Tor Books
Publication Date: August 4th, 2026
Hardcover. 416 pages.
About The Infinite State:
"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.
WHO GIVES YOU LIFE?
PATER AETERNUS.
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.
WHO GIVES YOU PURPOSE?
PATER AETERNUS.
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.
WHO GIVES YOU JOY?
PATER AETERNUS.
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."
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.
WHO GIVES YOU LIFE?
PATER AETERNUS.
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.
WHO GIVES YOU PURPOSE?
PATER AETERNUS.
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.
WHO GIVES YOU JOY?
PATER AETERNUS.
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."
The Infinite State--one of my most anticipated releases for 2026--is a fantastic new sci-fi novel from Richard Swan, whose Empire of the Wolf and The Great Silence (ongoing) series I've thoroughly enjoyed. Set within the oppressive and sprawling Decurion Empire, this story follows three characters whose lives offer very different perspectives on what it means to exist--or perhaps, even to break free from--a totalitarian society.
The core of our story revolves around Katherine Fuller, a recently widowed woman living on the planet Leonis who has become the recipient of a rather sizable amount of money and has taken on the task of building a new society. She knows what she doesn't want, but since she's never known anything else but the authoritarian regime she's lived under for her entire life, she's not entirely sure what that should look like.
The Infinite State is definitely a slower-paced read and really takes its time building everything up. The synopsis describes Katherine building a new society on a new planet and while that is absolutely the core of this story, it does take a minute to get there. And once it does, the process itself continues in a very gradual manner. That being said, I personally didn't have any complaints about the pacing because I thought it all worked really well for developing enough background and character development of our characters for the story that was unfolding.
I'll admit that Katherine herself surprised me with how naive she could be about certain things. It didn't initially fit with the way I saw her as a character, but the more I thought about how and where she grew up, and from seeing more of her own reactions to different developments in the story, it made much more sense to me that she really wouldn't have had the opportunity to even know about so many different things. Of course she would be unaware of things that seem completely obvious to us as readers about society when she has spent her entire life within a totalitarian society where those ideas simply weren't part of her reality. It was actually weirdly fun to explore something that seems conceptually basic like democracy alongside someone who has never really encountered it before, and to whom the idea of simply voting for a person you want to be a leader sounds almost ludicrous.
I also appreciated that Katherine has very little experience with governing outside of managing her own household. She not only has to learn how to lead, but also that giving people freedom means accepting that they may make choices she doesn't agree with. She learns that you can't simply replace one authoritarian ruler with a benevolent one and call it democracy, and I really enjoyed watching her grapple with what that freedom of choice actually means in practice.
We also follow Cyprian and Julian, both of whom offer very different experiences in this world. Cyprian works within what is essentially law enforcement, while Julian is a hypersled racer, one of the most popular sports. Julian is a foreigner who has been brought in to race for the Leonis team, which was quite a surprise to many of the citizens. He really seems to get a bit of a crash course in what it's like to live on Leonis, and I was pretty captivated by his more unique circumstances. Cyprian, by contrast, has a great deal of experience with the empire and is probably the least naive of all three. He is, nevertheless, also constantly screwed over by the empire. He's much more of a seasoned character who is aware of the ins and outs of the politics and grittier aspects of this world.
What I found most interesting about these three character is that they all either already have or eventually develop a certain sense of hopelessness about their positions and the world they live in. They understand (whether gradually or right away) how little power they actually have and how fruitless even the thought of resistance can seem. I also liked how Swan created such truly distinct characters that provided very unique perspectives and experiences, which made the entire world and story feel that much more well-rounded. Even outside of the main protagonists, Swan gives us a glimpse of how other types of people survive in this world and the different paths this results in people taking.
The core of our story revolves around Katherine Fuller, a recently widowed woman living on the planet Leonis who has become the recipient of a rather sizable amount of money and has taken on the task of building a new society. She knows what she doesn't want, but since she's never known anything else but the authoritarian regime she's lived under for her entire life, she's not entirely sure what that should look like.
The Infinite State is definitely a slower-paced read and really takes its time building everything up. The synopsis describes Katherine building a new society on a new planet and while that is absolutely the core of this story, it does take a minute to get there. And once it does, the process itself continues in a very gradual manner. That being said, I personally didn't have any complaints about the pacing because I thought it all worked really well for developing enough background and character development of our characters for the story that was unfolding.
I'll admit that Katherine herself surprised me with how naive she could be about certain things. It didn't initially fit with the way I saw her as a character, but the more I thought about how and where she grew up, and from seeing more of her own reactions to different developments in the story, it made much more sense to me that she really wouldn't have had the opportunity to even know about so many different things. Of course she would be unaware of things that seem completely obvious to us as readers about society when she has spent her entire life within a totalitarian society where those ideas simply weren't part of her reality. It was actually weirdly fun to explore something that seems conceptually basic like democracy alongside someone who has never really encountered it before, and to whom the idea of simply voting for a person you want to be a leader sounds almost ludicrous.
I also appreciated that Katherine has very little experience with governing outside of managing her own household. She not only has to learn how to lead, but also that giving people freedom means accepting that they may make choices she doesn't agree with. She learns that you can't simply replace one authoritarian ruler with a benevolent one and call it democracy, and I really enjoyed watching her grapple with what that freedom of choice actually means in practice.
We also follow Cyprian and Julian, both of whom offer very different experiences in this world. Cyprian works within what is essentially law enforcement, while Julian is a hypersled racer, one of the most popular sports. Julian is a foreigner who has been brought in to race for the Leonis team, which was quite a surprise to many of the citizens. He really seems to get a bit of a crash course in what it's like to live on Leonis, and I was pretty captivated by his more unique circumstances. Cyprian, by contrast, has a great deal of experience with the empire and is probably the least naive of all three. He is, nevertheless, also constantly screwed over by the empire. He's much more of a seasoned character who is aware of the ins and outs of the politics and grittier aspects of this world.
What I found most interesting about these three character is that they all either already have or eventually develop a certain sense of hopelessness about their positions and the world they live in. They understand (whether gradually or right away) how little power they actually have and how fruitless even the thought of resistance can seem. I also liked how Swan created such truly distinct characters that provided very unique perspectives and experiences, which made the entire world and story feel that much more well-rounded. Even outside of the main protagonists, Swan gives us a glimpse of how other types of people survive in this world and the different paths this results in people taking.
I was particularly fascinated by the logistics of how these uninhabited or untouched planet are developed and built up, and especially with how an entirely new society can be created from the ground up. While Swan gives us plenty of detail about this process, the endlessly curious part of me probably could have read an entire book focused more solely on the minutiae of how it all works. I'm not necessarily disappointed that we don't get quite that much detail because what we do get is more than enough for the story, and I thought there was also plenty of fascinating insight into Fuller's thought process as she figures out how to build a functioning society that is nothing at all like what she's used to--while also doing this under the thumb of the empire.
The Pater Aeternus fascist government really makes for the perfect villainous empire. It's incredibly easy to hate, while at the same making all of the dirty politics, scheming, manipulation, and force compelling to read about. I especially enjoyed seeing how all of these influences from the empire manifested depending on which character we were following and where they sat within its own hierarchy. I also liked getting to hear about the Free Nations and what their role was like in this galaxy. And I can't forget to mention that the hypersled racing is a really fun idea that added an entirely different elements to this world. It helped the world feel more lived in, and it made a lot of sense for them to have a competition where Leonis could consistently come in at the top.
One nitpick element I was a little less convinced by was Katherine's relationship (platonic) with Lukah. I found the speed at which Katherine essentially came to trust him and readily follow his advice a little strange. I understand why the relationship needed to develop and could generally by into it given Katherine's personality, but the level of trust felt somewhat quick to me. There were a few smaller things like this that didn't work quite as well for me, but these were few and far between--and fairly minor at that--so I can't say they detracted too much from my reading experience.
Overall, The Infinite State is a thoughtful and impressively detailed sci-fi that takes its time exploring not only an oppressive political system, but the different types of people living within and the different ideas that may populate within them. I particularly enjoyed how much attention Swan gives to what freedom and change could look like in practice, and especially how difficult it can be, as simply trying to overthrow or escape is hardly even half of it. Between the governmental aspects, politics, worldbuilding, characters, and all the intrigue, there was a lot that kept me invested in each page of this book. I'd say that Richard Swan excels at both fantasy and sci-fi, so now there's something for every SFF reader and no excuse not to pick up his work!
The Pater Aeternus fascist government really makes for the perfect villainous empire. It's incredibly easy to hate, while at the same making all of the dirty politics, scheming, manipulation, and force compelling to read about. I especially enjoyed seeing how all of these influences from the empire manifested depending on which character we were following and where they sat within its own hierarchy. I also liked getting to hear about the Free Nations and what their role was like in this galaxy. And I can't forget to mention that the hypersled racing is a really fun idea that added an entirely different elements to this world. It helped the world feel more lived in, and it made a lot of sense for them to have a competition where Leonis could consistently come in at the top.
One nitpick element I was a little less convinced by was Katherine's relationship (platonic) with Lukah. I found the speed at which Katherine essentially came to trust him and readily follow his advice a little strange. I understand why the relationship needed to develop and could generally by into it given Katherine's personality, but the level of trust felt somewhat quick to me. There were a few smaller things like this that didn't work quite as well for me, but these were few and far between--and fairly minor at that--so I can't say they detracted too much from my reading experience.
Overall, The Infinite State is a thoughtful and impressively detailed sci-fi that takes its time exploring not only an oppressive political system, but the different types of people living within and the different ideas that may populate within them. I particularly enjoyed how much attention Swan gives to what freedom and change could look like in practice, and especially how difficult it can be, as simply trying to overthrow or escape is hardly even half of it. Between the governmental aspects, politics, worldbuilding, characters, and all the intrigue, there was a lot that kept me invested in each page of this book. I'd say that Richard Swan excels at both fantasy and sci-fi, so now there's something for every SFF reader and no excuse not to pick up his work!
*I received a copy of The Infinite State courtesy of the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This has no effect on my rating or enjoyment.*
Buy the book: Amazon | Bookshop.org
