publisher by schism rent asunder
By Heresies Distressed is a science fiction novel written by David Weber and published by ___MASK25___ . It is the third book in the Safehold series . It debuted at number 11 on the July 17 , 2009 , " New York Times " best - selling hardcover fiction list , number 25 on the July 24 , 2009 , list , and number 30 on the July 30 , 2009 , list . By Schism Rent Asunder is a science fiction book written by David Weber . It is the second book in the open - ended Safehold series , after Off Armageddon Reef . The publication date was July 22 , 2008 . The third book in the series is named By Heresies Distressed ___MASK25___ is the primary imprint of Tom Doherty Associates LLC publishing company , based in New York City , US . It is noted for its science fiction and fantasy titles , and publishes the online science fiction magazine " Tor . com ". Fantasy is a fiction genre set in an imaginary universe , often but not always without any locations , events , or people from the real world . Most fantasy uses magic or other supernatural elements as a main plot element , theme , or setting . Magic and magical ___MASK53___ are common in many of these imaginary worlds . Fantasy is generally distinguished from the genres of science fiction and horror by the expectation that it steers clear of scientific and macabre themes , respectively , though there is a great deal of overlap between the three , all of which are subgenres of speculative fiction . Safehold is a science fiction book series by David Weber , which currently consists of nine titles , the latest of which was released in October 2016 . The series is mostly set around the 31st ___MASK4___ , on a distant world dubbed " Safehold " where a group of humans has hidden themselves from an enemy responsible for the end of all other human civilization , the Gbaba . Off Armageddon Reef is a science fiction novel by American author David Weber , published by ___MASK25___ . It is the first book in the open - ended " Safehold " series . 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 . Science fiction ( often shortened to SF , sci - fi or scifi ) is a genre of speculative fiction , typically dealing with imaginative concepts such as futuristic science and technology , space travel , time travel , ___MASK12___ travel , parallel universes , and extraterrestrial life . Science fiction often explores the potential consequences of scientific and other innovations , and has been called a " literature of ideas ." It usually avoids the supernatural , and unlike the related genre of fantasy , historically science fiction stories were intended to have a grounding in science - based fact or theory at the time the story was created , but this connection is now limited to hard science fiction . David Mark Weber ( born October 24 , 1952 ) is an American science fiction and fantasy author . He has written several science - fiction and fantasy books series , the best known of which is the Honor Harrington science - fiction series . His first novel , which he worked on with Steve White , sold in 1989 to ___MASK99___ . Baen remains Weber ' s major publisher .