Terra Ignota
 Hardback cover | |
| Author | Ada Palmer |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Science fiction, speculative fiction |
| Publisher | Tor Books |
Publication date | 2016 |
| Pages | 432 |
| ISBN | 978-0765378002 |
 First edition cover | |
| Author | Ada Palmer |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Science fiction, speculative fiction |
| Publisher | Tor Books |
Publication date | 2017 |
| Pages | 400 |
| ISBN | 978-0765378026 |
 First edition cover | |
| Author | Ada Palmer |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | science fiction, speculative fiction |
| Publisher | Tor Books |
Publication date | 2017 |
| Pages | 352 |
| ISBN | 978-1786699565 |
 First edition cover | |
| Author | Ada Palmer |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Science fiction, speculative fiction |
| Publisher | Tor Books |
Publication date | 2021 |
| Pages | 448 |
| ISBN | 978-1786699596 |
Terra Ignota is a quartet of science fiction novels by the American author Ada Palmer. The series consists of Too Like the Lightning (2016), Seven Surrenders (2017), The Will to Battle (2017), and Perhaps the Stars (2021). Set in the year 2454, they follow the events that lead the world to war for the first time after three centuries of peace following the end of the nation state. The novels have won several awards and the first was a finalist for the 2017 Hugo Award for Best Novel.
Setting[]
The Earth of Terra Ignota has seen several centuries of near-total peace and prosperity. Technology is very advanced. Food can be synthesized. The workweek is 20 hours, but vocateurs, or vokers, voluntarily work much more because they love what they do. Everyone is publicly gender neutral, using they/them pronouns. Families are no longer nuclear, but are organized into co-housing collectives called bash'houses (from the Japanese i-basho, meaning 'home' but stronger). Religion is legally restricted to private counseling relationships or sanctuary reservations. Surveillance is universal; individuals are equipped with personal tracker devices which allow for telecommunication and record a person's whereabouts (as the name suggests), but these can be switched off.[1] Criminals are sentenced to indentured servitude to repay their debt to society; there is no death penalty. This peace and plenty is delicately maintained by the relationships among a small cadre of world leaders.
However, there are still tensions among political groups, such as distribution of land, citizens, and income. The question of "set-sets," people whose nervous systems have been rewired to interface with computers, has caused riots in the recent past.[1] Nurturists are people who believe that set-set creation is cruel and should be banned, since they are cultivated as non-consenting children and are not able to change, grow, or interface normally with life.
Hives[]
Following the invention of flying cars and a series of religious wars known as the Church Wars, the 22nd century saw the end of the geographic nation state. Replacing this was a series of Universal Laws and a group of Hives, non-geographical nations with voluntary citizenship.[1] Each Hive has its own legal system, government, language, manner of dress, and capital city. By the year 2454, there are seven Hives, as well as three groups of Hiveless. All minors are Graylaw Hiveless until they pass their Adult Competency Exam and declare an allegiance.[2] Bash'houses can include people from multiple Hives or all from the same Hive.
| Group | Capital City | Hive Language | Governmental Structure | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Humanists
|