The Veiled Throne
core novel 2021 The Dandelion Dynasty
Record
| First published | 2021 |
|---|---|
| Original language |  EN |
| Work type | novel |
| Canon status | core |
| Reader rating | 4.12 (5,687 ratings, collected 2026-09-14) |
| First-edition ISBN | 9781481424332 |
Synopsis
The Veiled Throne is the third novel in Ken Liu's Dandelion Dynasty series, picking up after the Lyucu invasion breached the protective Wall of Storms surrounding Dara. Princess Thera, who has taken the name Empress Una, leads an expedition of warships and ten thousand followers across the Wall into Ukyu-Gonde, the Lyucu's own homeland, determined to carry the fight to the invaders on their own ground. While she confronts the dangers of that unfamiliar territory and navigates rivalries within the Lyucu leadership, the people left behind in Dara face their own power struggles, as the surviving Dandelion Court maneuvers to hold the empire together under the strain of ongoing war. The novel follows both fronts as characters on each side weigh old traditions against new ambitions in a conflict whose outcome remains far from settled.
Where it sits
- Universe: The Dandelion Dynasty
- Series: The Dandelion Dynasty core; position 3 of 4 in the series' recorded order
- Author: Ken Liu
Notes
- From the series record (The Dandelion Dynasty): New author record. A 'silkpunk' epic fantasy quartet drawing on Chinese history and mythology (a fantastical retelling of the Chu-Han Contention), originally announced as a trilogy that grew to 4 volumes per the author's own account. The Grace of Kings WON the 2016 Locus Award for Best First Novel and was a 2016 Nebula Award for Best Novel nominee (both verified via sfadb.com); The Wall of Storms placed 3rd in the 2017 Locus Award (Fantasy Novel) poll. Completed with Speaking Bones (2022).
Neighbouring works
Publication order and internal chronology are tracked as two separate orderings and are never conflated: a book's place in one says nothing about its place in the other.
- Publication order, within the series The Dandelion Dynasty: position 3 of 4: previous The Wall of Storms (2016) · next Speaking Bones (2022)
Sources
← The Dandelion Dynasty dossier · All universes
Part of the Library. Fields without an identified source are omitted, never guessed.