Empire in Black and Gold

Description

In a steampunk-tinged world poised on the brink of industrial revolution, Stenwold Maker returns from a distant land with a warning that cannot be ignored: the Wasp Empire is expanding—through invasion, coercion, and slavery. As his homeland reels under mounting pressure, Stenwold is pulled into a dangerous struggle that pits survival against conscience and power against resistance. With clockwork ingenuity, shifting alliances, and hard-edged political conflict, the story explores what empires demand and what people are willing to risk to refuse them. Adrian Tchaikovsky’s sharp, character-driven style brings urgency and momentum to a richly imagined setting where every victory carries a cost.