Dark State

Hugo Award-winning author Charlie Stross dives deep into the underbelly of paratime espionage, nuclear warfare, and state surveillance in his techno-thriller set in the Merchant Princes universe

Dark State ups the ante on already volatile situations laid out in the sleek techno-thriller Empire Games, the start to Charles Stross' fresh storyline in The Merchant Princes series.

In the near-future, two nuclear superpowers are about to collide across timelines. One is a hyper-police state; the other is in the midst of a technological revolution. And two women — a mother and her long-lost daughter — are about to find themselves on opposite sides of the confrontation.

In Commissioner Miriam Burgeson’s timeline, her top-level agents run a high-risk extraction of a major political player.

Meanwhile, Rita, newly-minted spy and the Commissioner's estranged daughter, must contend with a an activated sleeper cell that threatens unravel everything.

With a penchant for intricate world-building and an uncanny ability to realize alternate history and technological speculation, Stross' writing will captivate any reader who's a fan of high-tech thrillers, interdimensional political intrigue, and espionage.