The year is 2196. The great Empire of Ice, Chung Kuo, has finally been shaken after more than a century of peace enforced by brutal tyranny. The Minister of the Edict—an official responsible for licensing all technology that could lead to Change—has been assassinated. The seven ruling T’ang struggle to maintain Stasis, even as their mile-high, continent-spanning cities descend into chaos. Amid the chaos, the rebels responsible for the assassination seize the opportunity to effect Change. But the assassination was orchestrated by those far closer to the ruling power, and this betrayal—the first of many—will lead them all into the world-shattering War of Two Directions.

Review

"Imagine a collaboration between James Clavell and Frank Herbert and the result might be something very much like Chung Kuo . . . smart, involving, entertaining." — San Francisco Chronicle

"One of the masterpieces of the decade." — Washington Post

"The achievement of a master world-builder." — Omni

"...an excellent novel and series that I can't recommend enough." —BookGateway.com

About the Author

David Wingrove is the Hugo Award–winning coauthor of The Trillion Year Spree: The History of Science Fiction , and the coauthor of the first three books in the Myst series .