Empire Games: A Tale of the Merchant Princes Universe

Charles Stross

Jan 2017 · Empire Games Book 1 · Sold by Macmillan

About this ebook

Charles Stross builds a new series with Empire Games, expanding on the world he created in the Family Trade series, a new generation of paratime travellers walk between parallel universes.

The year is 2020. It's seventeen years since the Revolution overthrew the last king of the New British Empire, and the newly-reconstituted North American Commonwealth is developing rapidly, on course to defeat the French and bring democracy to a troubled world. But Miriam Burgeson, commissioner in charge of the shadowy Ministry of Intertemporal Research and Intelligence—the paratime espionage agency tasked with catalyzing the Commonwealth's great leap forward—has a problem. For years, she's warned everyone: "The Americans are coming." Now their drones arrive in the middle of a succession crisis.

In another timeline, the U.S. has recruited Miriam's own estranged daughter to spy across timelines in order to bring down any remaining world-walkers who might threaten national security.

Two nuclear superpowers are set on a collision course. Two increasingly desperate paratime espionage agencies try to find a solution to the first contact problem that doesn't result in a nuclear holocaust. And two women—a mother and her long-lost daughter—are about to find themselves on opposite sides of the confrontation.

At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Ratings and reviews

This is a well written book with an interesting premise but not one of the major plots is resolved. I was left feeling cheated at the end as it felt like the whole purpose of this book is to setup situations that will be revised in future installments. I don't mind that the author wants to tell a story over multiple novels but I'd like closure of some of the shorter arcs to make the novel feel complete and not just a big setup for the next novel.

Great continuation of the Merchant Prince series. A tad more about characters than world building, which probably works well for a novel, but I could have used a couple more meaty Stephenson-esque chapters in there. Stross probably picked the right balance; this book seems better written or edited than the original books. Can't wait for the next one.

Renewed energy, and much better than the tail end of the old series that led up to this.

About the author

CHARLES STROSS was born in Leeds, England, in 1964. He has worked as a pharmacist, software engineer and freelance journalist, but now writes full-time. To date, Stross has won two Hugo Awards and been nominated twelve times. He has also won the Locus Award for Best Novel, the Locus Award for Best Novella, and has been shortlisted for the Arthur C. Clarke and Nebula Awards. His books include The Merchant Princess series, the Laundry series, and several stand-alone novels including Glasshouse, Accelerando, and Saturn's Children.