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From Scott Westerfeld, the acclaimed author of the Leviathan trilogy and the Uglies series comes a sweeping space opera, The Risen Empire, book one of the Succession duology. The undead Emperor has ruled his mighty interstellar empire of eighty human worlds for sixteen hundred years. Because he can grant a form of eternal life, creating an elite known as the Risen, his power has been absolute. He and his sister, the Child Empress, who is eternally a little girl, are worshiped as living gods. show more No one can touch them. Not until the Rix, machine-augmented humans who worship very different gods: AI compound minds of planetary extent. The Rix are cool, relentless fanatics, and their only goal is to propagate such AIs throughout the galaxy. They seek to end, by any means necessary, the Emperor's prolonged tyranny of one and supplant it with an eternal cybernetic dynasty of their own. They begin by taking the Child Empress hostage. Captain Laurent Zai of the Imperial Frigate Lynx is tasked with her rescue. Separated by light-years, bound by an unlikely love, Zai and pacifist senator Nara Oxham must each in their own way, face the challenge of the Rix, and they each will hold the fate of the empire in their hands. The Risen Empire is the first great space opera of the twenty-first century. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied. show lessTags
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I purchased this book to see how well publishers can target audiences through book art. I said: "This looks like the kind of book I'm supposed to like" and... I did! It starts out with fast-paced military sci-fi, then adds flashbacks to flesh out characters and build the Space Opera side of things. Combining these two genres will turn off readers who want just one or the other of them, but I personally liked the mix, mostly because I found the two central characters appealing, and their romance-through-shared-vulnerability even _more_ appealing. If you can get behind the author's genre-mixing choices, you'll enjoy this very well-executed book.
Summary: In the Risen Empire, immortality is a matter of course for the wealthy and powerful. Sixteen hundred years ago, the Emperor invented a form of life-after-death, and has since ruled the eighty worlds of his empire, along with a caste of similarly immortal nobles and military elites. However, the borders of his empire are threatened by the Rix cult, a group of fanatics who worship compound minds: AI developed from the computing power of entire planets. When the Rix take the sister of the Emperor hostage, in order to plant a compound mind on her planet, the situation becomes critical. Laurent Zai, the captain of a small Imperial frigate, is tasked with rescuing the hostages - a mission which, if he fails, will result in an Error show more of Blood and his own ritual suicide. Back on the Emperor's homeworld, Senator Nara Oxham must do her best to keep the situation from escalating into full-blown war. But neither of them can know the secret plans of the Rix - nor the secret that Emperor will risk anything to protect.
Review: Although I generally prefer fantasy when it comes to my speculative fiction, I'm not opposed to sci-fi. Far from it, in fact: Ray Bradbury was (is) one of my favorite authors, and don't even get me started on how much I love Battlestar Galactica. However, taking a critical eye to the situation, the sci-fi I love all has one thing in common: it's less about the science and more about the fiction. Humans are more interesting than technology, characters over plot, again and again.
And Westerfeld's book does have some very interesting human moments; there are several scenes that were genuinely and unexpectedly moving. Unfortunately, his characters tend to get swamped out by an overwhelming preponderance of technobabble. It's imaginative, consistent, and plausible technobabble, but there's only so much talk of AI and nanomachines and synesthetic viewscreens that I can deal with in one sitting. It's a shame, too, because Westerfeld clearly knows his stuff, and has shown in other books that he knows how to balance technology and character: I really enjoyed the Uglies series, and Peeps is one of the best blendings of science and story that I've ever read. I find it interesting, though, that in a story whose main theme seems to be the interplay of technology and humanity - how much machine can you put into a human before they stop being human, how much humanity do you have to give a machine before it stops being a machine - that the human element loses out to the technology in the storytelling. 3 out of 5 stars.
Recommendation: I'll be reading the sequel, The Killing of Worlds, since The Risen Empire ends without resolving anything and with a MAJOR cliffhanger. (Apparently this is one of those cases where the series was written as a single book but split into two by the publisher.) Still, I think this book would be best for those who enjoy technological/military sci-fi; those of us who prefer the focus on the characters might want to look elsewhere - or else be good at skimming through the tech talk. show less
Review: Although I generally prefer fantasy when it comes to my speculative fiction, I'm not opposed to sci-fi. Far from it, in fact: Ray Bradbury was (is) one of my favorite authors, and don't even get me started on how much I love Battlestar Galactica. However, taking a critical eye to the situation, the sci-fi I love all has one thing in common: it's less about the science and more about the fiction. Humans are more interesting than technology, characters over plot, again and again.
And Westerfeld's book does have some very interesting human moments; there are several scenes that were genuinely and unexpectedly moving. Unfortunately, his characters tend to get swamped out by an overwhelming preponderance of technobabble. It's imaginative, consistent, and plausible technobabble, but there's only so much talk of AI and nanomachines and synesthetic viewscreens that I can deal with in one sitting. It's a shame, too, because Westerfeld clearly knows his stuff, and has shown in other books that he knows how to balance technology and character: I really enjoyed the Uglies series, and Peeps is one of the best blendings of science and story that I've ever read. I find it interesting, though, that in a story whose main theme seems to be the interplay of technology and humanity - how much machine can you put into a human before they stop being human, how much humanity do you have to give a machine before it stops being a machine - that the human element loses out to the technology in the storytelling. 3 out of 5 stars.
Recommendation: I'll be reading the sequel, The Killing of Worlds, since The Risen Empire ends without resolving anything and with a MAJOR cliffhanger. (Apparently this is one of those cases where the series was written as a single book but split into two by the publisher.) Still, I think this book would be best for those who enjoy technological/military sci-fi; those of us who prefer the focus on the characters might want to look elsewhere - or else be good at skimming through the tech talk. show less
Woah. The first book of this series begins with a dizzyingly exciting space battle that sucks you right into the action. It's only a few pages in that the reader realizes the ships are the size of a hangnail, piloted by remote. The Child Empress is being held hostage, and the ships are on a recon mission for the Imperial space ship in orbit round the planet, waiting to rescue her. The first book is very exciting, and while the technology Westerfeld introduces is wholly original, it still makes a great deal of sense. Westerfeld reads a bit like Nancy Kress; he's really good at combining innovative yet realistic science with multi-faceted, interesting characters and believable societies. I was particularly impressed with the multitude of show more perspectives he brought to the story without ever losing his focus. show less
OMG are you fucking serious? Nothing happens in this book. NOTHING.
Okay, fine, technically, someone, who I THINK is meant to be the hero, decides not to commit ritual suicide. That's the big thing. There are, like, seventeen different Big Important Secrets raised, and none of them are resolved (the Risen Emperor's Secret, literally, that's what it's called, springs to mind).
It's a really bad sign when I am most interested in the inner life of a semi-sentient house. This doesn't QUITE fall into the category of "Man Builds Stuff And Gets Lots of Pussy" (TM David) but that is only because Westerfeld is visibly (legibly?) bored by stupid squishy humans and their lack of plastic and metal parts.
Why this book got all the accolades it did, I show more do not understand. show less
Okay, fine, technically, someone, who I THINK is meant to be the hero, decides not to commit ritual suicide. That's the big thing. There are, like, seventeen different Big Important Secrets raised, and none of them are resolved (the Risen Emperor's Secret, literally, that's what it's called, springs to mind).
It's a really bad sign when I am most interested in the inner life of a semi-sentient house. This doesn't QUITE fall into the category of "Man Builds Stuff And Gets Lots of Pussy" (TM David) but that is only because Westerfeld is visibly (legibly?) bored by stupid squishy humans and their lack of plastic and metal parts.
Why this book got all the accolades it did, I show more do not understand. show less
On one hand, Westerfield has given us a setting with a lot of interesting elements with which to play: symbionts that confer immortality, remotely-piloted drones the size of dust motes, and entire civilizations dedicated to the propagation of AI minds.
On the other hand, the book is a giant teaser leading to a cliffhanger: nothing is explained, nothing is resolved. Basically, he's given us 304 pages of introduction. We don't even know what all the people who have fought and died (and are about to start a galactic war) are struggling over…it's just "The Secret."
It pissed me off.
On the other hand, the book is a giant teaser leading to a cliffhanger: nothing is explained, nothing is resolved. Basically, he's given us 304 pages of introduction. We don't even know what all the people who have fought and died (and are about to start a galactic war) are struggling over…it's just "The Secret."
It pissed me off.
I usually love Westerfeld books, so this came as a huge surprise! I don't usually read science fiction, but I took a risk because it's Westerfeld, and I have mixed feelings.
The book is rather confusing at first. Not only does it flash between characters at lightening pace, but it also flashes between two separate time periods 10 years apart. Once I had finally settled into this style, it was really neat to see the story from different perspectives, but I'll admit it took a while to get used to.
Westerfeld doesn't disappoint when it comes to the worlds that he creates. The book is full of amazing technology and creative imagery. There are multiple societies in the story, and he manages to create believable and enjoyable technologies and show more belief systems for each. I was intrigued by the Rix and their following of the Compound Mind, but also drawn in by the tensions of the Imperials and Securalists. The book provides a really interesting complexity between religion and politics that surrounds the Empire.
One thing that surprised me about this book is the description of physical gore that occurs. I haven't seen this in other novels by this author, but I will admit that despite making me a bit squeamish, they added to the intensity of the story and made it feel much more authentic!
In sum, The Risen Empire is not a book for me, but still holds Westerfeld's amazing writing talent. It creates amazing worlds and technologies, and may prove to be interesting for other readers! :) show less
The book is rather confusing at first. Not only does it flash between characters at lightening pace, but it also flashes between two separate time periods 10 years apart. Once I had finally settled into this style, it was really neat to see the story from different perspectives, but I'll admit it took a while to get used to.
Westerfeld doesn't disappoint when it comes to the worlds that he creates. The book is full of amazing technology and creative imagery. There are multiple societies in the story, and he manages to create believable and enjoyable technologies and show more belief systems for each. I was intrigued by the Rix and their following of the Compound Mind, but also drawn in by the tensions of the Imperials and Securalists. The book provides a really interesting complexity between religion and politics that surrounds the Empire.
One thing that surprised me about this book is the description of physical gore that occurs. I haven't seen this in other novels by this author, but I will admit that despite making me a bit squeamish, they added to the intensity of the story and made it feel much more authentic!
In sum, The Risen Empire is not a book for me, but still holds Westerfeld's amazing writing talent. It creates amazing worlds and technologies, and may prove to be interesting for other readers! :) show less
Disappointing space opera filled with typos. This novel was nominated for some of the SF literature prizes, but it ultimately didn’t measure up. The technology and the universe Westerfeld creates are intriguing – a cross between Dune and cyberpunk with some nanotechnology thrown in. It was engrossing at times, but the characters never really live because the text is exposition heavy. I did care enough to be peeved when it ends with a cliff-hanger.
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Scott Westerfeld was born in Dallas, Texas on May 5, 1963. He received a degree in philosophy from Vassar College in 1985. Before becoming a full time writer, he held several jobs including factory worker, software designer, editor, and substitute teacher. His works for young adults include the Uglies series, the Midnighters series, and The Last show more Days. He is the co-author of the Zeroes series written with Margo Lanagan and Deborah Biancotti. He also writes science fiction novels for adults. He has won numerous awards including a Special Citation for the 2000 Philip K. Dick Award for Evolution's Darling, a Victorian Premier's Award for So Yesterday, and an Aurealis Award for The Secret Hour. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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- Canonical title
- The Risen Empire
- Original publication date
- 2003-03
- People/Characters
- Captain Laurent Zai; Senator-Elect Nara Oxham; Risen Emperor; Risen Child Empress Anastasia Vista Khaman; Rix Commando H_rd; Second-Class Militia Worker Rana Harter (show all 13); Executive Officer Katherie Hobbes; Dr. Mann Vecher; Master Pilot Jocim Marx; Marine Corporal Mirame Lao; Admiral Fenton Pry; Private Bassiritz; Initiate Barris
- Epigraph
- There is no greater tactical disadvantage than the presence of precious noncombatants. Civilians, historical treasures, hostages: treat them as already lost.
---Anonymous 167 - Dedication
- TO SLK
for years of summer - First words
- The five small craft passed from shadow, emerging with the suddenness of coins thrown into sunlight.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)The Lynx moved toward battle.
- Blurbers
- Anderson, Kevin J.; Daniel, Tony; Greenwood, Ed; Levinson, Paul; McCarthy, Wil; Resnick, Mike (show all 7); Wright, John C.
- Disambiguation notice
- The UK (Orbit, ISBN 1841493724) edition called "The Risen Empire" includes both books published in the US as "The Risen Empire" and "The Killing of Worlds" - so be sure to keep that edition with the omnibus, and the others se... (show all)parate.
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