The Infinite StateRichard Swan, Gollancz (UK); Tor Books (US) In The Infinite State by Richard Swan, the vast Decurion Empire is governed by Pater Aeternus. It’s a political system that feels like a mash-up of Nazi Germany, Soviet Russia and Rome under its most oppressive emperors – except that this state has spaceships and runs a chunk of the galaxy. The author also throws in a hard-drinking cop and some murder mysteries for good measure.
While that might sound like a mess, the novel is anything but. In the capital city of Kada Gamar, Pater Aeternus, aka the Party, rules without pity. Women are second-class citizens, prized only for their fertility, and the suppressed masses are kept happy with a futuristic version of the Roman circus, involving a racing sport called “hypersledding”.
Katherine Fuller is the first of our three main protagonists. When her extremely wealthy husband dies in mysterious circumstances, Katherine is left with a great deal of money but also a growing unease about the way her home planet is ruled. She decides to spend her billions on the purchase of a far-flung planet where she intends to establish a democracy.
But why would the Party ever let her do such a thing? Our second protagonist is the aforementioned cop. Inspektor Cyprian Reis is a good guy, albeit capable of serious violence, but he is on his last legs.
In a world where murder is often the most convenient solution to bureaucratic problems, at least as far as the Party is concerned, Cyprian keeps going because the state holds his children hostage. Now he is dealing with a dead body that has the hallmarks of a political killing, but with some worrying oddities, and things are about to get very complicated. The suppressed masses are kept happy with a futuristic Roman Circus sport called hypersledding Thirdly, we have Julian Yashego.
He’s from outside the Decurion Empire but has been brought in from the distant planet of Trillia to win races for the Party… for reasons that are not at all clear. Julian appears to be the focus of a great deal of machination, but why are the Party’s big bads so concerned with a dim-witted hypersled driver? One of the great joys of this book is how wonderful its villains are.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
