Review: Richard Swan's 'The Infinite State'
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- Richard Swan's 'The Infinite State' is published by Gollancz (UK) and Tor Books (US), set in the Decurion Empire governed by the Pater Aeternus — a political system the reviewer likens to Nazi Germany, Soviet Russia, and Rome under its most oppressive emperors
- The novel centers on three protagonists: wealthy widow Katherine Fuller, who wants to buy a planet and build a democracy; Inspektor Cyprian Reis, a cop whose children are held hostage by the state; and Julian Yashego, a hypersled racer from Trillia
- Hypersledding serves as the empire's futuristic version of the Roman circus, keeping the suppressed masses distracted from political oppression
- Reviewer Emily H. Wilson singled out villain Jaroslav Droor, the minister of information, comparing him favorably to the torturer Sand dan Glokta in Joe Abercrombie's 'The Blade Itself'
- Wilson critiqued Katherine as 'strangely feeble in a crisis' and described the novel as 'very talky,' noting readers get little sense of the physicality of the planets
- The ending was called 'a bit neat and sweet,' with Wilson expressing concern it may not generate enough pull for the intended series
Why it matters: Wilson's largely positive verdict positions 'The Infinite State' as a well-received series launch, but her critique that Katherine — the only major female protagonist — is 'strangely feeble' lands awkwardly in a setting where women are explicitly second-class citizens valued only for fertility.
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