 First edition | |
| Author | Scott Westerfeld |
|---|---|
| Original title | Succession |
| Cover artist | Stephan Martinière |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | Succession |
| Genre | Hard Science Fiction |
| Published | March 1, 2003 Tor Books |
| Media type | Print (hardback & paperback) |
| Pages | 304 |
| ISBN | 0-7653-0555-0 (first edition, hardback) |
| OCLC | 51086881 |
| 813/.54 21 | |
| LC Class | PS3573.E854 R5 2003 |
| Followed by | The Killing of Worlds |
The Risen Empire is a science fiction novel by American writer Scott Westerfeld.
The novel is set in an undefined distant future (although it is implied to exist roughly 5,000 years from now), in which there is a galactic empire spanning eighty worlds, amongst other human civilizations. The empire is ruled by the Risen Emperor, who has discovered the secret of immortality through means of a symbiont (spelled "symbiant" in the novel). Immortality is conferred on favored Imperial citizens, referred to as the 'grays'. The life of the 'grays' is governed by strict ritual and a form of worship towards the Empire, including long pilgrimages in his honor. To create balance, the living citizens of the Empire are represented by an elected Imperial Senate, and by elected governments on each world. Another prominent group within the Empire includes the Plague Axis, a group that deliberately leave themselves vulnerable to disease to preserve human genetic diversity. Faster than light travel is impossible (although FTL communication via quantum entanglement is used), and the result of more mundane interstellar travel between the eighty worlds of the empire results in relativistic effects due to the high speeds involved; as such, the ages of space travelers become out of sync with those of their friends and family, an effect known as the "Time Thief". Other parties in the Empire, such as the Imperial Senate, are also subject to the "Time Thief" due to the use of cryogenic freezing. The Empire, protected by the Imperial Navy, is at war with a cult of fanatical cyborgs known as the Rix, who worship compound artificial intelligences. These emergent intelligences arise from sufficiently interconnected computer networks, ranging from public communications to traffic lights to classified government computers.
The central characters are Captain Laurent Zai of the Imperial Navy, and Senator Nara Oxham, a member of the Secularist Party, which opposes worship of the Emperor and the use of the symbiont to create immortality. Despite their political differences, the two become lovers. Zai is sent away to fight the Rix; due to the death of the Emperor's sister at the hands of the Rix, Zai is expected to commit ritual suicide to mark his failure, but chooses not to do so. Senator Oxham, appointed to the Emperor's War Council, opposes unpalatable war plans that would lead to the sacrifice of billions of Imperial citizens in order to preserve state secrets contained in the compound intelligences.
The storyline is continued in The Killing of Worlds , released in 2003.
Publishers Weekly called it "exceptionally smart and empathetic", and noted that Westerfeld "keep(s) the reader constantly off-balance". [1] Kirkus Reviews was less positive, faulting the book for having "horrendously slow" flashback sequences and judging the book as a whole to be "an exposition-heavy introduction to a sequel" (while conceding that it was "sprightly" and had "breathless action sequences"). [2]
SF Signal considered it an "excellent example of space opera", with "strong characters" and "lots of cool technology", but criticized Westerfeld for excessive portrayal of politics. [3] John Clute described it as "considerably better than good", and praised Westerfeld for providing "some of the neatest, most kinetically exact, clearest-written hi-tech action (Clute has) come across". [4]
The Gripping Hand is a science fiction novel by American writers Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle, published in 1993. A sequel to their 1974 work The Mote in God's Eye, The Gripping Hand is, chronologically, the last novel to be set in the CoDominium universe. In the United Kingdom, it was released as The Moat around Murcheson's Eye.
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Teito Monogatari is an epic historical dark fantasy/science fiction work; the debut novel of natural history researcher and polymath Hiroshi Aramata. It began circulation in the literary magazine Monthly King Novel owned by Kadokawa Shoten in 1983, and was published in 10 volumes over the course of 1985–1987. The novel is a romanticized retelling of the 20th-century history of Tokyo from an occultist perspective.
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Immortality is a common theme in fiction. The concept has been depicted since the Epic of Gilgamesh, the oldest known work of fiction. Originally appearing in the domain of mythology, it has later become a recurring element in the genres of horror, science fiction, and fantasy. For most of literary history, the dominant perspective has been that the desire for immortality is misguided, albeit strong; among the posited drawbacks are ennui, loneliness, and social stagnation. This view was challenged in the 20th century by writers such as George Bernard Shaw and Roger Zelazny. Immortality is commonly obtained either from supernatural entities or objects such as the Fountain of Youth or through biological or technological means such as brain transplants.
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The Crystal Empire is a 1986 novel by American science fiction and alternate history writer L. Neil Smith. It is set in an alternate universe that shares with Kim Stanley Robinson's The Years of Rice and Salt, Robert Silverberg's The Gate of Worlds and Harry Turtledove's In High Places a point of divergence where the Black Death kills much more of Europe's population than it did in reality, opening the way for a Muslim conquest of Europe. The plague also decimates the Mongol Empire, allowing a Mughal power to arise in the Far East in its place.
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AnnaLinden Weller, better known under her pen name Arkady Martine, is an American historian, city planner, and author of science fiction literature. She received the 2020 Hugo Award for Best Novel for her debut novel A Memory Called Empire (2019).
A Memory Called Empire is a 2019 science fiction novel, the debut novel by Arkady Martine. It follows Mahit Dzmare, the ambassador from Lsel Station to the Teixcalaanli Empire, as she investigates the death of her predecessor and the instabilities that underpin that society. The book won the 2020 Hugo Award for Best Novel.
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