'With Empress of Forever, Max Gladstone's remarkable talent is operating at full stretch, demonstrating the strength, power, and originality at his command. But at its core, it's an epic about the value of empathy and the importance of compassion. ' Empress of Forever is tense and vast, complex and twisty, a space opera epic that's a lot faster on the draw than Star Wars or Star Trek ever dreamed of being. Trapped between the Pride-a ravening horde of sentient machines-and a fanatical sect of warrior monks who call themselves the Mirrorfaith, Viv must rally a strange group of allies to confront the Empress and find a way back to the world and life she left behind.Ī magnificent work of vivid imagination and universe-spanning action, Empress of Forever is a feminist Guardians of the Galaxy crossed with Star Wars and spiced with the sensibility and spirit of Iain M. Rebellion is literally impossible to consider-until Vivian Liao arrives. The end of time is ruled by an ancient, powerful Empress who blesses or blasts entire planets with a single thought.

A terrifying instant later, Vivian Liao is catapulted through space and time to a far future where she confronts a destiny stranger and more deadly than she could ever imagine. In the chilly darkness of a Boston server farm, Viv sets her ultimate plan into motion. On the eve of her greatest achievement, she tries to outrun people who are trying to steal her success. Dawson, New York Times bestselling authorįrom Hugo Award finalist Max Gladstone comes a smart, swashbuckling, wildly imaginative adventure the saga of a rag-tag team of brilliant misfits, dangerous renegades, and enhanced outlaws in a war-torn future.Ī wildly successful innovator to rival Steve Jobs or Elon Musk, Vivian Liao is prone to radical thinking, quick decision-making, and reckless action. 'A classic space opera.a universe we've never seen before.' - Delilah S.

Empress of Forever by Max Gladstone