In the midst of recovering from their successful if casualty prone first mission, the crew of the Alliance Space Ship <I>Vorpal Blade</I> are suddenly scrambled back into action. All other priorities take second place as word arrives on earth of a gate colony which has fallen to an unidentified alien assault. As the only space ship currently available to the Human-Adar Alliance, the <I>Vorpal Blade</I> is dispatched to find out what happened to the colony, rescue any survivors and learn the identity of the attackers. <P>&nbsp; <P>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; With new complexities added to the universe started in the novel <I>Into the Looking Glass</I> and continued in <I>Vorpal Blade</I>, <I>Manxome Foe</I> continues the tradition of non-stop action, valorous if quirky characters and rigorous science drawn from the frontiers of current theory. The odd-ball crew of the&nbsp;<I>Vorpal Blade</I> is an unlikely savior of earth, but none dare say they quail at engaging the Manxome Foe. <P>