The novel “Inhibitor Phase” by Alastair Reynolds was published for the first time in 2021. It’s part of the Revelation Space series.

When a spaceship enters the system that includes the planet Michaelmas, the inhabitants of the small colony of Sun Hollow are alarmed. Their main fear is that it will attract the wolves, as they call the Inhibitors, the self-replicating machines that seek out humans to wipe them out from the universe.

The colony’s administrator, Miguel de Ruyter, sets out to intercept the spaceship and destroy it at all costs, the only constraint being the need to simulate an explosion caused by a malfunction that won’t attract the wolves. A cryogenic capsule is ejected from the spaceship and sends out a distress signal. Brought to Michaelmas, it contains what appears to be a normal woman, at least until she takes control of all the colony’s machines. Miguel de Ruyter’s only choice is to give in to her demand that he accompany her in search of a weapon to fight the Inhibitors.

The novel “Davy” by Edgar Pangborn was published for the first time in 1964 as an expansion of two novelettes published in 1962.

Raised in an orphanage, Davy is a bond-servant and spent his early teen years working. He’s been taught only the bare minimum necessary to do his job, especially because the Holy Murcan Church maintains a tight grip on all knowledge, especially that which remains from the time before the atomic war.

Davy is curious about what exists beyond the microcosm he knows directly. He starts developing a certain skepticism about the Church’s teachings, and for this reason, he spares the life of a mutant he stumbles upon. When he unwittingly gets himself into serious trouble, he decides to escape, and his encounter with some people gives his life a new direction.