In this sequel to SHANJI, Kati has used the light of creation to win a war bringing her to the throne as Empress of her planet, and she has forged new alliances with former enemies. Her daughter Yesui is born with powers exceeding her own, and Kati discovers that raising a super-being is no simple task. Yesui is willful and a prankster, enjoys torturing her baby brother Mengjai, who turns out to be much more than he seems to be. But Yesui is the true Empress of Light, and is later called upon to save a dying gaseous planet by adding mass to its core. She finds love with a gentle empath there, must help in resisting a coup that endangers his family. Along the way, she discovers there are living beings in the universe with powers even greater than her own, and that death is only a transformation to something new.

Previous reviews for SHANJI:

"SHANJI is rich in good things. Here is hard science with all the gorgeous colors of fantasy, and storytelling with the sweep of historical epic." - M.J. Engh, author of ARSLAN

"Well written, and all of a piece, and it comes pretty close to singing." - Algis Budrys