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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 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.

In fair puzzles there should always be a way out. But I saw no doorways in the sand, and try as I might I could not make the puzzle fall fair.

Doorways in the Sand tells the story of Fred Cassidy the "Eternal Student", a man who's spent 13 years of his life as an undergrad.

He does everything he can to avoid getting a degree so he can continue benefiting from his uncle's generous will, predicated on him being in school (once he graduates he'll be cut off).

Fred's idyllic existence is disrupted by the theft of a priceless alien artifact, the star-stone. He's a person of interest for reasons outside of his control and so he is pursued by humans and aliens alike who think he can help them find the stone (can he?).

"You are a living example of the absurdity of things."

Hijinks ensue.

I loved Doorways in the Sand. Fred, as a lovable rogue, is great and reading about him dealing with the many absurd and surreal situations he found himself in brought me a lot of joy.

The text has aged remarkably well. If you told me that it was written yesterday (and not almost 50 years ago), I would believe you.

The text is funny and had me smirking and laughing my way through quite a bit of it.

Turning, I saw Rick Liddy, an English major with an answer for everything except what to do with his degree come June.

Also, Fred reminded me a lot of Moist von Lipwig from Terry Pratchett's novel Going Postal which might explain why I loved Doorways in the Sand so much.

KOOB EHT DEAR! KOOB EHT DEAR! KOOB EHT DEAR!