The Sky’s Dark Labyrinth
The Sky’s Dark Labyrinth follows the lives of Johannes Kepler, a German Lutheran who was the first man to mathematically prove how the stars and planets moved, and Galileo Galilei. Kepler finds that the pursuit of knowledge can be a dangerous undertaking when it contradicts the teachings of the Catholic Church, while Galileo, an Italian Catholic, tries to claim Kepler’s success for his own church. Even within the Vatican, there is conflict between theologians, represented by the Jesuits, and the progressive scientific minds of some members of the hierarchy. Excommunication, or worse – burning at the stake – is the fate that awaits anyone who challenges the teachings of the church.
This is the first of a trilogy that dramatises pivotal moments in the history of astronomy through the lives of some of the scientists and thinkers whose work came to shape the modern world. The author’s passion for astronomy permeates the novel, providing a foundation for this story of the struggle against human ignorance and irrational terror in a turbulent period of European history. Recommended.
