FORGOTTEN BOOKS #303: THE RISEN EMPIRE and THE KILLER OF WORLDS By Scott Westerfeld

the risen empire
killer of worlds
Scott Westerfeld now writes successful Young Adult fiction, but ten years ago he wrote a pair of dandy science fiction novels. The Risen Empire starts out with a hostage rescue. The sister of the Emperor has been captured by a commando team from the Rix Cult. The Rix believe they should plant powerful artificial intelligences everywhere. The novel alternates between a Rix commando who is hunted by the Imperial marines on the planet and the crew of the only Imperial warship orbiting the planet. The commander of the Lynx, Captain Laurent Zai, faces a battle with a much more powerful Rix spaceship. Other complications, like a mutiny, make The Risen Empire very suspenseful. The Killer of Worlds continues the story of Captain Zai and the Imperials when they encounter an alien artifact. At the same time, the Risen Empire is shattered when their Emperor’s “secret” gets revealed. If you’re in the mood for high quality story-telling and suspenseful space battles, The Risen Empire and The Killer of Worlds deliver. I hope Scott Westerfeld returns to write more galactic adventures of the Rix and the Empire!

12 thoughts on “FORGOTTEN BOOKS #303: THE RISEN EMPIRE and THE KILLER OF WORLDS By Scott Westerfeld

  1. Jeff Meyerson

    I guess I’ll have to pick them up because I’ve liked all the Westerfeld books I’ve read (including the new one, AFTERWORLDS) and I totally missed these.

    Reply
    1. george Post author

      Jeff, I suspect THE RISEN EMPIRE and THE KILLER OF WORLDS were one book that TOR decided to divide into two books. I strongly recommend you read both books one after the other.

      Reply
  2. Richard R.

    Somehow I either missed these, or your review is more compelling than any I read previously, or both. Either way, I want these, and am going to hunt them out. This sounds like just the thing for grey winter afternoon reading. Thanks!

    Reply
    1. george Post author

      Rick, you won’t be able to put these books down once you start them. I really like the characters. I’m especially fond of the Rix commando (who’s supposed to be a Bad Guy) but Scott Westerfeld is so skillful you end up rooting for the cyborg.

      Reply
    1. george Post author

      Rick, THE KILLER OF WORLDS picks right up from where THE RISEN EMPIRE leaves off. That’s what leads me to believe Scott Westerfeld wrote one long book that TOR divided in half. I haven’t seen that omnibus hardcover.

      Reply

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