Empire of the East series
Encyclopedia
The Empire of the East series is composed of four science fiction
/fantasy
novels by Fred Saberhagen
.
Following The Change, most technology ceases to function, while magic now works. Magical beings are also created. Demons are born from acts of violence at the time of the change; the most powerful is Orcus, a nuclear bomb caught at the exact moment of exploding. After eliminating potential rivals, it establishes and rules the evil Empire of the East. Eventually, it is tricked and overthrown by John Ominor, its human second-in-command, who then becomes Emperor of the East. However, the tyranny remains the same. Orcus is locked away in a magical dungeon by Ominor and Wood, his most powerful wizard (who goes on to become the main antagonist of the subsequent Swords series set thousands of years further in the future).
On one continent, a resistance movement fights on under the leadership of Duncan, but is gradually being ground down by the greatly superior military and magical strength of the Empire. Rolf, a peasant farmer with an untapped knack for technology, joins the resistance after his parents are killed and his sister kidnapped by soldiers of the Empire. He is contacted by Ardneh (made sentient
by The Change and the actual leader of the West) and ultimately becomes the conduit for the computer's plans to bring about the West's salvation.
Written in the 1960s and 70s, the books have a significant Cold War
theme and the parallels between the American perspective of the evil east and the west are obvious. The dominance of magic makes for a strong fantasy flavor, but remnants of the advanced weapons and technology of the old world appear throughout the series (the lake of life for wounded soldiers for example).
The first three books are tightly connected, dealing with the West's struggle to bring down the Empire, in which Rolf plays a vital role. The fourth novel is set much later.
The first three books were substantially re-written and re-issued as an omnibus edition "Empire of the East" in 1979.
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
/fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
novels by Fred Saberhagen
Fred Saberhagen
Fred Thomas Saberhagen was an American science fiction and fantasy author most famous for his Berserker series of science fiction short stories and S.F...
.
Premise
Some time in the future, a nuclear holocaust is averted by a computer named ARDNEH (Automatic Restoration Director – National Executive Headquarters), which initiates what is intended to be a temporary modification (later called "The Change") to the laws of physics to make nuclear explosions impossible. However, the enemy has a similar device, and when the two expanding wavefronts of The Change collide, the effect unexpectedly becomes permanent.Following The Change, most technology ceases to function, while magic now works. Magical beings are also created. Demons are born from acts of violence at the time of the change; the most powerful is Orcus, a nuclear bomb caught at the exact moment of exploding. After eliminating potential rivals, it establishes and rules the evil Empire of the East. Eventually, it is tricked and overthrown by John Ominor, its human second-in-command, who then becomes Emperor of the East. However, the tyranny remains the same. Orcus is locked away in a magical dungeon by Ominor and Wood, his most powerful wizard (who goes on to become the main antagonist of the subsequent Swords series set thousands of years further in the future).
On one continent, a resistance movement fights on under the leadership of Duncan, but is gradually being ground down by the greatly superior military and magical strength of the Empire. Rolf, a peasant farmer with an untapped knack for technology, joins the resistance after his parents are killed and his sister kidnapped by soldiers of the Empire. He is contacted by Ardneh (made sentient
Sentience
Sentience is the ability to feel, perceive or be conscious, or to have subjective experiences. Eighteenth century philosophers used the concept to distinguish the ability to think from the ability to feel . In modern western philosophy, sentience is the ability to have sensations or experiences...
by The Change and the actual leader of the West) and ultimately becomes the conduit for the computer's plans to bring about the West's salvation.
Written in the 1960s and 70s, the books have a significant Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
theme and the parallels between the American perspective of the evil east and the west are obvious. The dominance of magic makes for a strong fantasy flavor, but remnants of the advanced weapons and technology of the old world appear throughout the series (the lake of life for wounded soldiers for example).
Novels
- The Broken Lands (1968)
- The Black Mountains (1971)
- Changeling Earth (1973), also titled Ardneh's World
- Ardneh's Sword (2006)
The first three books are tightly connected, dealing with the West's struggle to bring down the Empire, in which Rolf plays a vital role. The fourth novel is set much later.
The first three books were substantially re-written and re-issued as an omnibus edition "Empire of the East" in 1979.