In the island kingdoms of Dara, Emperor Mapidere's reign is ending in exhaustion and unrest. As the emperor nears death, two men—a charismatic bandit and the son of a disgraced duke—lead separate rebellions against his oppressive rule. Their paths converge, igniting an unlikely friendship that will challenge the empire's power structure, but the cost of their actions may be steeper than they can imagine.
Ken Liu (born 1976) is an American author of science fiction and fantasy. Liu has won multiple Hugo and Nebula Awards for his short fiction, which has appeared in F&SF, Asimov's, Analog, Lightspeed, Clarkesworld, and multiple "Year's Best" anthologies.
Liu has also written an epic fantasy novel series, The Dandelion Dynasty, which he describes as silkpunk. The series is published by Simon & Schuster. [source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Liu)