A five-gender world nourished by wuxia chivalric and Taoist mythological elements is something only sci-fi prodigy author Lucifer Hung could pull off with such aplomb.

Supreme super gods residing in a hidden realm of our universe exist in five genders, namely alpha, beta, delta, gamma, and omega, and in fluid facets for which human terms such as “she, he, it” and “father, sister, brother” fail utterly to capture or convey. Each gender has its own unique pheromone profile that exerts its own unique effects. In interactions with other genders, these pheromones elicit the full spectrum of emotions ranging from love to hate and affect the martial prowess of those so enmeshed.

Main protagonist Chieh Shietou is the Sword Emperor and highest among all gods. Returning to his capital after a century-long journey, he is beset by a seemingly endless series of provocations and conspiracies. Some involve plots for his usurpation, some involve vassals plotting to control her, while some involve blade masters looking to best it in battle. The onslaught is so hot and heavy that even their personally programmed agent is embroiled in a plot to replace them! Overwhelmed by this emotional whirlwind, the day of reckoning is nearly at hand.

In this work, author Lucifer Hung interweaves long-running interests in queer theory, erotica, national identity, and inter-species politics with their love of sci-fi and wuxia fiction. Within Hung’s sumptuous narrative settings, seemingly incongruous elements meld seamlessly to create a breathtakingly expansive, magnificently grandiloquent