An Empire in the Clouds (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9781835414941)

Riveting and highly inventive Chinese-inspired science-fantasy of a royal family torn apart, painful betrayal and deadly secrets. Set on a drowning continent full of corruption and deception and strange technology this is a richly envisioned and powerful debut novel from the winner of the Bram Stoker(R) and Nebula Awards.

Long isolated from her family following her parents' murder, Princess Xīlián of Piāo discovers the corrupt royal advisors are plotting to overthrow and kill her brother, the emperor. Desperately seeking help, she flees from the floating empire of lotuses to the drowning continent of Opera, a place of high tech and near environmental collapse where companies vie to sell a chance at immortality. There Xīlián tracks down her exiled brother Làng to assist in her efforts to disrupt the advisors' plans and remove them from court.

Also residing on Opera is the outcast, No Face. Abandoned by the empire of Piāo, they plot to destroy those who tore their family apart. When Xīlián is caught and imprisoned and No Face discovers the shocking truth about their past, the two must work together to stop the advisors and unify their two lands or lose everyone they love to flood and revolution.

A riveting and highly inventive Chinese-inspired science fantasy, this is a richly envisioned and powerful debut novel from the winner of the Bram Stoker (R) and Nebula Awards.

Author: Ai Jiang
ISBN-10: 183541494X
ISBN-13: 9781835414941
Publisher: Titan Books (UK)
Language: English
Published: 09/08/2026
Pages: 384
Format: Hardcover

Review Citation(s):
Publishers Weekly 07/20/2026