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*2018 LOCUS AWARD FINALIST FOR BEST SCIENCE FICTION NOVEL CATEGORY*

From 2017 John W. Campbell Award winner, Ada Palmer, the second book of Terra Ignota, a political SF epic of extraordinary audacity

"A cornucopia of dazzling, sharp ideas set in rich, wry prose that rewards rumination with layers of delight. Provocative, erudite, inventive, resplendent." --Ken Liu, author of The Grace of Kings

In a future of near-instantaneous global travel, of abundant provision for the needs of all, a future in which no one living can remember an actual war...a long era of stability threatens to come to an abrupt end.

For known only to a few, the leaders of the great Hives, nations without fixed locations, have long conspired to keep the world stable, at the cost of just a little blood. A few secret murders, mathematically planned. So that no faction can ever dominate, and the balance holds. And yet the balance is beginning to give way.

Mycroft Canner, convict, sentenced to wander the globe in service to all, knows more about this conspiracy the than he can ever admit. Carlyle Foster, counselor, sensayer, has secrets as well, and they burden Carlyle beyond description. And both Mycroft and Carlyle are privy to the greatest secret of all: Bridger, the child who can bring inanimate objects to life.

Shot through with astonishing invention, Ada Palmer's Seven Surrenders is the next movement in one of the great SF epics of our time.

" Seven Surrenders veers expertly between love, murder, mayhem, parenthood, theology, and high politics. I haven't had this much fun with a book in a long time." --Max Gladstone, author of Three Parts Dead

Terra Ignota
1. Too Like the Lightning
2. Seven Surrenders
3. The Will to Battle

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Library Journal Review

The world is at peace; there has been no war for as long as anyone can remember. Automation is in play, the global Hives have replaced most nationalities, and gender and religious identities have not only dissipated but been forbidden. Yet the full depths of humanity cannot be subsumed completely. Something new has arisen, a power that can bring inanimate objects to life. A force that will be hidden, used, and fought over. The power of a child named Bridger. VERDICT Palmer's sequel to Too Like the Lightning brings the next phase of Mycroft and -Bridger's journey in a sphere that is beginning to collapse. While the dense prose may be rough going for some readers, the eloquence of Palmer's reflections on social issues cannot be denied.-KC © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Publishers Weekly Review

Palmer's slow-paced second Terra Ignota far-future novel revisits the setting she established in Too like the Lightning, in which wars are not remembered and communal organized religion has been replaced by private ceremonies. Readers enter into this world as it's perturbed by a highly powerful child, Bridger, who can transform inanimate objects into living things. Where Palmer succeeds is in her rich description of a world where sexuality is an intrinsic part of politics and gender is an archaic, dying construct, as well as her allusions to breaking the connection between church and state despite those who cling to religious fervor. Her descriptive passages are many-layered and engrossing, but they overdo the futuristic terminology. The plot is difficult to follow, and the convoluted nature of the story is more apparent than in the first installment. Fans of Palmer's will enjoy the second book, but a refresher might be necessary. (Feb.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Booklist Review

Palmer's continuation of the Terra Ignota political science-fiction series (following Too Like the Lightning, 2016) drops readers back into the declared utopia where gendered pronouns and dress are taboo, practicing religion publicly is outlawed, and seven philosophical hives have replaced all nations. The story is told primarily from the infamous murderer Mycroft Canner's point of view, though in this book he spends much of his time imprisoned. Secret plans to merge hives and a slew of power-hungry political figures have put the whole system in danger of collapse. Meanwhile Bridger, the young boy with the curious ability to bring toys to life, has discovered the true extent of his power, and he looks to Mycroft to help him unleash it. Does Bridger have the power to save their not-so-utopian world as it descends into chaos? After decades of peace, will there be war? Palmer's second installment is as challenging a read as the first, though true lovers of debate and philosophy who want to tackle life's biggest questions will feel rewarded for their efforts.--Compton-Dzak, Emily Copyright 2017 Booklist

Kirkus Book Review

War and chaos loom in this conclusion to the story begun in Too Like the Lightning (2016), in which a child with godlike powers disrupts a supposedly serene future society built on Enlightenment principles.In 2454, nations, called Hives, are no longer based upon geographical location but upon intellectual and philosophical alignment. This arrangement has worked so well that peace has reigned for 300 years, so long that no one would even know how to conduct a war if one were to break out. But a few decades ago, the Mardi family determined that war was inevitable, and that the later it came, the more devastating it would be, and so decided to incite the war themselves to minimize the damage. They were forestalled by our narrator, Mycroft Canner, who brutally murdered them to prevent that war from ever coming about. Unfortunately, his efforts seem to have been in vain; the last surviving Mardi has returned to Earth to continue his family's work. Public unrest rises at the revelation of some very unpleasant Hive government secrets (some of which were similarly intended to keep the peace at any price) and the machinations of Madame D'Arouet, a brilliant and politically connected brothel-keeper who uses sex and gender as weapons against a proudly gender-free society that is therefore defenseless against such ploys. And then there is Bridger, a child who can bring toys to life, who could save the worldor doom it. Sometimes the answers in a story are less satisfying than the intriguing questions posed by a preceding volume; readers' appreciation of the resolution here depends on whether they accept the author's argument that humanity will always tend toward war. Palmer also hedges her bets by not tying up all the loose ends; she never explains the more supernatural elements of the plot and leaves the future of her world uncertain. Rich food for thought; perhaps not entirely digestible. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.