Empyrion Books in Order

Empyrion is Lawhead’s foray into large scale science fiction, told across two connected novels, The Search for Fierra and The Siege of Dome. The story follows Orion Treet, a somewhat down on his luck historian whose skills are not in great demand on Earth. That changes abruptly when he is abducted and offered a fortune to join a secret mission.

A powerful corporation has established a colony on a planet ten light years away, and it wants Treet to observe and chronicle the experiment. The world they call Empyrion seems at first like a turquoise jewel, rich in water and vegetation, untouched by industry. Once Treet and his fellow travelers arrive, they discover that the original colony has fractured into very different societies and that buried history has left deep scars.

On one side is Dome, a closed, authoritarian city ruled by a dictator and rigid guild like factions. Under its streets, devolved survivors scrape by in ruins and tunnels, largely forgotten by those above. Outside lies Fierra, home to a graceful, pacifist people who have built an ordered, contemplative culture. Treet is initially more drawn to the Fierrans, but he cannot escape the pull of Dome, where paranoia, propaganda, and a brutal security force called the Invisibles keep everyone in line.

Across the duology, the fragile balance between these groups collapses. Old weapons are rediscovered, genocidal plans come to light, and Treet finds himself at the center of a conflict he was only supposed to record. The question of whether peaceful ideals can stand up to organized violence runs through the books, as does the theme of what it means to be truly human after catastrophe.

Empyrion wears its era’s love of big, idea driven science fiction on its sleeve: there are space flights, alien landscapes, resistance movements, and moral debates. At the same time, Lawhead’s interest in faith and conscience is never far from the surface. Readers who enjoy character driven epics in unusual settings will find Empyrion a rewarding two book journey rather than an open ended series.