Warring States was a Faction Paradox novel published by Mad Norwegian Press in 2005.
Publisher's summary
The Year of the Metal Rat has brought with it greed and self-preservation. The Everlasting Empire is dying, eaten up from within, and the young upstarts Britain and Russia are circling like carrion-birds, for crows of every nation are equally black. The peasant-sect of the Righteous Harmonious Fists attacks all foreign devils. In the capital, the ancient heart of the Empire, the Europeans are besieged by the Dragon Empress’ army and the blood of a thousand Christian converts runs in the gutters.
When there is War in Heaven, there is War in the Land. A dagger can be concealed in a smile and this House of Paradox smiles often. Its servant here carries grief like dead petals in her hands and wakes the ancient spirits.
Their anger makes the sky weep blood, and we shall all pay dearly for her trespass.
Characters
- Cousin Octavia
- Prester John
- Cousin Ursula
- Miss Munroe
- Professor William Grieves
- Mrs Grieves
- Aleksandr Sorokin
- Gospozha Sorokina
- Christién
- Dr George Morrison
- Zhong
- Xu Dian Ning
- Meng Rong Kuan
- Baron von Ketteler
- Sugiyama Akira
- Sergeant Murphy
- Cousin Anastasia
- Margaret Elizabeth Sutherland
- Effie Sutherland
- Liu Hui Ying
- Mao Lie Wei
- Li Lien Ying
- Lin Shou Ling
- Compassion
Notes
- A prologue to this novel was included in Warlords of Utopia, and republished in the Warring States ebook.
- A sequel/prelude, The Night is Long, and Dreams Are Legion, was published in the November 2004 Myth Makers issue, and republished with the Warring States ebook.
- A prequel for Erasing Sherlock was included at the end of the print edition, but not the ebook.
References
- The enemy is currently fighting Faction Paradox on Mohandassa, with the Great Houses waiting to wipe out the survivors.
- The Homeworld often sends sentient timeships to control all time-travel routes in and out of specific areas so that they can plunder them.
- Wings of Faction Paradox include: the Military Wing, the Ritual Wing, and the Doubtless Fourth Wing.
- Compassion thinks about "The Lady of Shalott."
- Octavia and Liu are witchbloods.
Continuity
- Octavia tells Morrison that after the end of the universe, every human is resurrected. (PROSE: The Night is Long, and Dreams Are Legion)