Empire: The Chronicles of the Invaders (Volume 2) - Hardcover

Connolly, John; Ridyard, Jennifer

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1476757151 ISBN 13: 9781476757155

Verlag: Atria/Emily Bestler Books, 2015

Inhaltsangabe

Empire continues the journey of Syl and Paul as they fight to regain planet Earth from a ruthless alien species, in this next installment of a stunning new science fiction trilogy that “should not to be missed” (The Guardian).

She is the trophy of a civilization at war with itself.

He is its rebel captive.

Separated by millions of light years, they will fight to be united…

Earth has been conquered and occupied. The war is lost.

The Resistance still fights the invaders, but they are nothing more than an annoyance to the Illyri, an alien race of superior technology and military strength.

When caught, the young rebels are conscripted. Part soldiers, part hostages, they join the Brigades, sent to fight at the edges of the growing Illyri Empire.

Paul Kerr is one such soldier—torn from his home and his beloved Syl Hellais. She is the first alien child born on Earth, a creature of two worlds—and a being possessed of powers beyond imagining. Now both must endure the terrible exile that Syl’s race has deemed just punishment for their love.

But the conquest of Earth is not all it seems.

There is another species involved, known only as the Others, and the Illyri will kill to keep their existence secret.

Light years from Earth and millions of miles apart, Paul and Syl must find a way to reveal the horrifying truth behind the Empire, and save all that they hold dear from the hunger of the Others.

Even at the cost of their own lives…

Über diesen Titel

Über die Autorinnen und Autoren

John Connolly is the author of the Charlie Parker series of thrillers, the supernatural collection Nocturnes, the Samuel Johnson Trilogy for younger readers, and (with Jennifer Ridyard) the Chronicles of the Invaders series. He lives in Dublin, Ireland. For more information, see his website at JohnConnollyBooks.com, or follow him on Twitter @JConnollyBooks.

Jennifer Ridyard was born in England and grew up in South Africa, where she worked as a journalist for many years. Conquest and Empire are the first two novels in the Chronicles of the Invaders series with her partner, John Connolly, who she lives with in Dublin. Find Jennifer on Twitter @JennieRidyard. For more about this series, visit ChroniclesOfTheInvaders.com.

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Extract from the Chronicles, Book 4, Section 8:
 
 
Of the Second Civil War, and the Coming of Syl Hellais, the Earthborn.
 
 
            It is strange that the discovery of an advanced species – humanity – and the successful occupation of their planet should also have marked the beginning of the end of the Illyri Conquest, leaving the Illyri teetering on the edge of a second Civil War. 
            The seeds of conflict had been sown long before, of course: the Military and the Diplomatic Corps had been engaged in low level hostilities for centuries, with neither side able to gain the upper hand. Then, in the early years of the Conquest, the Diplomats formed an alliance with the secretive order known as the Nairene Sisterhood, a union secured by the marriage of the Archmage Syrene – the public face of the Sisterhood -- to Grand Consul Gradus, the most senior Diplomat in the Illyri Empire.  From that moment on, the fate of the Military appeared sealed.
            Syrene and Gradus traveled to Earth to confront the most influential Military leader on the planet, Lord Andrus, who served as something of a lightning rod for those who opposed the Diplomats and their Nairene allies.  What happened next is well documented: the capture of Gradus by the human Resistance, his death at the Scottish castle called Dundearg, and the human Resistance's discovery that the Illyri were not the only invaders.  The nature of the parasitic alien organisms that had in turn infested our own race is dealt with in detail in the next section, so for now it is enough to say that many of the Illyri involved were willing conspirators, content to sacrifice entire worlds in return for the knowledge and power the organisms offered. Indeed, they welcomed the creatures into their bodies, and by doing so corrupted not only themselves but the entire Empire.
             Yet everything that occurred on Earth during the Conquest is overshadowed by the emergence of one of the pivotal figures in Illyri history: the daughter of Lord Andrus, the child known as Syl Hellais, the Earthborn.       
            Syl the Destroyer.
            She was the first Illyri to be born on Earth, and formed a bond of deep affection with the human Resistance fighter, Paul Kerr. The Sisterhood succeeded in separating them, banishing Syl to the Marque, its sealed convent orbiting the homeworld of Illyr, and sending Kerr to fight -- and, it was hoped, to die -- in the Brigades.  Finally, Lord Andrus was forcibly infected by the alien parasite, thereby depriving the Military of its most accomplished leader.  It seemed to the Sisterhood and the Diplomats that the Empire was theirs for the taking.
            But they were wrong.
 
 
 
 
APART
 
 
 
                                                
                                                 Chapter One
 
The predators circled, each taking a turn to snarl at her, some more vicious than others, but every one determined to take their piece of flesh.         
“Stupid, shabby thing.”
“She never learns.”        
“She”s too stupid to learn.”
“Why are you here?”
“You don”t belong in this place.”
“Why do you even exist?”
“Elda.  Even your name is ugly.”
“Look at yourself!”
“She can’t. She shuns mirrors. She’s afraid they’ll crack at the sight of her.”
And then the leader, the alpha, came to bite, the pack parting, their faces turned admiringly upon her, her radiance reflected in their eyes.
Tanit, beautiful young Tanit: cruel, and worse than cruel.
“No, that’s not the case,” said Tanit. “She stays away from mirrors because there”s nothing to see.  She’s so insignificant that she’s barely there at all.”
            It was the way that she spoke, the words tossed carelessly as though the object of her disdain were unworthy even of the effort involved in crushing her.  She looked down on Elda – Tanit was tall, even for an Illyri; it was part of her power – reached out a hand, and let it slip through this lesser Novice’s mop of dark hair, the strands falling from her fingers in tousled clumps. 
“Nothing,” said Tanit.  “I feel… nothing.”
Her victim kept her head down, her eyes on the floor.  It was better that way, easier.  Perhaps Tanit and the others might grow bored if they couldn”t provoke a reaction, and seek other prey to torment. 
But no, not this time. Elda felt a prickling on her skin.  It began at her cheeks, then slowly spread to her nose, her forehead, her ears, her neck.  Warmth became heat, heat became burning pain.  What Tanit was doing to her was against all the rules, but the rules did not apply to Tanit and her acolytes as they did to others.  After all, this was merely practice for them. They were like disturbed children encouraged to torture insects and rodents so that they would not falter when told to inflict pain on their own.  
And they had no fear of being caught.  This was the Marque, the ancient lair of the Nairene Sisterhood, and held no shortages of places in which the weak could be tormented by the strong.
The burning grew more intense.  Elda could feel blisters forming, her skin bubbling and lifting.  She put her hand to her face in a vain effort to shield herself, but her palm immediately started blistering too, and she snatched it back in fright. She tried not to scream, determined not to give them that satisfaction, but the agony was becoming too much to bear.  She opened her mouth, but it was the voice of another that spoke.
“Leave her be!”
Tanit”s concentration was broken. Immediately, Elda’s pain began to lessen. There would be marks, but no scars. That, at least, was something.
The Novice looked up. Syl Hellais was pushing her way through the pack – a well-placed elbow here, a knee there. Some resisted, but only passively.  There was grumbling and confusion, but Tanit merely tossed her head and laughed, folding her arms across her chest as if settling in to see what Syl planned to do. 
Now Syl stood by Elda’s side.
“Elda, are you all right?”
Syl helped her to her feet, looking anxiously at the girl’s face, then turning her hand over and inspecting the injury on her palm.  Elda appeared badly sunburnt, and her hand was red and sore, but the blisters were small and...

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: Atria/Emily Bestler Books
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2015
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 1476757151
• ISBN 13: 9781476757155
• Einband: Gebundene Ausgabe
• Anzahl der Seiten: 448
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: Nicht verfügbar