Synopsis
WHO GIVES YOU LIFE?
PATER AETERNUS.
Katherine Fuller’s husband is dead. As an esteemed member of Pater Aeternus – governing party of the fascist, galaxy-spanning Decurion Empire – he has left behind an estate of immeasurable wealth. And Katherine is going to inherit it.
WHO GIVES YOU PURPOSE?
PATER AETERNUS.
Life under the Eternal Father is rigidly stratified, surveilled, and controlled – each new day to be endured, not lived. But with Katherine’s newfound fortune, she is presented with a rare and dangerous opportunity: purchase a virgin world, and create a better, fairer society.
WHO GIVES YOU JOY?
PATER AETERNUS.
But the Empire cannot allow its wayward daughter to succeed. And as Katherine works in secret, recruiting allies she’s not even sure she can trust, she will discover exactly how far Pater Aeternus is willing to go to stop her. Because Katherine is going to create something nobody has seen for many years.
A democracy.
Review
As brutal and impressive as its tyrannical architecture.
I consider myself extremely lucky to have passed harsh and draconian security systems in order to present my review of Infinite State by Richard Swan. My thoughts, though no doubt scanned, censored and altered significantly to align with Pater Aeturnus’ narrative, are below. Now I wait to be black-bagged and re-educated while you peruse my seditious content.
Richard Swan once again proves that not only can he put out works of sublime quality in different genres, but he can truly write from behind the eyes of different authors. Infinite State has its own retro, cigarette-stained colour palette, its own carbon-scored groove in its own genre. Elements of thriller, spec fiction, space opera, and cyberpunk send out fully sentient satellites that homage great works from the Handmaid’s Tale and 1984 to the mighty blade runner itself.
The story itself took a few chapters to get its boots on. The character bunching, at first seems distant and, although flavours mentioned above; espionage, post-modern dictatorship, censorship, in fact, many kinds of ‘ships’ that leave a bad taste of soured humanity in the mouth, are well delivered but it takes time to coalesce.
Once it does, though, the tale starts unravelling in unison with the reader’s quickening pulse. This is a story steeped in themes and world-building around tyranny and power, about the snare of political systems, elite and wealthy members versus those with a snifter of freedom, or, indeed, one becoming the other.
Threat is everywhere. Mostly coordinated by antiquated retro tech that is strangely homely but also seamlessly woven by Mr Swan into a galaxy-spanning universe without feeling contrived or disembodied. Everything in this universe has been thought about and brutally designed for its own purpose, just like the de-humanised regime of Pater Aeternus itself.
Compounding the brilliance of this universe and the sometimes-shocking details that are fired at the reader as well as its inhabitants, there is a refreshing sense of character. The Infinite State offers diverse and unique perspectives to tell its stories. It was genuinely an intriguing and enjoyable ride to experience this harsh world through those eyes. Yes, we have a jaded detective and several hundred tyrannically devoted (or manipulated) enemies, but we also have a celebrity racing sled driver with romantic tastes that simply do not fit the narrative of Pater Aeturnus and we have the widow of a former member of said political power. All these inventive and refreshing points of view make for a genuinely enjoyable, educational, and unique experience.
The plot itself, like any good space opera, takes you on a far-flung journey, way beyond the imagined scope of the first few pages and into new territory that I’ve certainly not experienced in other genre books. This story will educate and entertain to such a glorious level, and its brutal side will carve your insides up and make you fear for every word that comes out of your mouth in case ‘They’ are listening.
The Infinite State’s quick, clean, and deadly prose makes this book difficult to put down. Its journey through ever-increasing tiers of darkness will leave the edge of your seat several star systems away, and its unique contrivance to pay homage to the greats while delivering its own take on oppression will leave you utterly delighted.
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