Ian Sudderth reviewed The Collapsing Empire by John Scalzi (The Interdependency, #1)
Just a lot of fun
4 stars
Great plot, great world, amazing characters, so fun and funny
eBook, 336 pages
English language
Published March 22, 2017 by Tom Doherty Associates.
In the far future, humanity has left Earth to create a glorious empire. Now this interstellar network of worlds faces disaster – but can three individuals save their people?
The empire’s outposts are utterly dependent on each other for resources, a safeguard against war, and a way its rulers can exert control. This relies on extra-dimensional pathways between the stars, connecting worlds. But ‘The Flow’ is changing course, which could plunge every colony into fatal isolation.
A scientist will risk his life to inform the empire’s ruler. A scion of a Merchant House stumbles upon conspirators seeking power. And the new Empress of the Interdependency must battle lies, rebellion and treason. Yet as they work to save a civilization on the brink of collapse, others have very different plans …
Great plot, great world, amazing characters, so fun and funny
Felt more like a soap opera than a space opera at times.
There's a lot of people thinking about, talking about and having sex. There's a lot of scheming and plotting that sometimes makes sense but often doesn't.
PS: I'm looking to have a good time reading a book so I try to meet the book I'm reading halfway and appreciate what it's trying to do instead of comment on what I think the author should have done.
So I rolled with it, strapped on my suspension of disbelief pants and enjoyed the ride.
John Scalzi is an amazing writer; every few pages I would have to stop reading and sit there, stunned, by how funny a joke was, or how well set up a scene was, etc.
He managed to immerse me in this universe with an empire on the verge of collapse that felt real(ish) and lived in …
Felt more like a soap opera than a space opera at times.
There's a lot of people thinking about, talking about and having sex. There's a lot of scheming and plotting that sometimes makes sense but often doesn't.
PS: I'm looking to have a good time reading a book so I try to meet the book I'm reading halfway and appreciate what it's trying to do instead of comment on what I think the author should have done.
So I rolled with it, strapped on my suspension of disbelief pants and enjoyed the ride.
John Scalzi is an amazing writer; every few pages I would have to stop reading and sit there, stunned, by how funny a joke was, or how well set up a scene was, etc.
He managed to immerse me in this universe with an empire on the verge of collapse that felt real(ish) and lived in by real(ish) people which kept me engaged and interested in seeing what would happen next.
The POV characters are all great in their own ways and have such different voices which made reading their chapters fun. All their story threads tie up neatly at the end of the book which I really appreciated.
Kiva is the best though, she's completely absurd and definitely who I want to be when I grow up and become the rich nymphomaniac noble lady I'm meant to be.
If you're looking for a well written and fun raunchy and rompy space opera, the Collapsing Empire is definitely a good one of those.
I'm curious to see how this series continues and I'm interested to see if it can deliver on the story threads it sets up here.
Felt more like a soap opera than a space opera at times.
There's a lot of people thinking about, talking about and having sex. There's a lot of scheming and plotting that sometimes makes sense but often doesn't.
PS: I'm looking to have a good time reading a book so I try to meet the book I'm reading halfway and appreciate what it's trying to do instead of comment on what I think the author should have done.
So I rolled with it, strapped on my suspension of disbelief pants and enjoyed the ride.
John Scalzi is an amazing writer; every few pages I would have to stop reading and sit there, stunned, by how funny a joke was, or how well set up a scene was, etc.
He managed to immerse me in this universe with an empire on the verge of collapse that felt real(ish) and lived in …
Felt more like a soap opera than a space opera at times.
There's a lot of people thinking about, talking about and having sex. There's a lot of scheming and plotting that sometimes makes sense but often doesn't.
PS: I'm looking to have a good time reading a book so I try to meet the book I'm reading halfway and appreciate what it's trying to do instead of comment on what I think the author should have done.
So I rolled with it, strapped on my suspension of disbelief pants and enjoyed the ride.
John Scalzi is an amazing writer; every few pages I would have to stop reading and sit there, stunned, by how funny a joke was, or how well set up a scene was, etc.
He managed to immerse me in this universe with an empire on the verge of collapse that felt real(ish) and lived in by real(ish) people which kept me engaged and interested in seeing what would happen next.
The POV characters are all great in their own ways and have such different voices which made reading their chapters fun. All their story threads tie up neatly at the end of the book which I really appreciated.
Kiva is the best though, she's completely absurd and definitely who I want to be when I grow up and become the rich nymphomaniac noble lady I'm meant to be.
If you're looking for a well written and fun raunchy and rompy space opera, the Collapsing Empire is definitely a good one of those.
I'm curious to see how this series continues and I'm interested to see if it can deliver on the story threads it sets up here.
This was an excellent political intrigue in space story. So well crafted that I didn’t want to put it down to see where it twisted next. Looking forward to more in this universe.
вельми непогано.
Scalzi is a casual feminist, and he makes me happy. The characters in this book are a perfect example - the roles women and men are basically interchangeable all over the place, and without any fuss. People are just people. Personalities are just personalities.