What book is this?

[Phantasee]

I read a book a few years ago, just picked up at random from the library, and I meant to read the rest of the series (It said on the cover it was book one of a trilogy).

These are the main points I can recall:

It was published this century.

Synaesthesia is a major technology (you can see stuff in your vision like a HUD)

One of the main characters is a multiple amputee because of a hostage situation he was in where he was tortured.

Another is a politician who is also the amputee's lover.

The amputee is a captain of a ship.

They drop marines in drop pods filled with hydrostatic gel of some kind.

They have an Inquisition of sorts (this and the above point reminded me of Warhammer 40 000)

The 'enemy' is the Rix (Rixx?), a group of humans who have augmented their bodies with technology, like a heart that doesn't pump really, just cycles it through the body, meaning no heart beat.

The Rix are subservient to their 'leaders' which are AI, which is why the majority of humans are fearful of AI.

Their is some entangled particles that are used as a communications device, and they use diamonds as 'battle dust' or something like (throwing dust at someone at high speeds will probably ruin their day).

The book was a green paperback, I recall.

There is some control of gravity, something called 'love gravity' is the most expensive, and the smoothest in operation.

Any idea what I'm talking about? I can't think of the title, author, or even the exact year it was published. I'm not even sure if the trilogy is finished yet.

[Robin]

It's a book called "The Risen Empire" by Scott Westerfeld, and there was another book continuing the story called "The Killing of Worlds"

I thought they were quite good myself, I wouldn't mind seeing some more books set in that universe.

[Phantasee]

Wow, it all comes back to me....

Amazing what our minds lock up, eh? All you need is a key.

But that's the trick, isn't it?

I'll be hunting down this The Killing of Worlds now, thank you very much. I always wanted to start a thread about it here in OSF, but I forgot about it, and it was also soon after that I kinda stopped coming here...

I thought the synaesthesia bit was very interesting. I wonder if it a common feature in any other science fiction series? Or even single novels...

[Darth Tanner]

It was an excellent read but the author doesn't really take it anywhere. At the end everythings set for probably another few books of action and the plots just getting to its height and then nothing. It ends.

I'd have really liked to see some more material in this.

Oh and be careful about buying killing of worlds, some versions of The Risen Empire actually include it within themselves.