“The Revenant of Surolifia spins a stunning, complex tapestry of revolution, loyalty, and the pasts we can never quite leave behind. Even in the most difficult of circumstances, Chien peels back the layers to the heart of each character—their intentions, their hopes, and their mistakes.”
Description
In the vein of The Traitor Baru Cormorant and The Unbroken, The Revenant of Surolifia is a gripping political fantasy of empire, identity, and impossible choices, where rebellion blazes in the streets, loyalty is a double-edged sword, and the price of peace may be too steep to pay.
Secrets are often liabilities, but sometimes they are power.
Lucas Rhine has seen enough violence. When the Empire of Colours slaughters 17,000 of his silver-eyed kin, Lucas buries his hatred, hides his eyes behind coloured lenses, and vows to become the imperial gendarmerie’s commander. He will liberate his annexed island home through a diplomatic secession.
Usurped prince Faye Phlorik wants his throne back. When violent revolutionaries help him escape from prison, he joins them. They need a silver-eyed champion to rally the people, and he needs their resources to defeat the gendarmerie protecting the usurper.
When Faye’s escape costs Lucas his promotion, Lucas adds revenge to his list of reasons to stop the bloody revolution. While the two hunt each other across the country, the Empire's warships are landing in two weeks to exterminate everyone with silver eyes. If Lucas and Faye can't unite their forces against the imperial fleet, there will soon be nothing left of the people they're both trying to liberate.
Reviews
“Sorcerous chicanery meets high-stakes political scheming; fans of complex gaslamp fantasy need look no further than The Revenant of Surolifa.”
“Now this is how you do political fantasy—there’s more double crossings, twists, intrigue and scheming here than a series of Traitors. It's a witty, emotionally explosive rollercoaster and an unapologetically complex look at the different ways to save the world and their brutal cost—with a finale that goes straight for your throat. An audaciously clever, barnstorming debut.”
“The Revenant of Surolifia brings you a chess match of revolutions played on the field of empire. Deeply human relationships run up against the devastating costs of war, history weighs heavy on the present, and past mistakes echo into the future. Immersive and expansive, this novel weaves threads of politics, secret identity, and magic into a detailed tapestry of intrigue. A whirlwind read. It's political fantasy at its finest.”
