Some time in the future, a nuclear holocaust is averted by a computer named ARDNEH, which initiates what is intended to be a temporary modification to the laws of physics to make nuclear explosions impossible. However, the enemy has a similar device, and when the two expanding wavefronts of The Change collide, the effect unexpectedly becomes permanent. Following The Change, most technology ceases to function, while magic now works. Magical beings are also created. Demons are born from acts of violence at the time of the change; the most powerful is Orcus, a nuclear bomb caught at the exact moment of exploding. After eliminating potential rivals, it establishes and rules the evil Empire of the East. Eventually, it is tricked and overthrown by John Ominor, its human second-in-command, who then becomes Emperor of the East. However, the tyranny remains the same. Orcus is locked away in a magical dungeon by Ominor and Wood, his most powerful wizard. On one continent, a resistance movement fights on under the leadership of Duncan, but is gradually being ground down by the greatly superior military and magical strength of the Empire. Rolf, a peasant farmer with an untapped knack for technology, joins the resistance after his parents are killed and his sister kidnapped by soldiers of the Empire. He is contacted by Ardneh and ultimately becomes the conduit for the computer's plans to bring about the West's salvation. Written in the 1960s and 70s, the books have a significant Cold War theme and the parallels between the American perspective of the evil east and the west are obvious. The dominance of magic makes for a strong fantasy flavor, but remnants of the advanced weapons and technology of the old world appear throughout the series.
The first three books are tightly connected, dealing with the West's struggle to bring down the Empire, in which Rolf plays a vital role. The fourth novel is set much later. The first three books were substantially re-written and re-issued as an omnibus edition "Empire of the East" in 1979.
Reception
reviewed Empire of the East in Ares Magazine #1. Costikyan commented that "in Empire of the East, has produced an extremely interesting fantasy work. Empire of the East is extremely cleanly written, moves along rapidly, and is fun."
