Imperial Literature

Humanity's thousand-year-old interstellar empire has been rotting from the inside for over a century, thanks to venal, corrupt, and power-hungry sovereigns from a dynasty many consider illegitimate. The latest in that lineage, an increasingly psychotic empress, is pushing her realm toward collapse as admirals and generals rebel against her rule. That rebellion quickly drags the once mighty Imperial Fleet into a devastating fratricidal conflict between factions.

On the planet Mistral, an uprising of barons has upset the delicate balance of power. But, as Yarrick was soon forced to learn, Mistral and Imperial politics are often murky, the truth seldom clear cut. As war engulfs the world, a plot unravels that pits old friends against one another and fashions unusual alliances. Chaos cults, the fanatical Adepta Sororitas and clandestine inquisitors all stand between Yarrick and his mission. Here is where the legend began. In this crucible, Lord Commissar Sebastian Yarrick was forged in blood.

Dirriken Friedel used his aristocratic connections to rescue his troops. He didn't plan on starting a war or killing them himself. Now he spends his days in jail, waiting for an assassin sent by his dead officers families to end his misery. When he's broken out by off-duty marines he has a chance to start over, if he's worthy. During his ramshackle escape he collects a broken-down trading ship, a bitter former army officer, a genetically altered religious fanatic, a runaway ingenue, a sham engineer, and a murderous femme fatale.

A strong emotional attachment to the memory of empire runs deep in British culture. In recent years, that memory has become a battleground in a long-drawn ideological war, inflecting debates on race, class, gender, culture, the UK’s future and its place in the world. This provocative and passionate book surveys the scene of the imperial memory wars in contemporary Britain, exploring how the myths that structure our views of empire came to be, and how they inform the present.

Londinium is burning. Gaius Suetonius Paulinus, newly appointed governor of Roman Britain, is charged by an increasingly unstable Emperor Nero with a difficult task - the untamed island on the fringes of the empire must earn a profit. To do so, Suetonius pursues the last of the Druids into Wales and, along the way, subdues the fractious Celtic chieftains who sit atop a fortune in gold and rare metals. Meanwhile, in the provincial capital of Londinium, war is brewing.

The story of Tzu Hsi is the story of the last empress in China. In this audiobook, Pearl S. Buck recreates the life of one of the most intriguing rules during a time of intense turbulence. Tzu Hsi was born into one of the lowly ranks of the Imperial dynasty. According to custom, she moved to the Forbidden City at the age of 17 to become one of hundreds of concubines. But her singular beauty and powers of manipulation quickly moved her into the position of Second Consort.

210 BC, China. The most powerful emperor China has ever known is on the brink of death. In desperation, he sends his most gifted alchemist and sorcerer on a quest for the mythical elixir of life. His fleet never returned. Now, world-renowned archaeologist Georgia Lee is compelled to hunt for a mysterious man who may hold the secret to the greatest discovery in human history. Her search takes her on a thrilling journey. But what begins as an investigation into an archaeological riddle turns into something very sinister. Georgia starts to suspect that she is the one being hunted....

AD 272 - the Roman emperor Aurelian has defeated Queen Zenobia and crushed the Palmyran revolt. Faridun's Banner, hallowed battle standard of the Persian Empire, has fallen into Roman hands and is to be returned to the Persians as part of a historic peace treaty. But on the eve of the signing, the banner goes missing. Recalled to Syria, imperial agent Cassius Corbulo is charged with recovering the flag.

What happens when you meet the man of your dreams, but it's the right place, wrong time? You walk away… What do you do when you keep running into him at the most random times, in the most random places? You let him in… What happens when you find out he makes his living in the shadows? You fall a little harder… Is it crazy to love him? Absolutely, but you do it anyway…

Verdan Blacke is an Imperial Wizard, a researcher by preference but soldier by necessity. Surviving an intense battle, Verdan is cursed by a hex witch in her final moments. Without any good options, Verdan escapes the ever-increasing pain the curse inflicts by performing a self-made stasis ritual.

Callie has spent her life moving towns every four months in a bid to stay off the grid. Her only family is a paranoid mother who believes there's a race of supernatural beings out there actively searching for Callie. A race who could destroy Earth if they get their hands on her. Callie's never seen one thing to suggest there's any truth to her mom's insane ramblings, and at the age of 18 now, she's grown numb to her reality; she's never going to have a normal life.

Jaden and the Free Seekers won the battle in God’s Bowl and destroyed Devourer’s infernal machine to manipulate the worlds. Now Devourer has destroyed the ancient city of Marleborn, a center of resistance to the Empire, by spreading the plague of Noon Wraiths. Headmaster has also gone missing while on his own mission to destroy another of Devourer’s machines. If he has been captured or killed, it could lead to the Hidden City’s location being revealed to Devourer, putting the rebellion in danger.

The cyborg known as NSLICE-00P—Non-Standard Leashed-Intelligence Cybernetic Enforcer—was created to be an unstoppable weapons platform that could take out even the strongest of heroes. But when she was cast out of her own reality, she found herself without orders or a controller—but with a new lease on life. Joined by her loyal compatriots—and a beyond-loyal corps of cyborg-enhanced critters—NSLICE-00P is taking an active role in shaping her altered circumstances. Part of which means gathering allies for the Empire.

Two men with widely divergent visions are on a mission to save civilization in at least one sector, far from the imperial capital where a demented ruler holds sway. The first, Jonas Morane, wants to create an impregnable vault containing humanity's accumulated knowledge so those who survive the coming darkness can rebuild in decades instead of millennia.

In the winter of AD 44, Rome's plan to install a friendly king in the most hostile area of Britannia is facing a new threat. There are rumours of a traitor close to the new king, and a new enemy is gathering strength beyond the marshes. As the king continues with his plans to Romanise his subjects, Horatius Figulus, a junior officer in the Second Legion, is charged with training up the new royal bodyguard. But when a trap is sprung on the Roman army, a secretive Druid sect seizes power and takes the king hostage. Now Figulus must infiltrate the enemy ranks, release the king and track down the elusive leader of the Druids - before the whole of Britannia descends into bloody chaos....

Andrea Tolliver - a genetically designed human from the Singularity - has finally earned a spot in the Imperial Marines. If she makes it through training, she’ll earn citizenship. If not - well, best not to think about that. With ruthless enemies willing to do anything to stop her, she’ll need all the help she can get to survive. Even with friends working from the shadows to keep her safe, will that be enough to keep her alive?

Verdan Blacke is an Imperial Wizard, a researcher by preference but soldier by necessity. Surviving an intense battle, Verdan is cursed by a hex witch in her final moments. Without any good options, Verdan escapes the ever-increasing pain the curse inflicts by performing a self-made stasis ritual.

Humanity's interstellar empire died in fire and blood, leaving wrecked star systems to face the long night of barbarism. One tiny spark of civilization remains: The Republic of Lyonesse, tucked away at the end of a wormhole cul-de-sac. Yet that last bastion could suffer the same dire fate.

Escaped Imperial officer Dirk doesn't care his crew are runaways, revolutionaries, and alleged criminals, as long as they're adequately competent and don't kill each other too often. When a smuggling job goes badly wrong and they improvise, he'll trade competency for just non-suicidal. If one crime causes problems, a second should fix it. But after a botched heist lands them in the freezing woods of a frozen planet, they need a new plan.

Dirk Friedel used to be an Imperial Duke, now he's a washed up freighter captain. When a shady broker offers him easy money to steal some obsolete cargo and transport it off-planet, he and his crew of amateur thieves jump at the chance. Who'll miss a few crates of worthless supplies and some broken down trucks? But when the supplies turn out to be something more than imagined, they end up dodging the Imperial navy and enlisting as unwilling mercenaries in civil war.