Writer: Scott Westerfeld
Genre: Science Fiction
Pages: 349
The premise: The Risen Emperor has ruled his empire of 80 human worlds for nearly sixteen hundred years. He's found a way to conquer death--which requires dying FIRST in order to live forever--and even bestows that privilege on a select few. The first to received that privilege, once upon a time ago, was his sister, now known as the Child Empress, and now, the Child Empress's life is at stake: humanity's worst enemy, the Rix, have taken her hostage in order to waken the compound mind--the mind of a planet. The Emperor will do anything to keep that from happening, but there's a secret he'll protect even more than his very own sister, no matter how many lives it costs.
My Rating
Wish I'd Borrowed It: it's just not for me. I can see how some
One note of warning: if you're reading this and are liking/loving it enough to want the sequel: get it ASAP. The Risen Empire ends on a major cliff-hanger due to the fact Tor split the manuscript into two books. So yeah, have your sequel on hand if you're liking it. :)
The full review, which does contain spoilers (well, more nit-picks than spoilers, maybe), may be found in my journal. As always, comments and discussion are most welcome.
REVIEW: Scott Westerfeld's THE RISEN EMPIRE
Happy Reading! :)