The Killing of Worlds Book Two of Succession [Paperback]

#1New York Timesbestselling author Westerfeld continues one of the first great space operas of this century

Scott Westerfeld,New York Timesbestselling author ofUglies,Pretties, andSpecials, reached new heights of excitement withThe Risen Empireand left readers begging for more. He delivers the dazzling payoff in book two,The Killing of Worlds.

The immortal Emperor can grant a form of eternal life-after-death, creating an elite known as the Risen, and so has ruled the eighty worlds unchallenged for sixteen hundred years. The only thing he fears are the Rix, machine-augmented humans who worship AI compound minds. They are dedicated to replacing his prolonged rule with an eternal cybernetic dynasty of their own.

Brilliant tactician Captain Laurent Zai of the Imperial Frigate Lynx faces a suicide mission: stopping the next thrust of the Rix invasion with just his own vessel. While ship-to-ship combat rages among the stars, Zai's lover, Senator Nara Oxham, is caught in a deadly political fencing match with the Emperor himself. The Emperor has a terrible secret, a secret Nara is in danger of finding out, a secret for which he would countenance the killing of worlds.

In the tradition of Isaac Asimov's Foundation series and Frank Herbert's Dune books. With a light touch all his own, Westerfeld illumines the clash of mighty galactic empires by focusing on individuals who, despite the distractions of war and politics, cannot help falling in love. The New York Times on The Risen EmpireScott Westerfeldis a software designer, a composer of music for modern dance, and the author of novels such asThe Risen EmpireandThe Killing of Worlds. He lives in New York City and Sydney, Australia.