Book description
The undead Emperor has ruled the Eighty Worlds for sixteen hundred
years. His is the power to grant immortality to those he deems worthy,
creating an elite class known as the Risen. Along with his sister, the
eternally young Child Empress, his power within the empire has been
absolute. Until now. The empire's great enemies, the Rix, hold the Child
Empress hostage. Charged with her rescue is Captain Laurent Zai. But
when Imperial politics are involved the stakes are unimaginably high,
and Zai may yet find the Rix the least of his problems. On the
homeworld, Zai's lover, Senator Nara Oxham, newly appointed to the
Emperor's War Council, must prosecute the war with the Rix while holding
the inhuman impulses of the Risen councillors in check. If she fails at
either task, millions will die. And at the centre of everything is the
Emperor's great lie: a revelation so shattering that he is willing to
sanction the death of entire worlds to keep it secret... Scott
Westerfeld is a software designer and composer. He lives in New York and
Sydney.
