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Description edit see section history

Captain Laurent Zai of the Imperial Frigate Lynx is a walking dead man. Unjustly held responsible for the death of the immortal Emperor's sister, Zai and his crew are sent on a suicide mission to stop a vastly superior Rix ship from contacting the new AI they've planted on Legis. Isolated by... read more

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Characters edit see section history

  • Laurent Zai: Captain of the Imperial Frigate Lynx; recently elevated after being the sole survivor of the massacre on Dhantu.
  • Katherine Hobbes: Executive Officer on the Imperial Frigate Lynx; second-in-command to Captain Zai.
  • Rana Harter: A militia worker on Legis XV; held captive by Herd.
  • h_rd (Herd): A Rix commando; sole survivor of the Legis incursion.
  • Alexander: The AI incubated on Legis XV.
  • Nara Oxham: The Imperial Senator from Vasthold; a Pink.
  • The Risen Emperor: Conqueror of death and ruler of the Eighty Worlds.
  • The Child Empress Anastasia: The Reason; the Risen Emperor's forever-a-child sister.
  • Jocim Marx: Master Pilot aboard the Lynx.
  • Watson Frick: First Engineer aboard the Lynx.
  • Amanda Tyre: Ensign in the Data Analysis section of the Lynx.
  • Kax: Data Master aboard the Lynx.
  • The Plague Axis Representative: Appointed to the Emperor's War Council.
  • Wilson: Second Gunner aboard the Lynx.
  • Verity Anst: A fourth-class gunnery rating aboard the Lynx.
  • Telmore Bigz: An Engineer-Rating aboard the Lynx.
  • House: The internal computer intelligence in the Vasthold Senator's arctic residence on Home.
  • Roger Niles: Senator Oxham's aide/counselor.
  • Sid Akman: Marine Private First Class aboard the Lynx; delegated to the mop-up on Legis.
  • Harper Trevim: An Adept of the Apparatus aboard the Lynx.
  • Bassiritz: Marine Private aboard the Lynx.
  • Anton Enman: A sub-Rating in the gunnery section aboard the Lynx; drafted from Legix XV.
  • Viran Farre: An Initiate of the Apparatus aboard the Lynx.
  • Puram Drexler: Senate President; a Gray.
  • Rencer Fowler IX: An Admiral of the High Fleet.
  • Marcus Fentu Masrui: A Commodore in the Navy; Captain Zai's commanding officer on Dhantu.
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Quotes edit see section history

  • “Never laugh at a kiss. A kiss was mysterious and powerful, fragile and invincible. Like any spark, a kiss might fizzle into nothing, or consume an entire forest. A kiss was no laughing matter. Not for the wary. A kiss could change the world.”
    Basseritz

Setting & Locations edit see section history

  • Legis XV: A planet on the Rix frontier; chosen by the Child Empress as the site of her palace.
  • Home: Capital of the Eighty Worlds.
  • Vada: Home planet of Laurent Zai; very gray.
  • Vasthold: Home planet of Nara Oxham.
  • The Lynx: A new model of Imperial Frigate; captained by Laurent Zai.

Organizations edit see section history

  • The Rix: A human cult that believes in fostering and spreading Artificial Intelligences of planetary extent.
  • The Imperial Political Apparatus: Risen Adepts that oversee the granting of symbionts and otherwise act on the Emperor's behalf.

First Sentence edit see section history

Two thousand years ago, it is believed, the population of diasporic humanity surpassed one hundred trillion, including various more-or-less human types in addition to the main germlines.

Table of Contents edit see section history

From the Introduction to The Imperial Civil War --compiled by the Academy of Material Detail
Prologue: Captain

ONE: SPACE BATTLE
Militia Worker
Senator
Captain
Pilot
Captain
Pilot
Executive Officer
flocker squadron
Pilot
flocker squadron
Pilot
Executive Officer
Data Analyst
Pilot
Data Analyst
Senator
Commando
Executive Officer
First Engineer
Executive Officer
First Engineer
Commando
Captain
Commando
Executive Officer
First Engineer
Executive Officer
First Engineer
Engineer-Rating
Executive Officer
Engineer-Rating
Captain
Engineer-Rating
Captain

Ten Years Earlier (Imperial Absolute)
House
Senator

TWO: ALCHEMICAL
Commando
Senator
Captain
compound mind
Fisherman
Executive Officer
Commando
compound mind
Master Pilot
Executive Officer
Fisherman
Captain
Marine Private First Class
Executive Officer
Senator
Captain
Blind Man
Executive Officer

Ten Years Earlier (Imperial Absolute)
House
Captain

THREE: WAR PRIZE
Dead Woman
Executive Officer
Marine Private
compound mind
Sub-Rating
Executive Officer
Marine Private
Captain
Executive Officer
Senator
Captain
Executive Officer
Senator
Adept
Senator
Plagueman
House
Senator
Plagueman
Captain
Senator
Fisherman/Pilot

Ten Years Earlier (Imperial Absolute)
Marine Private

Glossary edit see section history

  • Gray: Political persuasion whose followers are loyal to the Emperor, very military, and very beholden to tradition.
  • Pink: Political persuasion whose followers hold that death is necessary for humanity to evolve, and very few (if any) humans should ever be Risen.
  • Risen: Joined with a symbiont that grants eternal life. Granted at the whim of the Emperor.

Errata edit see section history

The Prologue was also published as the Epilogue in The Risen Empire.

Series & Lists edit see section history

This is book 2 of 2 in Succession. (standard series)

Preceded by The Risen Empire.

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

  1. Scott Westerfeld (Author)

First Edition edit see section history

Original Language: English
Publisher: Tor
Country: United States
Publication Date: 2003
ISBN: 0765308509
Page Count: 336

Classification edit see section history

More Books Like This edit see section history

   
  • The Worthing Saga
  • The Warrior's Apprentice

Books with Additional Background Information edit see section history

   
  • The Risen Empire

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