (the main character), discrediting this notion while on one of these voyages, and challenging Quintaglio tradition by proving that the Face of God was nothing more than a planet.
The Bloodpriest first goes into a trance, then dons a purple robe and enters the nest; there, he chases the hatchlings and eats all but the fastest, strongest one.
This also happens if exposed to sufficiently alien stimuli; it is implied that this is triggered by the uncanny valley effect after some Quantaglio are driven to immediate dagamant by the merest sight of the Yellow Quintaglios.
The books frequently refer to a past event of a Mass Dagamant aboard the ship Galadoreter, in which the entire crew went into a territorial frenzy and everybody on board was killed.
Some Quintaglios are exempt from dagamant; Toroca, Afsan's son, has a subdued territorial instinct, and it is implied that Dybo is less susceptible to it as well, although not entirely.
Even Afsan himself, among the most level-headed and rational of Quintaglios, had killed while under the madness of dagamant, not once, but twice; the first time was in Far-Seer, aboard the Dasheter, where he and Dybo were challenged by a sailor named Nor-Gampar in full dagamant; Afsan killed Gampar and nearly attacked Dybo before coming to his senses.
The second time was during the mass dagamant caused by the bloodpriest repute in Fossil Hunter, and he killed Rodlox's aide Pod-Oro.
Due to the horrifying experience of the Bloodpriest ritual, experienced within a day of birth, the Quintaglio brain imprints with an extreme fear of anything outside itself.
Anyone who has not been through the ritual suffers from little if any tendency to enter dagamant, and is capable of interacting with and living with people in close quarters with little ill effect.
Buildings are made out of stone or mud, and not much attention is given to them; due to frequent earthquakes, structures rarely stand for very long.
Despite living on their own territory, the Quintaglios often have a long lasting friendship with the previous spouses, with the possibility of some forms of pair bonding.
It is this hunting prowess, as well as his proclamation of the end of the world, that caused the Lubalites (practitioners of the Cult of the Original Five Hunters) to believe that he is "The One" foretold in their ancient prophecy.
In the second book, Afsan is made Dybo's court astrologer, and is given a "Seeing Eye" Goanna named "Gork" by his aide, former palace butcher Pal-Cadool.
Afsan is wounded by a gunshot during a confrontation with "The Others"; the doctors, having no experience with the effects of injuries caused by weapons, leave the bullet inside of him not realizing that it will kill him.
The moon is mostly covered by water, but has a single huge continent on the far side, a small archipelago of islands on the other, and a southern and northern ice cap.
There are eight provinces, and they are called, (from west to east) Capital City lies on the far eastern end of land, in the shadow of the Ch'Mar volcanoes.
[6] The Quintaglio Ascension Trilogy has an underlying theme of standing up for the truth in the face of overwhelming opposition, of dedication to a cause no matter what.
Some reviewers have said that the Quintaglios act too human,[14] while others point out the implausibility of a technological civilisation developing from a nomadic hunting society.
[15] Sawyer defends his work by stating that the human-like behavior of the Quintaglios was necessary for readers to connect with the characters, and that agriculture is not necessarily a pre-requisite for a developed civilisation (a point he explores in greater detail with his Neanderthal Parallax trilogy).