The Risen Empire [Paperback]

'Superior space adventure' LOCUS 'To master [space opera] and still bring to life characters with recognizable emotions and aspirations is a challenge few writers care to take on. Westerfeld succeeds admirably' NEW YORK TIMES 'Recalls some of the best of Asimov but written with a more concise and breathless speed. It's been quite a while since I've read science fiction I've enjoyed more.' INTERZONE

A cutting-edge space opera in which galactic cultures clash: human, inhuman and post-human --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

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.