Imperium Restored

Dread Empire's Fall #6

by Walter Jon Williams

"Interstellar adventure has a new king, and his name is Walter Jon Williams." --George R.R. Martin

Blending fast-paced military science fiction and space opera, the third and final volume in a dynamic trilogy from the New York Times bestselling author of The Praxis, set in the universe of his popular and critically acclaimed Dread Empire's Fall series, comes a tale of blood, courage, adventure, and battle in which the fate of an empire rests in the hands of two lovers.

Shattered Victory

Star-crossed lovers Gareth Martinez and Caroline Sula have decisively beaten the forces of the corrupt Zanshaa government. It seems all there's left to do is to travel to the capital of Zanshaa to reunite the empire under the banner of the Restoration. Before they can sweep up the pieces, though, it's revealed that any advance would spring an enemy trap. To make things worse, their opponents have more resources than Martinez and Sula could have imagined, and a superior force is now aimed at the heart of the Restoration.

Shattered Love

But before Martinez and Sula can contend with the gathering enemy forces, a surprising act of violence on Sula's part threatens their relationship--and damages their trust. Hurt and confused, Martinez sends Sula into exile while he tries to recover from his broken heart. Somehow, these two lovers must repair their relationship in order to defeat this new enemy threat... especially when more than love is at stake.

Genres: Science Fiction, Space Opera, Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy, Audiobook, Military Science Fiction

496 pages, Paperback

First published September 20, 2022

About the author

Walter Jon Williams has published twenty novels and short fiction collections. Most are science fiction or fantasy -Hardwired, Voice of the Whirlwind, Aristoi, Metropolitan, City on Fire to name just a few - a few are historical adventures, and the most recent, The Rift, is a disaster novel in which "I just basically pound a part of the planet down to bedrock." And that's just the opening chapters. Walter holds a fourth-degree black belt in Kenpo Karate, and also enjoys sailing and scuba diving. He lives in New Mexico with his wife, Kathy Hedges.

Reviews

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

Imperium Restored brings the second Praxis trilogy to a close, Williams' huge (3,420 pages so far), sprawling interstellar empire space-opera story of war and politics and Machiavellian machination. It's also the most complex and angsty romance since Buck met Wilma, Dale found Flash, and Kimball hooked up with Clarissa. Think of the darkest and most doomed romance in any old Russian tome and it'll have nothing on the Lord Gareth-Lady Sula affair: I guarantee it. The war winds up rather early in this current volume, and we see the beginning of the recovery/restoration effort and the resultant jockeying for political advantage, as well as the current state and fate of the large cast of characters. My minor quibble is that there's a coincidence on page 431 that's just a little too pat and unlikely, and the book ends a bit abruptly with a surprise viewpoint from an unexpected character. Not all of the threads are tied up completely, there are still a few villains who haven't met their comeuppance, so I assume there'll be a follow-up novel... which I'll wait for enthusiastically.

[Bee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ahh damn. A great ending to a very satisfying series. Unexpected new enemies, lover's triangle getting messier and resolving itself satisfactorily. Entertaining ground combat and as with the rest of the series, very consistent world building. All round a very good addition to the Space Opera genre.

[Florin Pitea · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent ending for an excellent series. Recommended.

[Charles · Rating 3 out of 5]

As enjoyable as any of the books. Not a particularly satisfying conclusion - will be disappointed if there is not another book or series.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have held off writing my review of Imperium Restored for a few weeks since reading this story. I enjoy coming back and getting more story of Gareth and Caroline. I feel like there is a lot of back story to still explore.

I also enjoy reading Walter Jon Williams books. He writes good Military Sci-Fi and has grounded and flawed individuals, which sometimes is missing in modern Military Sci-Fi.

This all being said, I found the Imperium Restored to be a un-even, It felt as though the first 3/4ths of the book was on a steady pace and then everything had to be tied up in the end, so everything else went very fast. As Williams has built this world, there are politics heavily at play (which I find really realistic). You get to see how those politics play out and how a society that is still trying to figure out how it will survive kinda bumbles along.

Would I say that the flaws mar the book? No, I would recommend it to my friends. I do hope that there continues to be more books written by Williams as it feels like there is still story to tell and more to learn about Garth and Carloline.

[Josh · Rating 2 out of 5]

Soulless. This book unfortunately contains no character arcs just a long slow plodding line until the plot is finished and the galaxy is no longer in flux. What there is plenty of is space fleet procedural, meetings, negotiations, politics, and lives of subordinates that ultimately mean nothing because the characters you care about have nothing at stake in any of these moments. They will not change and they will not communicate other than 2 pages of flat dialogue where they tell each other everything but it means nothing because there was 400 pages of numbing nonsense they went through and they no longer care.

I would say the last couple pages were a slap in the face to the only interesting part of this trilogy, the internal struggle between the hearts desire and responsibility and family, but really it's the perfect metaphor for the author. You created these trilogies with characters that I have come to care about holding my attention hostage. I can only hope that a third one is not on the way and my misery can come to an end.

[Geoff Clarke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every book of Williams’ I realize something else about his skill. In this book, I realized how good he is at keeping the reader on track: it had been a while since I read the previous book in the series, but he does a great job of keeping me acquainted with all of the characters from the previous books. He does this without long expositions or anything clunky.

It actually echoes the theme of the book, and perhaps the reflection on our current world as well: the characters are drawn to get things back to normal, but normal does not exist anymore.

[Clyde · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another good book in WJW's Dread Empire's Fall series. We get some good space battles, some character and plot development, a bit of romance, and a damn good gunfight -- what's not to like?
I reckon this ends the second trilogy in the series. However, Williams has said that he has nine books planned, and this one sets hooks for continuation of the story.

[Leon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really do wish that you'd let any of the characters be happy, just once, pretty please?

[Liviu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Imperium Restored is the emphatic end of the second trilogy in the Praxis series and it offers huge hints for what is to come (for example lady Sula, from the highest peerage but with a checkered family past, finally decides on her definitive career choice, while repeating quite a few times how the best path forward would be if someone like her would be a dictator that can reform the Convocation and the Empire, and one cannot but remark how hers on and off lover/enemy has initials G and M, is a military genius whose accomplishments overshine hers, though the elite peerage try and dismiss him as he comes from a provincial very rich family, married into the elite and even speaks with the provincial accent analog to the one from the history books, etc)

While the series' rebirth in 2018 after a long hiatus (with two excellent novellas in-between) was very welcome, the first novel in this trilogy was good but not quite at the level of the first trilogy, while the second was very good, but this one exceeded even my high expectations and it's probably the best novel alongside the series debut as it offers everything one wants in space opera SF, from desperate battles, assassination attempts, intrigue, even a little mystery and of course the start of the big political machinations to come.

Wouldn't want to spoil more and highly recommend everyone to start the series from the beginning to truly appreciate its development, but Imperium Restored fulfills the huge promise of this series and is the best novel I've read so far from 2022

Highly, highly recommended space opera

[Jamie Collins · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars. Another Praxis book, worth reading if you've come this far in the series. There's another big battle with horrific off-screen casualties. There's another arrogant military leader, although this one is surprisingly effective. There is more of Martinez and Sula whingeing about each other, and my dislike for them only increases.

Sula's big secret is revealed - and almost nothing happens! That was absolutely anticlimactic.

Sula has decided to drink alcohol, and there is almost as much discussion of her drinking now as there was about her not drinking in the earlier books.

The series has lost some of its novelty for me now that the characters are questioning the classism and corruption of their society. At least they haven't yet noticed the fascism.

[Anthony Philosophos · Rating 5 out of 5]

The finale of the Praxi trilogy lives up to it's reputation. This was another good space opera. Gareth Martinez, and Caroline Sula continue in their roles. They try and keep the resisting forces together and fight the illegitimate government.

[Mercuzio · Rating 5 out of 5]

Phenomenal book that ends the second trilogy nicely, leaving only the desire for more sequels to this amazing saga!

[Fred Hughes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great story in this series.

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Somehow less satisfying than some of the others in the series. Battle sequences still exciting but with a little feeling that it's more of the same. Politics may be the most interesting part but without a clear side to root for, especially since we don't really know what Severin is up to. Ended somewhat abruptly so I suspect there is more to come.

[Worms · Rating 2 out of 5]

Imperium Restored, like Conventions of War, proves that WJW is terrible at ending a trilogy. What happened, we had a really solid build up for 2 full books and then this absolute slogfest nothingburger of a finish.

This book can be summed up in a single word: Mundane. So much tedium and so little resolution of anything.

The first third of this book is insufferable. While the set up for the coming war was solid and promised an exciting battle, the set up for the Martinez/Sula romance was absurd contrived nonsense, and everything that happens at the beginning of this book is predicated on that. The resulting forced melodrama infects every aspect of the narrative and makes it grating and tedious. Both mains are forced into making a long string of completely uncharacteristic decisions for...reasons. As they follow this new path, Sula and Martinez both become extremely unlikable. I honestly came to hate them both and wished they would just get killed off already.

One of the best aspects of these books was the synergy between Martinez and Sula when they would work together and that happens exactly never in this book. Any time they have to discuss tactics, Martinez has a middleman that talks to Sula and reports back to him. This is so boring. The most important battle in the entire 6 book series and they don't work together. W H Y????? Why would anyone want this?

Sula becomes a broken shell of a human wallowing in misery. She has taken up drinking and literally every scene of hers involves drinking heavily or being hungover, because a descent into alcoholism is apparently character development? At one point we're treated to a scene of her waking up in her own vomit and she has the stark realization that she "smells like the real Caro Sula". What's this, are we on the cusp of a major character breakthrough?? Nope, this event has no impact and Sula doesn't change whatsoever. She has also embraced her inner edgelord and taken up the nihilistic mantra "nothing matters, everything dies" which is so cringe every time she says it.

Martinez, who typically walked the line between likeable and unlikable has taken a bold leap firmly into unlikable. He cuts Sula out of his life for the stupidest reason ever and while she is wallowing is misery he is pleased that he has saved his marriage and cant wait to go pop out another kid. He is back to being a pompous ass who only cares about his promotion and his own glory. In the middle of the book he finally takes some time to research Lamey and realizes he was a horrible person. Martinez even develops a hatred for him, yet despite the fact that this casts Sula's killing of him and Martinez's subsequent decision to banish her in a completely different light, he has no change of opinion whatsoever. How is that possible?

What should have been an epic final space battle in the middle of the book is hollow and boring. While there are lots of missiles and explosions, there is no tension whatsoever. Nobody works together. There are no harrowing actions, no heroics, no tragedies, no unexpected events, nothing. It almost feels like everything was scripted in a playbook and it plays out exactly as scripted...hey, wasn't that the whole thing they were fighting against?? As with everything else in this series, no one is ever in real danger, therefore the events carry no weight or impact. You know they're going to win and they do it exactly how you expect them to. The battle in book 5 was much better. There is a scene where Martinez has the option to help Sula or seek glory and without hesitation he seeks glory because of course. Although it doesn't matter whatsoever because the enemy surrenders 2 seconds later and therefore Sula was never actually in danger. Awesome writing. Sula suffers potentially life-threatening trauma but is of course fine and it is never mentioned again. She does decide to start sleeping with the doctor though who turns out to be...actually kind of fine, but like Casimir he is given almost no development whatsoever. Can she seriously not just have one decent romance for more than 5 pages??

After the war we're treated to 200 more pages of endless procedure, politics, meetings, discussion, dinner, and more politics. Lots of irrelevant side plots for minor characters, including multiple pages of how someone stole a plate from Martinez's suite. Everything is super mundane and nothing leads to any actual resolutions. Nobody can decide how to run things after the war and nothing gets settled.

At one point there is a firefight in the street which brings together Sula and Martinez in further contrived circumstances. Things almost get exciting for a minute when explosions threaten the group, but guess what, the two of them don't exchange any dialogue whatsoever (seriously, how is that even possible?) and no one is ever in any real danger. Nothing comes of this event whatsoever.

More Procedure and meetings. No decision making. They throw some convocates off a building I think? I was skimming at this point.

At the very end Sula and Martinez both happen to be at a random party and out of nowhere FINALLY have a "confrontation" where they exchange a whopping 5 or so lines of "heated" dialogue where she finally tells him why she killed Lamey to which he is just like "oh" and then he acknowledges he knows she isn't the real Caroline Sula to which she is like "what are you gonna do about it?" and he is like "nothing" and that's it, case closed. Absolutely nothing comes of this dialogue whatsoever. Nothing! And then I guess they never speak again or whatever. 5 books of the author building this relationship where these two were supposedly soooo in love and this is all the resolution we get? WTF. I don't understand how an author can spend so many books and so much of their time and energy developing a pair of characters only for this sort of pitifully brief exchange to be the climax. All of the pain and turmoil and struggle and...that's it!??? I used to really care about these characters but this has become unbelievably dull. Honestly, as much as I wanted this ship to sail initially, he should have just dropped the romance entirely from the new trilogy, it's so utterly pointless and unsatisfying and only corrodes the rest of the narrative.

Afterwards, Sula decides she just wants to gain enough power to be a military dictator and decides to marry a random rich dude because she needs more money and status. Wow, I can't believe I used to really enjoy this character.

Martinez returns to the same character he started the initial series as, his arc and struggle change nothing and merely lead him into being the exact person he was fated to be anyway.

And then in the author's typical last few page "twist" where he tends to ruin everything with some ridiculous and contrived dramatic point, its revealed that it was actually Terza Chen all along! She was obsessed with being with Martinez for...some reason, so she vaguely plotted to keep him and Sula apart. Which was effective only because they are apparently just too stupid to simply communicate with one another. oh my god! so crazy! except that this is also contrived and really doesn't change anything about the story or characters other than to provide a cheap twist.

Overall this book is extremely frustrating and deeply unsatisfying. By extension it taints the rest of the series considering there is no real point to any of what happened: the war was boring and potentially changes nothing, the romance built up to literally nothing, and there very little resolution for anyone or anything. Big GoT Season 8 vibes where an enjoyable series is ruined by an enormously unsatisfying finale where, despite the characters arcs that have been set up over the course of 5 books, the author has specific places he needs the characters to end at and so the characters are forced to act in absurd/unrealistic/extremely out of character ways to make sure they get there. Similarly, major plots go unresolved and it's largely unclear what, if anything, was the point of all this. The author had 15+ years to figure out how to end the Dread Empire's Fall series and this is all we got? Weak.

While I definitely enjoyed 4 of the 6 books, I kind of regret wasting my time with this entire series considering how disappointing the finish for both trilogies is. I really hope WJW doesn't try to write more in this universe and if he does I certainly won't be reading it.

[Zeb Kantrowitz · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's now time for the Restoration Fleet to meet the Government Fleet for control of the Empire and the home world of Zanshaa after Martinez and Sula had destroyed an Empire Fleet around Zanthan. But just as they prepare to attack the home world, a Fleet under the previous Fleet Com shows up to take over. The FleetCom has quietly stayed out of battle by bottling up the Second Fleet in an outer system.

Now as the Supreme Commander of the Combined Fleet, she has demoted all of the members of the Third Fleet that had been promoted by the Restoration Government. This reduces both Martinez and Sula to Division Commanders (titled as Captain). They are integrated into the command structure under the FleetComs officers (who have little or now war experience).

Relying heavily on the strategy that was developed by Martinez/Sula they are able to destroy the majority of the Empire Fleet and to capture the Empire Government and the Zanshaa. Under the new restoration government, Martinez and Sula are given back their prior promotions. Both of them become major movers in the new government.

Because they have begun to purge the Convovation (the Governing Body) of the Empire, there are problems with those who lost the war and those who supported them. This may be the last book in this section of the Dread Empire, but more will have to come to finish the story.

[Deborah Ross · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my first “Praxis” novel, and it’s a tribute to the author that although I could not always follow the intricacies of the backstory, I was so caught up in the action that I simply didn’t care. Imperium Restored works on so many levels, each of them fascinating. Star-crossed lovers are separated by a colossal misunderstanding that spews forth confusion, mistrust, and crushing hurt (but does nothing to erase the fundamental attraction between them). There’s also a bang-up battle in space, one of the smartest and most inventive I’ve read, enough to convince me that any spacemil science fiction Williams writes will be superb. Life in a vast star-spanning spaceforce is filled with rivalries, jealousies, boredom, ill-fated sexual encounters, interspecies friction, and what-do-we-do-with-ourselves once the war is over. A lesser writer might have focused on the war itself. While the battle scenes are pure bravura, Williams keeps enlarging the lens to look at the ramifications, not just during the conflict but also afterward. The resulting peace offers as many opportunities for tension, betrayal, alliances made and broken, assassination attempts, revenge, and general chaos as the actual fighting did.

There’s also a mystery.

What more could a science fiction fan want?

[Evan Ladouceur · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everything I hoped for from the conclusion of the second Praxis trilogy. Williams writes nuanced, sophisticated space opera with characters who have evolved over six novels and two excellent short novels. There is action, certainly, but the real focus is the personal dynamic of Caroline Sula and Garett Martinez as their relationship is shifted and twisted and finally reaches a realistic conclusion at book’s and series’s end. There is also intelligent political commentary, splendid dialogue, and real humor. Not too mention real commentary on the personal costs of war. I found the book’s concluding segment totally surprising and totally satisfying. Just a fine, fine novel. I would love to see the main and supporting characters again as they re-shape the Praxis and themselves. Bravo.

[Theresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Imperium Restored (dread Empire's Fall #6)
by Walter Jon Williams

Imperium restored the latest book in the phenomenal series based on the Dissolution of Roman empire in Space. The Shaa were the Romans conquering worlds and societies giving roles and order to the universe. The question was what happens when the last of the Shaa die.
We take up the story after one war and peace for a small portion of years. A second war started as higher powers attempt to take advantage of the political Vacuum. Lady Sula as we know her has finally faced her past. In defense of Martinez he killed Lenny in front of him. This starts a road of pain, suffering, struggle and many many instances of ego deflation. Martinez sends Sula away, reconnecting to his family. Sula finds new purpose, new friends and a new mission.
I hope we see the next step in the process of rebuilding.

[Janice · Rating 5 out of 5]

Epic space battles, twisted plots and conspiracies, illicit romances, a strong plot, flawed but likable and sympathetic characters, and plenty of action - well, I guess that last goes right along with "epic space battles" - but a whole lot of good wrapped up in two trilogies. And it is pretty much two separate trilogies. Same characters, same setting, not much time in between the two series, but the feel and focus of each is slightly different. The first being more world-spanning conflict, and the second more focused on the characters. Well worth reading both!

[KevinS · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm disappointed with myself that I finished this trilogy. I should have put it down halfway through the first book. There's not much to like in this third book specifically; the plotting is slow, the outcomes are predictable, the text is padded with mundane details that don't contribute to immersion in the story, the characters are unhappy and stay that way, there's little closure. Two stars because the characters have character and their dialog is well done.

[Mr. Gregory · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliant space opera

A brilliant space opera with a superb cast of believable characters from several species. The space battles are great and a serious cut above the usual dross. Throw in a complicated love triangle and political masinations and you end up with a very entertaining series. Hornblower in space is apt description. Easily one of the best reads in the genre that I've had the pleasure to enjoy.

[Simon · Rating 4 out of 5]

So, not the end of the second trilogy at all, clearly there is another volume after this one.

But, that's fine, I'm quite invested in seeing if the exploration corp can save the day by introducing some sort of political reform into the heart of this broken Empire.

[Roger Straus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Wrap!

The author finishes this great space opera series not only with a bang but with one heck of a delicious twist.

[Horhe · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read all of the six novels and two novellas in a very short amount of time. It is a slow start, but the series is tremendously enjoyable. There is a picaresque element here in how tragedy mixes with humor and social commentary. I think the world has a lot of vibes, but worldbuilding suffers. We are given vague directions as to how things are connected, the levelling nature of the Shaa regime means that there is no real cultural diversity and nothing happens to really spoil that. No one is interested in mining the great racial past for ideas for the future, which is a bit unrealistic I think, though the entire series takes place in the short period after the troubles start and the search for past glories might come naturally later. The writing is sharp, though I cannot award it the highest marks having read the Arcana Imperii series by Miles Cameron in parallel. There is a bit of a problem with pacing, in that many of the books have their maximum point of tension somewhere around the middle and the rest of the book is just one long denouement, like Imperium Restored itself. It is a weird choice from the author and I feel the books suffered a bit from it. I was a bit miffed at the uncertain state we left our heroes in, with plenty of material for a future sequel trilogy so I hope that it will materialize and we will get a true payoff from some of the investment in Severin's political radicalism, Caro's secrets etc.

[Micax · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unfortunately, a very disappointing finale, and I can only imagine that the only reason this is the highest rated book in the series is that all the people who rated the other books gave up before they got this far.

The “final” battle feels anticlimactic; we are finally promised a battle where Martinez and Sula face a commander on their own level, but we are left sorely disappointed here. The author seems boxed in by his own rules of combat, forcing awkward resolutions that deflate the drama. . At this point, the two unlikeable protagonists have long since become despicable - Sula an amoral sociopath, Martinez a narcissistic person of privilege. Symptomatic of the later is how he finally gets the chance to reconcile with his favorite sister, supposedly the only one in his family he likes.. and basically blames her for their estrangement. That he has the backbone of a wet noodle only makes it worse. A well-written anti-hero can sometimes entertain. Neither of these two are that. And the little character development we see is all negative. Worst of all, the story leaves both character and setting arcs unresolved

After six novels and two novellas, that’s hard to forgive. A fascinating universe ends not with a bang, but a sigh.

[Raile Bay · Rating 3 out of 5]

frankly, super disappointed about the decision to remove all nuance from the love triangle that’s been a throughline in the books, with all of sula’s suspicions about terza confirmed, and the baffling construction of terza’s motives. as i saw another reviewer point out, there could have been an interesting interplay about the conflict between love, duty, responsibility, and family, but instead that gets completely flattened out. the romance has become the weakest part of the series for me, and the star-crossed aspect of gareth and sula becomes grating at the end of this trilogy, when i found it satisfyingly tragic at the end of the first.

assuming that this is where the books end (though that doesn’t seem entirely fitting) i can’t say i’m super happy with where the characters’ arcs have ended up. however, i’d be lying if i said there weren’t other aspects of this series that I enjoyed (especially sula, who i’ve loved despite being an objectively awful and selfish person — which is true of most characters in this series, tbh), so 3 stars.

[Jojo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this whole series as a space going soap opera, despite so many scientific unlikelihood's, such as aquariums and fine china on warships, having antimatter engines on spaceships but apparently, no artificial gravity, using thumbprints as a form of ID verification instead of say more reliable iris scans or even real-time DNA, etc.

This book was detailed and slow to read but suddenly sped up far too fast in the last few chapters in an attempt to tie-up loose ends. There are a few twists and huge reveal at the end that recasts a regular character in a new light.

I can't believe that the series will end with this book. There are still too many pieces that need to be brought together, so will be looking for the next book in the series.

I expect that Lamey's body will be found and Martinez's DNA will be found on the body, where he will be accused of the murder. Will he point to Sula as the murderer or take the fall himself? What will Terza do?

[Gary Weinman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one kind of broke my heart. I was tempted to give it a really low score, but I just couldn't. I have loved the entire Dread Empire's Fall series. However, I just don't like what the author did to Lady Sula who was my favorite character by far. What he put her through and portrayed her in this book, just wasn't to my liking.

As to the rest of the book, it was twice as long as it needed to be. The Final battle takes place somewhere in the middle of the book. The rest of the book was tying up some loose ends and plot points that we probably didn't need. The author in my opinion is one of the best at writing about large fleet space battles. I enjoyed them immensly.

Typing this out has convinced me that I did enjoy the book more than my initial score, so I'm bumping it to a four as I probably shouldn't blame the author for the fact that I would have gone a different direction. I'm not an author so what do I know.