The Risen EmpireFrom the acclaimed author of Fine Prey, Polymorph, and Evolution's Darling (Philip K. Dick Award special citation and a New York Times Notable Book) comes a sweeping epic, The Risen Empire, Scott Westerfeld's dazzling hardcover debut. 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. 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. |
Contents
Section 1 | 11 |
Section 2 | 21 |
Section 3 | 26 |
Section 4 | 32 |
Section 5 | 69 |
Section 6 | 81 |
Section 7 | 83 |
Section 8 | 84 |
Section 13 | 147 |
Section 14 | 174 |
Section 15 | 183 |
Section 16 | 197 |
Section 17 | 205 |
Section 18 | 221 |
Section 19 | 241 |
Section 20 | 262 |
Section 9 | 108 |
Section 10 | 110 |
Section 11 | 129 |
Section 12 | 142 |
Section 21 | 280 |
Section 22 | 301 |
Section 23 | |
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Common terms and phrases
Adept aircar airscreen Alexander armor asked autocannon Barris Bassiritz battle battlecruiser began blade of error blaster blood brainbug breath Captain Laurent Zai Captain Zai Child Empress compound mind council chamber craft crew dead death device Dhantu drone Earth Prime Eighty Worlds empathy Executive Officer eyes face Farre felt fingers fire flechette floor flyer gravity gray gunner H_rd hand Henders Hobbes's hostage human hypercarbon Imperial infostructure inside Intelligencer interceptors Katherie Hobbes kill kilometers knew Laurent Zai Legis XV Lieutenant-Commander looked Lynx Lynx's m'lord machine Magus marine Marx militia moved Nara Oxham Niles nodded palace Perhaps planet political pulled railgun Rana Harter Rana's reached realized rescue Risen Emperor Risen Empire Rix commando Rixwoman SCOTT WESTERFELD Secularist seemed Senator Oxham shadowtime ship shook her head smiled sound Spinward stasis field symbiant synesthesia synesthetic Thompson thought took Trevim turned Vadan varigun Vasthold Vecher voice weapon woman words Zai's