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The Game Beyond
A star-flung empire the prize — in a deadly war of succession
The Silvertree Empress is dead, the last of her line. The heir named in her will is an impossibility, her favorite, Keira Renault, member of a family deposed and disgraced generations before — the man she claimed as the power behind her throne. As the Empire’s notables jockey for position behind the various claimants, Keira must defeat his rivals in simulation and reality — and somehow hold the factions together long enough for the Empire to survive.
The Silvertree Empress is dead, the last of her line. The heir named in her will is an impossibility, her favorite, Keira Renault, member of a family deposed and disgraced generations before — the man she claimed as the power behind her throne. As the Empire’s notables jockey for position behind the various claimants, Keira must defeat his rivals in simulation and reality — and somehow hold the factions together long enough for the Empire to survive.
350 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 1984
3 people are currently reading
68 people want to read
About the author
Melissa Scott
100 books449 followersScott studied history at Harvard College and Brandeis University, and earned her PhD. in comparative history. She published her first novel in 1984, and has since written some two dozen science fiction and fantasy works, including three co-authored with her partner, Lisa A. Barnett.
Scott's work is known for the elaborate and well-constructed settings. While many of her protagonists are gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgendered, this is perfectly integrated into the rest of the story and is rarely a major focus of the story. Shadow Man, alone among Scott's works, focuses explicitly on issues of sexuality and gender.
She won the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer in Science Fiction in 1986, and has won several Lambda Literary Awards.
In addition to writing, Scott also teaches writing, offering classes via her website and publishing a writing guide.
Scott lived with her partner, author Lisa A. Barnett, in Portsmouth, New Hampshire for 27 years, until the latter's death of breast cancer on May 2, 2006.
Scott's work is known for the elaborate and well-constructed settings. While many of her protagonists are gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgendered, this is perfectly integrated into the rest of the story and is rarely a major focus of the story. Shadow Man, alone among Scott's works, focuses explicitly on issues of sexuality and gender.
She won the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer in Science Fiction in 1986, and has won several Lambda Literary Awards.
In addition to writing, Scott also teaches writing, offering classes via her website and publishing a writing guide.
Scott lived with her partner, author Lisa A. Barnett, in Portsmouth, New Hampshire for 27 years, until the latter's death of breast cancer on May 2, 2006.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
May 31, 2018
I wasn't really sure how to rate this book. It gets four stars because it's late medieval imperial politics in space, because the concept is cool and the characters compelling if you stick it out long enough - and for the ending - but there are some very serious structural problems. Things keep happening without adequate setup, concepts are never explained, and the stakes of the central conflict never really feel real. I had no idea what was going on until about a third of the way through. Recommended, if and only if you know this is going to be your thing.
September 2, 2023
Everything that one could ask for in a space-feudalism story:
✓ Decadent multiplanetary empire with a lightly late-Roman patina in some places
✓ Complicated two-tiered aristocracy based on inbred precognitive powers and an obsession with game theory computing
✓ Byzantine social rules for intriguing and coup-attempting
✓ Duels via RPG
✓ Loyalty conflicts and obligations sometimes overdetermined by distant history
✓ Space battles and strategy!
✓ Space Catholicism and Space Monasteries for psychics
✓ underestimated emperor taking back his family’s rights
✓ no romance but very intense emotions around alliances including marriage ones.
✓ Decadent multiplanetary empire with a lightly late-Roman patina in some places
✓ Complicated two-tiered aristocracy based on inbred precognitive powers and an obsession with game theory computing
✓ Byzantine social rules for intriguing and coup-attempting
✓ Duels via RPG
✓ Loyalty conflicts and obligations sometimes overdetermined by distant history
✓ Space battles and strategy!
✓ Space Catholicism and Space Monasteries for psychics
✓ underestimated emperor taking back his family’s rights
✓ no romance but very intense emotions around alliances including marriage ones.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews