Chung Kuo Recast Series by David Wingrove

The year is 2085, two decades after the great economic collapse that destroyed Western civilization. With its power broken and its cities ruined, life in the West continues in scattered communities. In rural Dorset Jake Reed lives with his 14-year-old son and memories of the great collapse. Back in '43, Jake was a rich, young futures broker, immersed in the datascape of the world's financial markets. He saw what was coming - and who was behind it... moreThe year is 2085, two decades after the great economic collapse that destroyed Western civilization. With its power broken and its cities ruined, life in the West continues in scattered communities. In rural Dorset Jake Reed lives with his 14-year-old son and memories of the great collapse. Back in '43, Jake was a rich, young futures broker, immersed in the datascape of the world's financial markets. He saw what was coming - and who was behind it. Forewarned, he was one of the few to escape the fall. For 22 years he has lived in fear of the future, and finally it is coming - quite literally - across the plain towards him. Chinese airships are in the skies and a strange, glacial structure has begun to dominate the horizon. Jake finds himself forcibly incorporated into the ever-expanding 'World of Levels' a global city of some 34 billion souls, where social status is reflected by how far above the ground you live. Here, under the rule of the mighty Tsao Ch'un, a resurgent China is seeking to abolish the past and bring about world peace through rigidly enforced order. But a civil war looms, and Jake will find himself at the heart of the struggle for the future. less

Change is on the air. The generals of the Middle Kingdom await the decision of the emperor. The campaign to secure the border from China to Iraq has reached a strange impasse. Two blood enemies—Arabs and Jews—have united against their common cause. But with the lives of thousands at his whim, the exalted Tsao Ch'un, the Son of Heaven, cannot decide. Destroy the Middle East in one blinding flash? Or take another path? But the way is unclear... moreChange is on the air. The generals of the Middle Kingdom await the decision of the emperor. The campaign to secure the border from China to Iraq has reached a strange impasse. Two blood enemies—Arabs and Jews—have united against their common cause. But with the lives of thousands at his whim, the exalted Tsao Ch'un, the Son of Heaven, cannot decide. Destroy the Middle East in one blinding flash? Or take another path? But the way is unclear. In the court of Tsao Ch'un, men of power have become smiling lackeys, whose graces conceal their fear, or their ambition. A man that can be trusted absolutely is a rare thing. And so, with his family held hostage by the empire, General Jiang Lei finds himself appointed to a special task: the orchestration of the last great war against the West. The total dominion of America. War approaches. But life in the world of levels continues. No hint of war, or want, or discontent can infiltrate the oppressive, ordered society that replaces the world Jake Reed once knew. Since the first airships rolled over the horizon, nothing has been the same. His new life means new thinking, new customs, a new way of behaving, and with his every move scrutinized, Jake can only serve the bureaucracy of new China. But he is not the only citizen who feels discontent with the anodyne new order. less

The great Empire of Ice – Chung Kuo – has finally been shaken after more than two centuries of peace enforced by brutal tyranny. The Minister of the Edict has been assassinated and the seven ruling T’ang struggle to maintain Stasis, even as their mile-high, continent-spanning cities descend into chaos... moreThe great Empire of Ice – Chung Kuo – has finally been shaken after more than two centuries of peace enforced by brutal tyranny. The Minister of the Edict has been assassinated and the seven ruling T’ang struggle to maintain Stasis, even as their mile-high, continent-spanning cities descend into chaos. But the assassination was orchestrated by men close to the ruling powers; powerful merchants - Dispersionists - intent on Change, whose betrayal will lead them into the world-shattering War of the Two Directions. less

‘Colossal. A long-awaited, elaborately frightening vision of the future’ - Sunday Times Chung Kuo, the great globe-spanning City constructed of the super-plastic Ice, enjoys a brief if uneasy peace, which is threatened by the discovery of the Aristotle File. Suppressed by the Ministry, the ‘Thousand Eyes’, for centuries the document charts the true history of their world and will reveal the dark secret at the heart of Chung Kuo... more‘Colossal. A long-awaited, elaborately frightening vision of the future’ - Sunday Times Chung Kuo, the great globe-spanning City constructed of the super-plastic Ice, enjoys a brief if uneasy peace, which is threatened by the discovery of the Aristotle File. Suppressed by the Ministry, the ‘Thousand Eyes’, for centuries the document charts the true history of their world and will reveal the dark secret at the heart of Chung Kuo. Cold, cruel and calculating, the villainous Howard DeVore is determined to end the rule of the Seven and make way for his own bid for power. The harbinger for Change, however, is the destruction of the newly built generation starship, The New Hope, forcing the rebel factions into open war with the Seven. A war that neither side can afford to fight. A war of ice and fire that can only result in a weakening of that once-great social structure, Chung Kuo. less

The Council of Seven ruled Chung Kuo with an iron authority, their boast that they had ended Change and stopped the Great Wheel turning... moreThe Council of Seven ruled Chung Kuo with an iron authority, their boast that they had ended Change and stopped the Great Wheel turning. But war, famine and political instability, thought to be things of the past, had returned to Chung Kuo with a vengeance A new generation of powerful young merchants – Dispersionists – challenged the authority of the Seven, leading to what became known as ‘the War-That-Wasn’t-A-War’ – a nasty, guerrilla form of warfare fought in the claustrophobic levels of the Cities. A brutal war without rules. A war the Seven ultimately won. But only just. And now the Seven find themselves vulnerable as the forces against them continue to grow. less

As Chung Kuo’s population continues to swell, the Seven are forced to make further concessions; laws must be relaxed and the House at Weimar re-opened. Change is coming, whether the Seven want it or not. As the tides of unrest unleashed by earlier wars grow, DeVore secretly allies with Li Yuan’s newly-appointed general, Hans Ebert. DeVore’s schemes are slowly coming to fruition, but Ebert has his own plans: to depose the Seven and control the whole of Chung Kuo... moreAs Chung Kuo’s population continues to swell, the Seven are forced to make further concessions; laws must be relaxed and the House at Weimar re-opened. Change is coming, whether the Seven want it or not. As the tides of unrest unleashed by earlier wars grow, DeVore secretly allies with Li Yuan’s newly-appointed general, Hans Ebert. DeVore’s schemes are slowly coming to fruition, but Ebert has his own plans: to depose the Seven and control the whole of Chung Kuo. It is finally a time for Change. In the long years before the War it had seemed inconceivable to challenge the Seven. But now? Now new currents of unrest have woken in the depths of the City, darker and deeper than those expressed by the War. Currents which threaten to tear Chung Kuo apart. less

‘Colossal. A long-awaited, elaborately frightening vision of the future’ - Sunday Times Chung Kuo’s once-perfect stasis is fast falling apart. The Seven’s dominance is threatened by a series of terrorist attacks as the War of the Two Directions spreads and intensifies. Howard DeVore, the Seven’s greatest enemy, is master-minding the atrocities... more‘Colossal. A long-awaited, elaborately frightening vision of the future’ - Sunday Times Chung Kuo’s once-perfect stasis is fast falling apart. The Seven’s dominance is threatened by a series of terrorist attacks as the War of the Two Directions spreads and intensifies. Howard DeVore, the Seven’s greatest enemy, is master-minding the atrocities. Kill DeVore and things would change markedly, but how can they hunt down a man who seems to be invulnerable? Maybe the answer lies in the frail figure of Kim Ward, a refugee from the Clay. But the young scientific genius is himself under threat, and it is only through an unexpected intermediary that he survives. And there is now another threat from within: Wang Sau-leyan, whose sole aim is to wreak vengeance on his dead father and brothers by bringing down the others of the Seven How much longer can the Seven hold out? less

Currents of unrest and tides of innovation threaten to overwhelm Chung Kuo’s stability. When a lethal epidemic strikes the Seven’s chief supporters, Li Yuan acts ruthlessly to wipe out the disease. But his actions incur far more fatal consequences for the rule of the Seven. While the great Council of emperors splinters into factions, Kwibesi, the detention camp for terrorists, continues to establish order... moreCurrents of unrest and tides of innovation threaten to overwhelm Chung Kuo’s stability. When a lethal epidemic strikes the Seven’s chief supporters, Li Yuan acts ruthlessly to wipe out the disease. But his actions incur far more fatal consequences for the rule of the Seven. While the great Council of emperors splinters into factions, Kwibesi, the detention camp for terrorists, continues to establish order. However, rebellion is brutally contained inside the camp and a growing sense of injustice stirs in one of its guards, Kao Chen, who – sent there undercover by his Master, Li Yuan - begins to question his sense of duty. The Seven are now openly divided amongst themselves, while all about them allegiances are constantly shifting as each day brings new atrocities. less

Wu Shih, T'ang of North America, has drawn the dragons' teeth, arresting the `Sons' and refusing to give them up to their powerful fathers until they come to heel. But in doing so he seals his own fate and feeds the flames of revolution in the process. In City Europe, Stefan Lehmann, the estranged son of the one-time Dispersionist leader, has fled to the icy Alpine wastes after the fall of DeVore's fortresses... moreWu Shih, T'ang of North America, has drawn the dragons' teeth, arresting the `Sons' and refusing to give them up to their powerful fathers until they come to heel. But in doing so he seals his own fate and feeds the flames of revolution in the process. In City Europe, Stefan Lehmann, the estranged son of the one-time Dispersionist leader, has fled to the icy Alpine wastes after the fall of DeVore's fortresses. It is from there that he returns, to set about making a name for himself in the Lowers of the City, infiltrating the cut-throat world of the Triad brotherhoods. Li Yuan has never been more content. He has come to love all three of his new wives, and celebrates the birth of his first legitimate son, Kuei Jen. In a powerful position in the Council, and with peace in the great world of levels, all seems well. Scientist, Kim Ward, has also found love - with the Marshal's daughter, Jelka Tolonen. But for both men, their happiness is to prove short-lived. The Lowers are ripe for rebellion with new groups of revolutionaries carving out small empires in those teeming warrens. And Tolonen would rather send his daughter to the far reaches of the solar system than have her marry a Clayborn. It will be seven years before they meet again; years in which Chung Kuo will rip itself apart. less