** spoiler alert ** This book continues the political commentary, giving the clearest message yet on the ills of bureaucratic socialism. I found the war tactics interesting.

It's worth noting that unlike the previous novels of the series, each of which takes place in a month or two, this one takes place over a full year.

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**SPOILERS BELOW**

"The Faith of the Fallen" is an outright homage to "The Fountainhead". In the climax of the novel the main character has been acting as a stonemason to carve hideous sculptures dictated by the rulers, but decides the only way to be true to himself is to throw off those bounds and carve a thing for beauty for himself. It is set upon a backdrop of thick bureaucracy where his employers aren't able to get enough steel to build a palace b/c the bureaucrats say it's unfair for certain movers to carry more steel than others even though the others don't have a working cart, and it's unfair for certain producers of steel to sell more than others even though the other producers don't have any, and so on. In the end the beautiful sculpture that the main character creates inspires the populace to revolt against their masters.