Will we see Empires in space?

Empires are something of a staple in science fiction, and they're often evil empires. Or at least evil emperors. Asimov's famous 'Foundation' series starts off with an empire in the first throes of disintegration, Linnea Sinclair's Dock Five series has a weak emperor whose power is usurped by a 'trusted adviser' (think Cardinal Richelieu and Louis XIII) and then there's the most famous galactic empire of them all – Star Wars.

It's a tempting concept, having one powerful ruler in charge of everything. Earth's history includes a number of powerful, very well run empires. The foremost was Rome, but others include the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the British Empire, the Napoleonic Empire and the Ottoman Empire. Based on these terrestrial examples, an empire is defined as "a group of nations or peoples ruled over by an emperor, empress, or other powerful sovereign or government: usually a territory of greater extent than a kingdom." As the power of one particular political entity grows, it expands, gobbling up its neighbours. One of the best examples in relatively recent history was the expansion of Prussia, amalgamating a collection of autonomous small kingdoms into the modern political entity called Germany. Even more recently, after the end of WWII, Russia extended its influence over much of Eastern Europe to become the USSR, an empire in all but name. Stalin may not have worn a crown, but an emperor is just another form of dictator.

Are we ever likely to see an empire comprised of a collection of planets, though? It's hard to imagine. We're talking vast distances between the planets, which will probably be in different star systems. Perhaps if we reach the point in our technology where travel between star systems is achieved in weeks or days, then the concept of an all-powerful central entity might be feasible. After all, the Roman Empire encompassed such far-flung regions as Britain and Egypt in a time when the fastest form of transport was a horse. However, it would also depend upon strong government at a local level, with an allegiance to the central body.

Eva Caye has come up with a new version of a galactic empire in her thirteen-book series, To be Sinclair. In the first book, Dignity, we receive enough backstory to understand that the Sinclair family led a mission from Earth to colonize a planet. Since the Sinclairs provided most of the money to finance the trip, they became kings. Others who contributed large sums became dukes, with their own lands. Because the Sinclairs controlled the wormhole technology enabling space travel, they expanded their influence to other planets, and became Imperial.

Unlike stories like Dock Five and Star Wars, which concentrate on the rebel efforts to defeat the empire, Caye's books are about the imperial family, and the constraints and responsibilities they must contend with as part of their daily lives. I've always felt a bit sorry for members of the British Royal family, especially in these days of insta-media. Privacy is virtually impossible. Everything they say, everything they do, is subject to scrutiny. But the British Royal family has no real power. Eva Caye's Emperor has power. And with that comes enemies, assassination attempts, sycophants and hangers-on.

What do you think about Galactic Empires? Do you see if happening? Please share your thoughts - and give us a few more examples.

My favorite SFR

I'm a re-reader. Not every story will grab me, but if it does, I'll read and re-read. One of those books that hit the sweet spot was Linnea Sinclair's Hope's Folly. If you'd like to read the book's blurb, you'll find it here.

Yes, I suppose this is a review. But for me, it's also a statement of what works in science fiction - for me, personally, which, let's face it, is what a review is - a subjective point of view. This is a writer I admire – right up there with my all-time faves. So let's do the review thing. But if you're a writer, take note of how well this story has been built.

Hope's Folly is a love story, set in a time of political conflict and approaching war. The human Empire is being run by Tage, who has usurped the power of a weak and failing Emperor. Tage has decimated the ranks of the Admiralty, replacing senior fleet officers with people more likely to dance to his tune. But not everybody is going quietly. A rebel Alliance has risen to oppose Tage. Amidst the turmoil, the two alien species in the Galaxy see their opportunity to expand their own borders.

When the story opens we meet Admiral Philip Guthrie, who escaped the purge of the Admiralty by the skin of his teeth. He's 45 years old, with a shattered right leg healing slowly and the weight of the deaths of many colleagues on his conscience. Tage used Guthrie to plan his purge. Now, Guthrie is determined to join with other Alliance leaders to build a new fleet and defeat Tage's Imperial forces. But the Empire wants him dead and the Farosians want to capture him to swap him for their own leader, who Tage has imprisoned. On top of all that, Guthrie's new flagship is a very old ex-fleet cruiser which was disarmed, decommissioned and used as a freighter, and he has to enlist a crew from wherever he can, knowing some of them will be plants.

Lieutenant Rya Bennton is the daughter of Guthrie's captain and mentor, back in the day. A 29 year-old Imperial Security assassin, she turned rebel when her father was killed in that purge. She's no dolly bird, tall and built with curves and a lovely ass – and a spare thirty pounds she could afford to lose. She remembers meeting Guthrie when she was a pudgy 9 year old and he was a 25 year old lieutenant who showed her how to fire a laser pistol. She, like Guthrie, has a love bordering on obsession with hand weapons. The description when Rya first sees Guthrie's Norlack laser rifle is a wonderful piece of innuendo. In this scene, too, we see the connection between the two, the way they think alike.

“Is this,” she asked hesitantly, “what I think it is?”
“What do you think it is?”
“Norlack 473 sniper, modified to handle wide-load slash ammo.” There was a noticeable reverence in her voice.
He pulled the rifle out, hefting it. She had a good eye. Norlacks weren't common. But recognizing it was modified for illegal and highly destructive charges … Then again, she'd seen it in action. “It is,” he confirmed, amused now by the expression on her face. It had gone from reverence to almost rapture.
“That is so totally apex.” Her voice was hushed. “May I,” and she glanced shyly at him, her eyes bright, spots of color on her cheeks, “fondle it?”
He stared at her, not sure he heard her correctly. Then he snorted, laughing. Fondle it, indeed. He handed it to her. She took it, cradling it at first, then running her fingers lovingly down its short barrel. Sweet holy God. He didn't have enough painkillers in him to stop his body's reaction to the smokiness in her eyes, or the way her lips parted slightly, the edge of her tongue slipping out to moisten them, as her hands slid over the weapon.

Ahem. Back to the review.

The love story between these two is gorgeous. Rya keeps insisting she has a huge crush on her commanding officer – that's all. What would he see in her, anyway? And that thirty pounds... Guthrie keeps realising that not only is he too old for her, but he has a duty to her father's memory to protect her, not lust after her. He also has to get his almost defenceless ship past Farosian raiders and Imperial warships, regardless of Rya and a broken leg. But circumstances fling them (often quite literally) together in what used to be Rya's father's ship as Guthrie tries to build a cohesive team from a bunch of disparate people who don't know each other. And one of them is a mole.

So why did this story grab me and not let go?

Because it's so real. In Linnea Sinclair's universe the ships are not run by all-powerful artificial intelligences. To me, they're not much different from what we have now, with engine rooms, weapons systems and the all-important environment systems all run using computers but with people running the show. Guys get to cut code, hack, mess about in the systems. The ships have blast doors. The pipes gurgle and knock, metal pings as it cools, or creaks and groans. Everything smells – hot engine oil, leather, soap, food, hair. The ex-freighter has a ghostly smell of oranges that comes and goes.

The people are real. Guthrie is tall, smart, the son of a rich family (which has its own drawbacks). But he's not a superman. He makes mistakes, has his own foibles, calls himself a Galactic-class ass on more than one occasion. I've mentioned Rya's issues with her weight. She's also impulsive and not much good at saying 'sir'. The secondary characters are just as convincing, ordinary people forced to cope with extraordinary circumstances.

The politics is real. I have a history degree and these things matter to me. I can see the Empire disintegrating in this way. If I were to be asked for a similar situation in our recent past, I'd go for Stalin taking over in the USSR.And then there's the cat. Captain Folly, who comes with the ship, leaves white fur all over the place and prefers women to men. He's a moggy, much loved by a little girl called Hope. He plays an important role in the story. You'll like him.

As always with Linnea Sinclair's stories, things move apace – except for the opening chapter, which I enjoyed more the second time around. This is the third book of a series and the first chapter orientates the reader, I guess. But persevere. From there on, the author works on the basis of 'if things can go wrong, they will go wrong'. Guthrie's relationship with Rya plays as an underlying complication to all the other issues the two face. Take out the romance, and yes, you'd still have a great story. But man, you'd miss out on soooo much.

Oh, and before I finish, I must mention the sex scenes. They're not many and they're intense, steamy and sensual, but not a how-to manual.

I loved this book, I loved Philip Guthrie. He is very definitely my kind of man. Sigh. I'm too old to be a fangirl. Five stars. But you knew that already.

So that's the review done. What can I learn as a writer?

• Make the cause worthwhile - things people will lay down their lives for.
• Engage all the senses.
• Introduce a bit of quirkiness (the cat and the oranges).
• Use humour.
• Make sure ALL your characters are real people, with a mix of strengths and flaws.
• Keep the pace up.
• When your heroes are in trouble, pile it on.
• Introduce the unexpected to add twists – but don't suddenly introduce cavalry without the reader knowing it's out there.
• And probably other things like great use of words and getting into a character's head.

Anything else you'd like to contribute?