Synopses & Reviews
Scott Westerfeld, the acclaimed author of
Fine Prey, Polymorph, and
Evolution's Darling, reached new heights of excitement in
The Risen Empire, and left readers begging for more. Now he comes through with the dazzling payoff in book two of Succession
, The Killing of Worlds.Captain Laurent Zai of the Imperial frigate Lynx is a walking dead man. Unjustly held responsible for the death of the Child Empress, sister of the immortal Emperor, Zai has been sent to fight an unwinnable battle. The Lynx must stop a vastly superior Rix ship from reaching the planet Legis, a suicide mission that will almost certainly end in oblivion for Captain Zai and his crew.
On the planet Legis below, a Rix compound mind--a massive emergent AI formed from every computer on the planet--as been isolated by their Imperial blockade. But the mind has guided a lone Rix commando, Herd, to the planet's frozen north, and will soon order a desperate attempt to seize a polar communications array and break the blockade. Herd is a single warrior against an Imperial army, but moving silently behind her is the intelligence of an entire planet.
Ten light-years away, Captain Zai's true love, the psychic (some say mad) Senator Nara Oxham is engaged in a deadly game of political intrigue. From her position on the Emperor's War Council, Senator Oxham must find a way to forestall the Emperor's final solution if the blockade is broken: a nuclear strike to destroy the compound mind, which will also kill millions of Imperial citizens. She suspects that the Emperor has a hidden weakness discovered, by the mind, a secret so dangerous to his immortal dynasty that to prevent its discovery the Emperor is willing to countenance the ultimate crime. . . .
The killing of worlds.
With this powerful conclusion to the first story arc of Succession, Scott Westerfeld confirms 0his stature as one of the leading writers of high space opera.
Review
"The Risen Empire is proof that space opera can be as complex and sophisticated as any other form of literature."(Mike Resnick)
Review
A superb job of depicting an escalating space battle between human and rival Rix (cyborg) forces, with its constantly amazing but logical weapons and tactics, as well as political maneuvering back at the imperial capital. Vivid characterization and a witty, laconic style lift this far above the space-opera average. Publishers Weekly
Review
“The concluding half of a superior space adventure yarn, filled with romance, betrayal, and terrific ordnance.”--
Locus on
The Killing of Worlds "A superb job of depicting an escalating space battle between human and rival Rix (cyborg) forces, with its constantly amazing but logical weapons and tactics, as well as political maneuvering back at the imperial capital. Vivid characterization and a witty, laconic style lift this far above the space-opera average.”—Publishers Weekly on The Killing of Worlds
“The successor to The Risen Empire is just as fine a rip-roaring space opera, with its strength residing in the characters, all of them involved in believable dilemmas, even Herd, the supposedly emotionless cyborg Rix soldier who finds love.”--Booklist on The Killing of Worlds
Review
“In the tradition of Isaac Asimovs Foundation series and Frank Herberts Dune books. With a light touch all his own, Westerfeld illumines the clash of mighty galactic empires by focusing on individuals who, despite the distractions of war and politics, cannot help falling in love.”
--The New York Times on The Risen Empire
Review
The concluding half of a superior space adventure yarn, filled with romance, betrayal, and terrific ordnance. Locus
Review
The successor to The Risen Empire is just as fine a rip-roaring space opera, with its strength residing in the characters, all of them involved in believable dilemmas, even Herd, the supposedly emotionless cyborg Rix soldier who finds love. Booklist
Synopsis
Praise for The Risen Empire: "Proof that space opera can be as complex and sophisticated as any other form of literature. Doc Smith would barely recognize it."--Mike Resnick"Westerfeld's exceptionally smart and empathetic novel, the first two in a series, confirms the buzz that space opera is one of the most exciting branches of the current SF. Keeping the reader constantly off-balance, Westerfeld skillfully integrates extreme technologies with human characters."--Publishers Weekly (starred review)"The Risen Empire glows with a sense of wonder. I loved it."--Ed Greenwood
Synopsis
"Westerfeld creates an incredibly rich, consistently imagined far-future milieu packed with inspired transhuman civilization-building, technological foresight, and the fine attention to details, both large and small, that marks this as visionary science fiction of the highest quality."
-Tony Daniel
"Far-future, military science fiction--with a deft hand, a conscience, a wry look back at us, and poetic flair. I know this may seem like a stretch, but think Wells."
-- Paul Levinson on The Risen Empire
Praise for The Risen Empire
"The action moves with the pace of a well-executed military operation; a fascinating clash of supertechnologies. This story has everything: combat, intrigue, politics, and even an undead cat collection."
--John C. Wright
"In Westerfeld's hands, science fiction's cutting edge is wielded with both the precision of a surgeon's scalpel and the wild abandon of a machete."
--Wil McCarthy
"The Risen Empire is full of relentless and addictive action which is supported by some truly wild ideas. Westerfeld's blend of traditional space opera and cutting-edge speculation makes this a truly twenty-first century SF novel."
--Karl Schroeder
"The Risen Empire glows with sense of wonder. I loved it."-Ed Greenwood
Synopsis
#1 New York Times bestselling author Westerfeld continues one of the first great space operas of this century
Scott Westerfeld, New York Times bestselling author of Uglies, Pretties, and Specials, reached new heights of excitement with The Risen Empire and left readers begging for more. He delivers the dazzling payoff in book two, The Killing of Worlds.
The immortal Emperor can grant a form of eternal life-after-death, creating an elite known as the Risen, and so has ruled the eighty worlds unchallenged for sixteen hundred years. The only thing he fears are the Rix, machine-augmented humans who worship AI compound minds. They are dedicated to replacing his prolonged rule with an eternal cybernetic dynasty of their own.
Brilliant tactician Captain Laurent Zai of the Imperial Frigate Lynx faces a suicide mission: stopping the next thrust of the Rix invasion with just his own vessel. While ship-to-ship combat rages among the stars, Zais lover, Senator Nara Oxham, is caught in a deadly political fencing match with the Emperor himself. The Emperor has a terrible secret, a secret Nara is in danger of finding out, a secret for which he would countenance the killing of worlds.
About the Author
Scott Westerfeld is a software designer, a composer of music for modern dance, and the author of four previous novels. He lives in New York City and Sydney, Australia.
Exclusive Essay
Read an exclusive essay by Scott Westerfeld