The Infinite State
(Book One of the Decurion Saga)
by Richard Swan
Pub Date Aug 04 2026
Tor Books | Sci Fi & Fantasy
416 pages
DESCRIPTION/SYNOPSIS:
In this blistering science fiction epic, international bestselling author Richard Swan presents a thrilling tale of survival and an eviscerating examination of totalitarianism.
THE INFINITE STATE begins at a flashpoint in the lives of a widowed party member, a disgraced investigator, and a hypersled pilot—entangled in a plot to escape the suffocating authority of a fascist state.
Katherine Fuller’s husband is dead. As an esteemed member of Pater Aeternus—governing party of the fascist, galaxy-spanning Decurion Empire—he has left behind an estate of immeasurable wealth. And Katherine is going to inherit it.
Life under the Eternal Father is rigidly stratified, surveilled, and controlled—each new day to be endured, not lived. But with Katherine’s newfound fortune, she is presented with a rare and dangerous opportunity: purchase a virgin world, and create a better, fairer society.
But the Empire cannot allow its wayward daughter to succeed. And as Katherine works in secret, recruiting allies she’s not even sure she can trust, she will discover exactly how far Pater Aeternus is willing to go to stop her. Because Katherine is going to create something nobody has seen for many years. A democracy.
REVIEW:
The Infinite State plunges the reader into life on Leonis, a technologically advanced fascist state, home world to a oppressive empire that controls and monitors the lives of everyone, from senior party members to the lowest “monos,” or anyone considered “unproductive,” a designation that also applies to anyone with an unapproved lifestyle. Having children is mandated and necessary to advance, even for those who struggle with fertility issues and must therefore resort to technological interventions, assuming they have the means. The grip of the state on the society is so complete that even mourning periods for lost loved ones are dictated down to duration and level of decorum exhibited in public.
Katherine Fuller’s husband had all the perks of being a senior party member, high in the stratified society, but neither he nor his wife experience true freedom despite lives of relative privilege. They must be careful about anything they say, do or read. After she experiences a personal tragedy followed by the sudden (an unexplained) loss of her husband, she inherits his fortune and decides there has to be a better way to live. Through a chance meeting at a library, she finds a loophole, a way to use the wealth to purchase an entire planet and mold it into a better society. She stumbles upon the idea of democracy, a system of government so foreign to the empire that is almost lost to memory. But she needs help to realize this dream and wonders who she can trust, and to what degree, while under the watchful eyes of state.
Most of the book conveys a feeling of paranoia, the psychological and emotional equivalent of walking through a minefield every minute of every day. Because one false step can lead to an abrupt death by state-approved execution for any seditious thoughts or actions.
Humanity rediscovering democracy provides a spark of hope for the future, a feeling that leaps off the page into the mind of the reader. Once Katherine begins setting up her new world’s society and installing basic defenses, there is a profound sense of relief, an ability for these people to breathe again, to speak without fear of brutal reprisal. Knowing that tiny flame of hope stands against an empire that could snuff it out at any moment keeps the tension high. Allies become enemies, and enemies allies. There is a rollicking climax when a provocateur within the empire finally makes a stunning move, triggering a breathtaking battle in space and on the ground.
Knowing this is “book one” in a planned ongoing saga, I worried that The Infinite State would end on a cliffhanger, but fear not. There is a resolution to the plot. In that way, this is a standalone tale, but obviously there is more to come.
Note: I received an eGalley of The Infinite State from the publisher via NetGalley in consideration of an unbiased review.
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