Status
Available
Call number
Series
Publication
Tor (New York, 2017). 1st edition, 1st printing. 336 pages. $25.99.
Description
Faster than light travel is impossible--until the discovery of The Flow, an extradimensional field available at certain points in space-time, which can take us to other planets around other stars. Riding The Flow, humanity spreads to innumerable other worlds. Earth is forgotten. A new empire arises, the Interdependency, based on the doctrine that no one human outpost can survive without the others. It's a hedge against interstellar war--and, for the empire's rulers, a system of control. But when it's discovered that the entire Flow is moving, possibly separating all human worlds from one another forever, a scientist, a starship captain, and the emperox of the Interdependency must race to find out what can be salvaged from an empire on the brink of collapse. --… (more)
Media reviews
Scalzi continues to be almost insufferably good at his brand of fun but think-y sci-fi adventure.
User reviews
LibraryThing member ChrisRiesbeck
If Scalzi is the new Heinlein, then this is mid to late career Heinlein, when he couldn't shut up any more and no one would edit him down. Characters are constantly making long speeches, explaining how politics really works. Everything is presented as matter of fact obviously true. As in later
This is really just setting up the players and environment for another long-running series. It would have been better as a short novel.
For undiscriminating fans of Scalzi's breezy style only.
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Heinlein, sex is casually tossed in the mix. At least we're spared Heinlein's old man that every woman wants to bed fantasy, or the more recent fascination some authors have with rape. The women are in charge in when sex occurs. Still a male fantasy but less creepy than the alternatives. This is really just setting up the players and environment for another long-running series. It would have been better as a short novel.
For undiscriminating fans of Scalzi's breezy style only.
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LibraryThing member grizzly.anderson
Make no mistake about it, this is Part 1 of 2 (or maybe 3 or 4). The Collapsing Empire establishes a universe where a collection of human colonies are connected by The Flow. Only one of those colonies is on a planet and therefor self-sustaining. Every other colony is dependent on things that can
And that's it. That's this novel. Sure, a bunch of characters are sketched in, and the outlines, no more, of future conflict are set. There is the foul-mouthed, sex-obsessed one, the evil manipulative one, the young naive reluctant ruler, the young honest scientist, the wise old man (offstage), and a supporting cast of red shirts, loyal retainers, soldiers and pirates.
How will Humanity survive? Who will control the new order? Who will live, who will die? All of these questions will be answered in part 2. Or maybe part 3.
The very last line (of the Epilogue, because an unfinished story clearly needs an Epilogue as well) is "'I think it needs to end with another one,' she said."
That's the problem. This is the set up and backstory for a novel, but it isn't a novel. Which might not be so bad if any of the characters were given any real life or depth enough to care about them and what happens to them. Frankly, this book reads like a money-grab and fulfilling a contractual obligation while stalling to figure out what the actual story is going to be. There's not much of a beginning, and definitely no ending. Scalzi doesn't need the money, and by now seems to have the clout that if he'd wanted to, he could have waited and put out a longer novel that didn't end like the cliffhanger of a TV series that is desperately hoping not to be canceled.
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only produced on other colonies to survive. Which is, of course, the basis for a trade Empire with a ruling class, mandated monopolies, alliances and so forth. In the distant past, the Flow connection to Earth collapsed cutting the Empire off from the homeland. In the less distant past the Flow to one of the colonies collapsed resulting in the slow death of that colony. Add that to the title and it's not hard to see that The Flow is going to Collapse and ruin The Empire. And that's it. That's this novel. Sure, a bunch of characters are sketched in, and the outlines, no more, of future conflict are set. There is the foul-mouthed, sex-obsessed one, the evil manipulative one, the young naive reluctant ruler, the young honest scientist, the wise old man (offstage), and a supporting cast of red shirts, loyal retainers, soldiers and pirates.
How will Humanity survive? Who will control the new order? Who will live, who will die? All of these questions will be answered in part 2. Or maybe part 3.
The very last line (of the Epilogue, because an unfinished story clearly needs an Epilogue as well) is "'I think it needs to end with another one,' she said."
That's the problem. This is the set up and backstory for a novel, but it isn't a novel. Which might not be so bad if any of the characters were given any real life or depth enough to care about them and what happens to them. Frankly, this book reads like a money-grab and fulfilling a contractual obligation while stalling to figure out what the actual story is going to be. There's not much of a beginning, and definitely no ending. Scalzi doesn't need the money, and by now seems to have the clout that if he'd wanted to, he could have waited and put out a longer novel that didn't end like the cliffhanger of a TV series that is desperately hoping not to be canceled.
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LibraryThing member kgodey
The Inderdependency is an interstellar empire that has flourished for over a thousand years, ruled by the emperoxes of Hub and built upon the backbone of the Flow – an extradimensional field that makes faster than light travel possible. Imperial bastard Cardenia Wu-Patrick has just ascended to
THE COLLAPSING EMPIRE met all of my expectations, but still managed to be somewhat different from Scalzi’s other work. It’s grander in scale (more operatic in space opera terms) than the Old Man’s War books, it focuses more on the empire and the larger story of humanity than it does on individual people’s character arcs. The characters don’t really grow or change, they are just the viewpoint from which we see the next great change in human history unfold. I mean, you still empathize with the characters, there are some emotional moments, particularly for Cardenia, but the focus is definitely not on those elements. This book is also a little more adult-themed than Scalzi’s usual work – there’s politics (intrigue, betrayal, plots, etc.), more explicit sex scenes (which I don’t remember Scalzi doing before), and a lot of swearing (mostly courtesy of the Lagos family.)
I had a couple of problems with the book. One of them is that I think I was supposed to like Kiva Lagos (Scalzi has called her one of his favorite characters ever), but I thought she seemed like a terrible person. I can appreciate a good greedy merchant (Quark is one of my favorite characters in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) but Kiva didn’t seem to have any heart, even though she mostly ends up being on the side of the good guys. Another problem is that I felt like the book didn’t tell a complete story, it seemed like it was just moving things into place for the rest of the series Most of the book revolved around getting people to acknowledge that the Flow was collapsing, and it was a serious problem and the antagonists’ plans didn’t seem to make a huge difference to the grand scheme of things. Also, sometimes the characters’ propensity for quips in serious situations can get annoying, but that’s something Scalzi does in all his books and I know to expect, so it wasn’t a real problem.
There are plenty of good things about this book, though. Most of the characters are easy to root for, and the antagonists aren’t just cardboard villains. There’s some good tension in the book when you’re not quite sure what’s going to happen next. And the idea of humanity settling mostly on artificial environments like space stations and becoming reliant on interstellar commerce, then suddenly losing the ability for faster-than-light travel is fascinating. I can’t wait to find out what happens next, especially with the situation at the end of THE COLLAPSING EMPIRE.
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the throne, and she is woefully underprepared, having spent most of her life out of the spotlight assuming her brother would be emperox. Just as she comes to terms with her new responsibility, she learns that the Flow is collapsing, and that means the empire will soon be gone and humanity might go with it. It’s up to her to figure out how to save the empire. with help from noble merchant Kiva Lagos and Flow physicist Marce Claremont. I’m always excited for a new Scalzi book – I think of his work as popcorn science fiction. It’s light reading and it’s usually got a pretty good sense of humour, but it’s also science fiction so it has some cool ideas. I was especially looking forward to THE COLLAPSING EMPIRE because I like space opera, and Scalzi’s other space opera universe (Old Man's War) hasn’t been doing much new worldbuilding in recent installments.THE COLLAPSING EMPIRE met all of my expectations, but still managed to be somewhat different from Scalzi’s other work. It’s grander in scale (more operatic in space opera terms) than the Old Man’s War books, it focuses more on the empire and the larger story of humanity than it does on individual people’s character arcs. The characters don’t really grow or change, they are just the viewpoint from which we see the next great change in human history unfold. I mean, you still empathize with the characters, there are some emotional moments, particularly for Cardenia, but the focus is definitely not on those elements. This book is also a little more adult-themed than Scalzi’s usual work – there’s politics (intrigue, betrayal, plots, etc.), more explicit sex scenes (which I don’t remember Scalzi doing before), and a lot of swearing (mostly courtesy of the Lagos family.)
I had a couple of problems with the book. One of them is that I think I was supposed to like Kiva Lagos (Scalzi has called her one of his favorite characters ever), but I thought she seemed like a terrible person. I can appreciate a good greedy merchant (Quark is one of my favorite characters in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) but Kiva didn’t seem to have any heart, even though she mostly ends up being on the side of the good guys. Another problem is that I felt like the book didn’t tell a complete story, it seemed like it was just moving things into place for the rest of the series Most of the book revolved around getting people to acknowledge that the Flow was collapsing, and it was a serious problem and the antagonists’ plans didn’t seem to make a huge difference to the grand scheme of things. Also, sometimes the characters’ propensity for quips in serious situations can get annoying, but that’s something Scalzi does in all his books and I know to expect, so it wasn’t a real problem.
There are plenty of good things about this book, though. Most of the characters are easy to root for, and the antagonists aren’t just cardboard villains. There’s some good tension in the book when you’re not quite sure what’s going to happen next. And the idea of humanity settling mostly on artificial environments like space stations and becoming reliant on interstellar commerce, then suddenly losing the ability for faster-than-light travel is fascinating. I can’t wait to find out what happens next, especially with the situation at the end of THE COLLAPSING EMPIRE.
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LibraryThing member Karlstar
While this is a science fiction novel, it is not set in the universe of Scalzi's other human Commonwealth books (the Old Man's War universe). I can only guess that he wanted to get away from the restrictions of that universe and do something sci-fi but completely different. Unfortunately, I don't
At the very beginning of the book, the old Emperox dies and his place is taken by his only child - a girl born to a woman who was not his wife. Strangely, for a dynasty, there's no Uncles, Aunts, cousins, etc to challenge the new Emperox, just other families that now circle like sharks and pose challenges for her rule.
For science fiction, the empire is strangely lacking in technology. No ever-present interwebs, no robots, no automated weapons systems, no AI's, no advanced security systems, nothing. I found the 'Emperox' construction unnecessarily annoying - what's wrong with Emperor or Empress? Who would want to be called Emper-Ox? (joking, but still...) The social structure seems strangely backwards too. Worst of all, the entire plot of the book and upcoming novels is the lack of knowledge of the Flow and the fact that no one seems to care.
Other than that, this was well written and at times interesting, but the flaws were substantial and I just couldn't get into the flow of it.
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think he put enough time into his universe building in this novel. There is a human Empire, ruled by the head of 1 family as absolute Emperox. The empire consists of worlds connected by something called The Flow, that allows for faster than light travel but is COMPLETELY not understood. Somehow a whole space faring empire has been based on the fact that humans somehow got to 1 world via The Flow and then spread to others (Earth is strangely not included, so how did we get there??). Little or no exploration of worlds outside the Flow is done. While the Empire is ruled by the Emperox, great families have monopolies on trade to the various worlds.At the very beginning of the book, the old Emperox dies and his place is taken by his only child - a girl born to a woman who was not his wife. Strangely, for a dynasty, there's no Uncles, Aunts, cousins, etc to challenge the new Emperox, just other families that now circle like sharks and pose challenges for her rule.
For science fiction, the empire is strangely lacking in technology. No ever-present interwebs, no robots, no automated weapons systems, no AI's, no advanced security systems, nothing. I found the 'Emperox' construction unnecessarily annoying - what's wrong with Emperor or Empress? Who would want to be called Emper-Ox? (joking, but still...) The social structure seems strangely backwards too. Worst of all, the entire plot of the book and upcoming novels is the lack of knowledge of the Flow and the fact that no one seems to care.
Other than that, this was well written and at times interesting, but the flaws were substantial and I just couldn't get into the flow of it.
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LibraryThing member reading_fox
Similar in some ways to KB Wager's Behind the Throne - and certainly worth reading that if you haven't. A little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
Cardenia is unexpectedly elevated to Empress of the human galactic empire after her father dies, and her elder brother succumbs to his injuries sustained
Other characters of note are a daughter of one of the guilds who doesn't understand why some policies have been enacted; and a son of one of the court mathematicians who is trying to convey his father's work to the empress.
Despite the convoluted politics and technical explanations it's fast easy reading and good fun. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the series as Scalzi writes them.
Cardenia is unexpectedly elevated to Empress of the human galactic empire after her father dies, and her elder brother succumbs to his injuries sustained
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in a racing car crash. Thrust unexpectedly into power she has to balance the demands of the trade guilds against the politics of parliament representing the people whom she's sworn to serve, and the might of the church, all of whom have seats on her Council, and agendas of their own. Of these it is the plotting of the guilds that causes the most concern. A galactic empire is possible by utilising wormhole connections between stars. Such wormholes have a direction - the Flow - and you can only go where they happen to be. For a thousand years these have existed, and mankind has managed to create a widespread civilization of artificial habitats, and very rare habitable worlds. As may be guessed form the title, there is indication that this Flow is perhaps ending it's period of stability. Although widespread knowledge of this is restricted to avoid panic, it can't stop the guilds squabbling for advantage.Other characters of note are a daughter of one of the guilds who doesn't understand why some policies have been enacted; and a son of one of the court mathematicians who is trying to convey his father's work to the empress.
Despite the convoluted politics and technical explanations it's fast easy reading and good fun. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the series as Scalzi writes them.
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LibraryThing member rivkat
Enjoyable new series from Scalzi. Millennia after colonizing space, Earth has been lost, but humanity has thrived in a number of systems, which are connected by the Flow, phlebotinum which allows them to approximate FTL travel, but only between nodes that intersect with our spacetime. A new emperox
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of the Interdependency ascends to the throne just as the Flow begins to collapse, which will isolate each system—none of which can survive on their own, except for End, the only colony on an actual planet. Lots of palace intrigue and banter ensues. Show Less
LibraryThing member 3j0hn
This was fun and not too heavy -- lots of ridiculously profane dialog. Not as good as the best in the "Old Man" universe, but a good read that made me excited to see what's coming in the next book.
LibraryThing member Guide2
A new series from Scalzi with some interesting characters, but a somewhat unclear or not well defined enough economic background. A fun quick read with a clear set-up for the next book.
LibraryThing member Cataloger623
The Collapsing Empire asks the question what causes a civilization to disintegrate? We all know about empires that dominated the earth militarily or politically and are no more. Some died by being invaded by a militarily superior invader. Some died because they were not able the handle changes in
I loved this story. It is full of political intrigue, there's even a fight over the validity of research, and the need for peer review of scientific papers. Scalzi writes characters that are multifaceted and interesting. None are pure good or evil. I came to enjoy getting to know these people. Much of the story is moved along by crisply written and often humorous dialog. This is book one of what Scalzi promises to be a multi part series. He has a contract with the publisher to produce books until 2027. I hope the series does not take that long to complete. None the less no matter how long this series will be it will be worth it.
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their environment. Other died because the leaders were incompetent. The reasons are for an empire disappearing are numerous. Scalzi asks what combination of events would collapse an interstellar empire? In bygone days empires on Earth were held together by the presence of trade wind and ocean currents. They were natural phenomena that enabled trade and communications between widely separated outposts of a given empire. What would have happened to these empires if those currents and trade winds suddenly disappeared? What would the leaders do to prepare for it if they knew it was going to happen ahead of time? In space these ocean current and trade winds are collectively called The Flow. The Flow keeps the 48 planets and space stations of the Interdependency connected. The Flow is going to disappear in year. Yet some leaders don't believe it is going to disappear. Some leaders want to take advantage of the situation. This is the story of what happens next.I loved this story. It is full of political intrigue, there's even a fight over the validity of research, and the need for peer review of scientific papers. Scalzi writes characters that are multifaceted and interesting. None are pure good or evil. I came to enjoy getting to know these people. Much of the story is moved along by crisply written and often humorous dialog. This is book one of what Scalzi promises to be a multi part series. He has a contract with the publisher to produce books until 2027. I hope the series does not take that long to complete. None the less no matter how long this series will be it will be worth it.
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LibraryThing member theWallflower
A little "Dune", a little "Game of Thrones", a little "Leviathan Wakes", with the rest being pure Scalzi himself. It's a great read, like his others. Not one you want to put down. Add to that the fact that's it fun to be starting a new saga. And the best part is that Scalzi's created one of his
Like the last two Old Man's War books, this story takes place with a high scope. A forty-thousand foot view. This is not like "Zoe's Tale" or "The Ghost Brigades" where you knew one character intimately. And like the last two "Old Man's War" books, the story stays focused on politics and governmental milieu (although it's not a political thriller).
One negative is that it seemed the good guys win their obstacles a little easy. Like someone grabs the gun from Chekhov's mantle, but the security manager saw him bring in bullets, and they knew who was going to do it, so they replaced the gun with one of those bang flag things. Challenges were nipped in the bud right away so that the goal became how to make it so no one noticed they nipped the bud while finding out who grew the flower.
If you're not familiar with Scalzi's stuff, then this is a good jumping in point. It's closest to "Lock-In" for style and "The End of All Things" for content.
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best characters to date in Kiva Lagos (mostly because she swears a lot). And that's saying something because Scalzi is not known for character-driven plots.Like the last two Old Man's War books, this story takes place with a high scope. A forty-thousand foot view. This is not like "Zoe's Tale" or "The Ghost Brigades" where you knew one character intimately. And like the last two "Old Man's War" books, the story stays focused on politics and governmental milieu (although it's not a political thriller).
One negative is that it seemed the good guys win their obstacles a little easy. Like someone grabs the gun from Chekhov's mantle, but the security manager saw him bring in bullets, and they knew who was going to do it, so they replaced the gun with one of those bang flag things. Challenges were nipped in the bud right away so that the goal became how to make it so no one noticed they nipped the bud while finding out who grew the flower.
If you're not familiar with Scalzi's stuff, then this is a good jumping in point. It's closest to "Lock-In" for style and "The End of All Things" for content.
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LibraryThing member pwaites
The Collapsing Empire is a promising start to a new space opera series. Relative to the rest of the genre, it’s also fairly short and easy to read.
In the future, far flung human settlements are united by one thing: the Flow. While not well understood by scientists, the Flow is a network of
An entire empire built on the inter-dependency of the human settlements is about to fall. All human settlements will now be on their own, cut off from the rest of humanity. And the space stations and bare rocks most humans reside on cannot support life on their own as things now stand. The Flow will collapse, but humanity doesn’t have to collapse with it. The new empress of the Interdependency, a scientist, and a noble of one of the merchant houses must work together to save what they can of the human race.
The Collapsing Empire is under four hundred pages long, when I’m used to most space operas being at least twice that length. Additionally, the prose isn’t very dense, making it a quick, easy read. I think it would work especially well for someone who is new to the genre or for someone who finds the hefty tomes of most space operas intimidating. Someone familiar with the genre may enjoy it as well, for I found it to be a lot of fun. The narrative practically skips along — I read all of it in less than twenty-four hours.
Additionally, The Collapsing Empire is a space opera that actually has women who do things. You wouldn’t think it’d be that hard, but it’s a low bar so many books fail to reach. Two of the three protagonists of the novel are women. Cardenia Wu-Patrick never expected to be empress, but after the accidental death of her half brother she suddenly finds herself with the throne and a whole lot of problems. Lady Kiva Lagos belongs to a house with a monopoly over certain fruits. She also can’t go a sentence without swearing. If you’ve got issues with profanity, this book is not for you. Finally, Marce is the son of the scientist who figured out the Flow is ending, and he’s been sent to Empress Wu-Patrick to alert her of the impending end of the empire. All three were fun enough characters, but I don’t know how long any of them will stick with me now that I’ve closed the pages of the book.
In general, there’s a certain “lightness” to The Collapsing Empire. On the bright side, that’s part of what makes this such a quick, breezy read. On the downside, it does mean that world building and character development often feels more sketched in than fully fleshed out. In particular, I think the future universe could have been developed more culturally. Sure, there’s a new socio-political structure based around trading monopolies and psuedo-nobility, but it still feels pretty similar to 21st century America for a culture set close to two thousand years in the future.
That said, I do like the idea of the Flow. It’s twisting the genre tropes regarding transportation in some interesting ways, plus the idea of all contact between human settlements collapsing is pretty darn exciting. I was also worried that the execution of it could end up going over my head (since it sounds a tad bit complicated), but thankfully that wasn’t the case.
In a lot of ways, The Collapsing Empire feels like set up for the rest of the series. The crisis humanity faces has been introduced, but a solution has not yet been found (and the collapse is only starting). It’s up to the sequels to deliver the rest of the story. Luckily, I fully plan on continuing with this series.
Originally posted on The Illustrated Page.
In the future, far flung human settlements are united by one thing: the Flow. While not well understood by scientists, the Flow is a network of
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inter-dimensional space that humans can navigate via entry points and exit points. In a universe where faster than light travel is impossible, the Flow is vital for contact between the different human settlements. And here’s the thing: it’s ending.An entire empire built on the inter-dependency of the human settlements is about to fall. All human settlements will now be on their own, cut off from the rest of humanity. And the space stations and bare rocks most humans reside on cannot support life on their own as things now stand. The Flow will collapse, but humanity doesn’t have to collapse with it. The new empress of the Interdependency, a scientist, and a noble of one of the merchant houses must work together to save what they can of the human race.
The Collapsing Empire is under four hundred pages long, when I’m used to most space operas being at least twice that length. Additionally, the prose isn’t very dense, making it a quick, easy read. I think it would work especially well for someone who is new to the genre or for someone who finds the hefty tomes of most space operas intimidating. Someone familiar with the genre may enjoy it as well, for I found it to be a lot of fun. The narrative practically skips along — I read all of it in less than twenty-four hours.
Additionally, The Collapsing Empire is a space opera that actually has women who do things. You wouldn’t think it’d be that hard, but it’s a low bar so many books fail to reach. Two of the three protagonists of the novel are women. Cardenia Wu-Patrick never expected to be empress, but after the accidental death of her half brother she suddenly finds herself with the throne and a whole lot of problems. Lady Kiva Lagos belongs to a house with a monopoly over certain fruits. She also can’t go a sentence without swearing. If you’ve got issues with profanity, this book is not for you. Finally, Marce is the son of the scientist who figured out the Flow is ending, and he’s been sent to Empress Wu-Patrick to alert her of the impending end of the empire. All three were fun enough characters, but I don’t know how long any of them will stick with me now that I’ve closed the pages of the book.
In general, there’s a certain “lightness” to The Collapsing Empire. On the bright side, that’s part of what makes this such a quick, breezy read. On the downside, it does mean that world building and character development often feels more sketched in than fully fleshed out. In particular, I think the future universe could have been developed more culturally. Sure, there’s a new socio-political structure based around trading monopolies and psuedo-nobility, but it still feels pretty similar to 21st century America for a culture set close to two thousand years in the future.
That said, I do like the idea of the Flow. It’s twisting the genre tropes regarding transportation in some interesting ways, plus the idea of all contact between human settlements collapsing is pretty darn exciting. I was also worried that the execution of it could end up going over my head (since it sounds a tad bit complicated), but thankfully that wasn’t the case.
In a lot of ways, The Collapsing Empire feels like set up for the rest of the series. The crisis humanity faces has been introduced, but a solution has not yet been found (and the collapse is only starting). It’s up to the sequels to deliver the rest of the story. Luckily, I fully plan on continuing with this series.
Originally posted on The Illustrated Page.
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LibraryThing member quondame
This is about as much fun as you can have at the end of civilization as they know it. Humanity is distributed among a set of stars connected by routes through the Flow. Almost everyone, billions of people over hundreds of systems, live in huge space stations under the rule of the Interdependency
The story is fast moving and fun to read, some of the women characters colorful if not quite credible, the men sort of just place holders. I could not buy into the 'only one planet' set up. Or the idea that the Emperox didn't have someone tracking all research into the Flow much more carefully.
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ruled from Xi'an where the imperial residency of the Wu Emperox heads the government. A new young Emperox, who was never trained or intended for the position has just taken over after her father's death. In all of the Interdependancy there is only one habitable planet, End, at the farthest reaches of the Flow and it is in the throws of a rebellion unprecedented even for End which has one at least every decade. Nor is the trouble on End the end, because the Flow has become unreliable. The story is fast moving and fun to read, some of the women characters colorful if not quite credible, the men sort of just place holders. I could not buy into the 'only one planet' set up. Or the idea that the Emperox didn't have someone tracking all research into the Flow much more carefully.
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LibraryThing member kinwolf
*not done reading yet*
2 stars for the physical book(Mass Paper-Back version). You never think book design is important until you get a crapshoot like this one. First, they went with a really weird format that is taller than the normal format, and it just feel weird. Second, the cover and back are
2 stars for the physical book(Mass Paper-Back version). You never think book design is important until you get a crapshoot like this one. First, they went with a really weird format that is taller than the normal format, and it just feel weird. Second, the cover and back are
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so hard and edgy that the hands actually hurt after a small 10 mins of reading(they cut into the palm and thumbs). It's like Tor went out of it's way to make you HATE the physical book. Show Less
LibraryThing member purpledog
The Collapsing Empire is the first book in the Interdependency series. A space opera set in the future where Earth is no longer a viable place to live. A thousand years ago humanity fled to stars and live mostly in space habitats circling various planets through out the galaxy.
To travel among the
Great story with believable characters. The plot moves along nicely and the intrigue makes it interesting. Wil Wheaton did a great job as the narrator. I am already looking forward to the need book in the series.
To travel among the
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cities in space, people use The Flow. Think the Gulf Stream but on a galaxy basis and you have the picture. The Flow greatly shortens the trip and allows for trade and life to continue despite great distances. Now The Flow is going away and with it the trade routes. The Empire is setup on the ability to access The Flow. Now the Empire is set to collapse. Great story with believable characters. The plot moves along nicely and the intrigue makes it interesting. Wil Wheaton did a great job as the narrator. I am already looking forward to the need book in the series.
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LibraryThing member Shrike58
There is a basic problem with this book and that problem is that it feels like reading the middle volume of a trilogy, only you didn't know it was the middle volume until you got to the end. If that is an accurate assessment then there is the additional problem that it's probably too short for the
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purposes that Scalzi had in mind, though I'm grateful that this didn't turn into his homage to Frank Herbert as he initially intended! It also means that much of the book is an extended data dump to get the new leader of this state (and the readers) up to speed on the looming emergency alluded to by the title. On the other hand, I do have high enough expectations in regards to Scalzi that he will write his way out of this situation and will carry this story arc to an emotionally satisfying conclusion; meaning that if you have the self control you should wait until the second book comes out and read the two together in one go. The other option would have been for Scalzi to write an extended prologue involving, say, the emperox who is dying at the start of the book and his trusted minion to at least set the scene. Show Less
LibraryThing member nicolewbrown
"The Interdependency with it's religious and social ethos of interconnectedness combined with a guild-centered, monopolistic economy, they'd created possibly the most ridiculously complex method of ensuring the formal caste system of nobles intertwined with a merchant class, and common workers
The book opens up with the old emperox dying and leaving as his heir his daughter from his mistress, Cardenia, a woman who has grown up outside of the capital and has no idea how to run things. His legal heir died tragically in a racing car accident while engaged to Nadshe Nohampetan from one of the important guilds, but truly a horrible person from a horrible family. Nadshe was the brains of the family and Cardenia's brother could have handled her just fine and made use of her. Now her much dumber brother Amit is sniffing around trying to get her to say yes to a marriage proposal and the council wants her to say yes. But when her father was dying he told her it would be a poor match. The council, which is comprised of a representative from the church, representatives from the guilds, and politicians, is preparing to run her down and tell her what to do. But Cardenia who has chosen as her royal name Grayland II and only lets personal friends and family in private call her Cardenia. She uses the plural We when she talks as she is talking for the entire system. In private she can use the singular when she feels like it.
At her coronation, a bomb goes off on the balcony when they are getting off the elevator and some other bombs go off in the crowds. The one on the balcony kills her best friend and personal assistant who keeps her on schedule and lets her know what she needs to know for every scenario and rights up speeches for her to say for every occasion. She is told that it is rebels from the rebel war going on at the planet End, which is as you might guess at the end of the system. It's the only planet where people actually live on it. This is of course, not true as the rebels could care less about who is crowned emperox. They are more concerned as to who is running things on End. But those on Hub, where the seat of the emperox and the government is they believe what they are being told by the Nohampetans, mainly Nadshe who has a secret plan in place.
On End, a once famous physicist seemingly turned his back on all that and took a title after he slept with the wrong woman and was sent to End to be a tax auditor. But secretly he was working for the emperox who has just died to further his research and to find out if it is true and what will happen. His son, Marce Claremont, has been helping him and the two have discovered that the Flow, the streams with which people travel from one planet to another in a matter of weeks or months instead of decades or more, has been degrading and is now falling apart and disappearing altogether with the one from End to the Hub the first to go. The physicist puts his son on one of the last ships going back to the Hub in order to talk to the emperox. But his trip will be fraught with peril as Ghreni Nohampetan is trying to either kill him or keep him back on End.
I really loved this book. While I loved Cardenia, one of my favorite characters was Lady Kiva, the family representative of the House of Lagos who owns the ship that Marce is leaving on and with whom, Ghreni has made the mistake of screwing with. She cusses worse than a sailor, sleeps with whoever she wants, and does as she pleases unless her mother, the head of the House of Lagos tells her differently because her mother is someone she respects and hopes to be someday. Kiva is smart and can really put a plan together and is prepared to sacrifice for the greater good. This book is the first in a series or a trilogy or at least has a sequel with the way it ended. I'm desperate to find out what happens next so Mr. Scalzi write faster, please.
Quotes:
Really nice people don’t usually accrue power.
--John Scalzi (The Collapsing Empire p 32)
“I don’t think she’s going to keep it to herself.” “It’s not whether she tells everyone,” Huma said. “It’s whether they believe her.” “It’s the truth.” “Oh, my daughter,” Huma said, and smiled. “Don’t tell me you don’t know how little that actually means.”
-John Scalzi (The Collapsing Empire p 274)
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underneath, complicated proceeding even further. And yet it worked. It worked because on a social level, apparently enough people wanted it to, and because at the heart of it, billions of humans living in fragile habitats prone to mechanical and environmental breakdowns and degradation, and with limited natural resources, were better off relying on each other than trying to go it alone. Even without the Interdependency being interdependent was the best way for humanity to survive." (p 276) At the head of the whole thing is the emperox who had the largest guild, was the head of the church, and had a seat on parliament.The book opens up with the old emperox dying and leaving as his heir his daughter from his mistress, Cardenia, a woman who has grown up outside of the capital and has no idea how to run things. His legal heir died tragically in a racing car accident while engaged to Nadshe Nohampetan from one of the important guilds, but truly a horrible person from a horrible family. Nadshe was the brains of the family and Cardenia's brother could have handled her just fine and made use of her. Now her much dumber brother Amit is sniffing around trying to get her to say yes to a marriage proposal and the council wants her to say yes. But when her father was dying he told her it would be a poor match. The council, which is comprised of a representative from the church, representatives from the guilds, and politicians, is preparing to run her down and tell her what to do. But Cardenia who has chosen as her royal name Grayland II and only lets personal friends and family in private call her Cardenia. She uses the plural We when she talks as she is talking for the entire system. In private she can use the singular when she feels like it.
At her coronation, a bomb goes off on the balcony when they are getting off the elevator and some other bombs go off in the crowds. The one on the balcony kills her best friend and personal assistant who keeps her on schedule and lets her know what she needs to know for every scenario and rights up speeches for her to say for every occasion. She is told that it is rebels from the rebel war going on at the planet End, which is as you might guess at the end of the system. It's the only planet where people actually live on it. This is of course, not true as the rebels could care less about who is crowned emperox. They are more concerned as to who is running things on End. But those on Hub, where the seat of the emperox and the government is they believe what they are being told by the Nohampetans, mainly Nadshe who has a secret plan in place.
On End, a once famous physicist seemingly turned his back on all that and took a title after he slept with the wrong woman and was sent to End to be a tax auditor. But secretly he was working for the emperox who has just died to further his research and to find out if it is true and what will happen. His son, Marce Claremont, has been helping him and the two have discovered that the Flow, the streams with which people travel from one planet to another in a matter of weeks or months instead of decades or more, has been degrading and is now falling apart and disappearing altogether with the one from End to the Hub the first to go. The physicist puts his son on one of the last ships going back to the Hub in order to talk to the emperox. But his trip will be fraught with peril as Ghreni Nohampetan is trying to either kill him or keep him back on End.
I really loved this book. While I loved Cardenia, one of my favorite characters was Lady Kiva, the family representative of the House of Lagos who owns the ship that Marce is leaving on and with whom, Ghreni has made the mistake of screwing with. She cusses worse than a sailor, sleeps with whoever she wants, and does as she pleases unless her mother, the head of the House of Lagos tells her differently because her mother is someone she respects and hopes to be someday. Kiva is smart and can really put a plan together and is prepared to sacrifice for the greater good. This book is the first in a series or a trilogy or at least has a sequel with the way it ended. I'm desperate to find out what happens next so Mr. Scalzi write faster, please.
Quotes:
Really nice people don’t usually accrue power.
--John Scalzi (The Collapsing Empire p 32)
“I don’t think she’s going to keep it to herself.” “It’s not whether she tells everyone,” Huma said. “It’s whether they believe her.” “It’s the truth.” “Oh, my daughter,” Huma said, and smiled. “Don’t tell me you don’t know how little that actually means.”
-John Scalzi (The Collapsing Empire p 274)
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LibraryThing member antao
I recently bought a box of pulp SF from eBay - most dating from the 50s and 60s. Lantern-jawed, pipe-smoking men save the world while their gorgeous female assistants are prone to outbursts of come-hither hero worshiping and swooning - especially when kissed fiercely and unexpectedly by the
A few years ago, I tried reading his “Old Man's War”. I still remember thinking: “Gosh! If this the SF that’s been written nowadays I’ll never read another single line of it.” Every character sounded like the last one. That is, like a Syfy channel quickie. That’s why it was with some trepidation that I started the last one from Scalzi.
Most writers have a massively over-inflated sense of self-worth. Most books have no inspirational content whatsoever. Many are drivel. Some people take their inspiration from other things. Reading is a pastime for most. Writers are entertainers no more. A dime a dozen, forgotten if ever noticed. Even those lauded are often just in the right clique of reviewers. Lots of writers seem to think Shakespeare was a professorial type, rather than a jobbing actor. Most of the output of the publishing industry is pulp. Some gems emerge, but I would challenge anyone to name an author who has produced nothing but the highly readable and valuable. Listen to all the recordings of The Beatles. They did change the world in their own way, and some of the songs are wonderful. There is also “Oobla Dee Oobla Dah". “The collapsing Empire” belongs to the “Oobla Dee Oobla Dah” category: not really that good but still quite hummable. ´
I’m not sure why but every time I read one of Scalzi’s novels, James T. Kirk comes to mind, teaching a sexy alien about love: "We have this *thing* on Earth we call love... You don't know about love... Let me teach you..." Now THAT's good SF. Ahem. Ahh Kirk. Hard not to love him, smooth talking intergalactic slut that he was (Was his shirt torn away in that scene? bet it was).
The books I bought on eBay were cringe-making, but also quite diverting and entertaining. Could I ask for more Scalzi-wise? Yes, I could. But I won’t. This is Scalzi at his absolute best. He can’t write any better than this.
SF = Speculative Fiction.
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lantern-jawed men. The latest one was about a worldwide plague where the lantern-jawed hero is a journalist trying to uncover governmental secrecy while trying to decide whether to go to his mistress - young, beautiful, free loving and rich - or whether to return to his ex-wife - a dour and buttoned-up biologist - who has an in on a secret survival bunker. (He's a selfish and cold-hearted bastard, so my bet is on him going with the ex-wife and claiming to have loved only her all along.) “The Collapsing Empire” belongs to this book category.A few years ago, I tried reading his “Old Man's War”. I still remember thinking: “Gosh! If this the SF that’s been written nowadays I’ll never read another single line of it.” Every character sounded like the last one. That is, like a Syfy channel quickie. That’s why it was with some trepidation that I started the last one from Scalzi.
Most writers have a massively over-inflated sense of self-worth. Most books have no inspirational content whatsoever. Many are drivel. Some people take their inspiration from other things. Reading is a pastime for most. Writers are entertainers no more. A dime a dozen, forgotten if ever noticed. Even those lauded are often just in the right clique of reviewers. Lots of writers seem to think Shakespeare was a professorial type, rather than a jobbing actor. Most of the output of the publishing industry is pulp. Some gems emerge, but I would challenge anyone to name an author who has produced nothing but the highly readable and valuable. Listen to all the recordings of The Beatles. They did change the world in their own way, and some of the songs are wonderful. There is also “Oobla Dee Oobla Dah". “The collapsing Empire” belongs to the “Oobla Dee Oobla Dah” category: not really that good but still quite hummable. ´
I’m not sure why but every time I read one of Scalzi’s novels, James T. Kirk comes to mind, teaching a sexy alien about love: "We have this *thing* on Earth we call love... You don't know about love... Let me teach you..." Now THAT's good SF. Ahem. Ahh Kirk. Hard not to love him, smooth talking intergalactic slut that he was (Was his shirt torn away in that scene? bet it was).
The books I bought on eBay were cringe-making, but also quite diverting and entertaining. Could I ask for more Scalzi-wise? Yes, I could. But I won’t. This is Scalzi at his absolute best. He can’t write any better than this.
SF = Speculative Fiction.
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LibraryThing member NeedMoreShelves
I get that Scalzi isn't for everyone, but I have to say, it seems like he is definitely for me. I can even SEE the flaws as I'm reading, and yet I can't stop loving the stories he writes and the way he writes them.
And also? Kick-ass female protagonists will win me over every time. EVERY.
Can't wait to see where this world takes us.
And also? Kick-ass female protagonists will win me over every time. EVERY.
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TIME.Can't wait to see where this world takes us.
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LibraryThing member DLMorrese
I picked this up from the library yesterday morning and finished reading it last night. It's not like I couldn't put it down. I did several times...briefly, to attend to other demands on my attention, but I kept those breaks as short as possible. I was simply having too much fun in this new
That's the setting. Admittedly, it's not a likely future, but the characters living in it are believable. There's the new 'emperox' (monarch of the Interdependecy). She doesn't really want the job. There's a foulmouthed and oversexed representative of one of the corporate families. She's not exactly likeable, but I have to (albeit somewhat reluctantly) admire her blatant honesty. There's the Flow scientist, a bit nerdy but entirely likeable. And many others. It's not a cast of thousands, but there are many well-drawn characters. I enjoyed getting to know them.
And, as with all really good science fiction, there are also subtle parallels to events in our real world.
It's an absorbing and entertaining story. When I finished reading it last night, I was left with one question: When is the next book coming out?
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universe Scalzi created. It's a future of space travel using 'flows' that allow ships to get around the light speed limit. A monarchical 'interdependency' rules the planetary systems connected by these flows, but only one of the systems contains a planet naturally suitable for human life (the rest provide living space in constructed habitats). Enforced monopolies ensure that no one system is independent. They rely on mutual (and profitable) trade for their survival. Noble families covetously cling to their granted monopolies and vie for dominance. And the Flows are collapsing.That's the setting. Admittedly, it's not a likely future, but the characters living in it are believable. There's the new 'emperox' (monarch of the Interdependecy). She doesn't really want the job. There's a foulmouthed and oversexed representative of one of the corporate families. She's not exactly likeable, but I have to (albeit somewhat reluctantly) admire her blatant honesty. There's the Flow scientist, a bit nerdy but entirely likeable. And many others. It's not a cast of thousands, but there are many well-drawn characters. I enjoyed getting to know them.
And, as with all really good science fiction, there are also subtle parallels to events in our real world.
It's an absorbing and entertaining story. When I finished reading it last night, I was left with one question: When is the next book coming out?
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LibraryThing member Gwendydd
This was fine.... It's pretty typical Scalzi. Which is to say, it's snarky, has some funny moments, has some bitchy characters and some conniving, and is reasonably entertaining. It's not his best work, but not his worst either. I didn't have any real complaints about it, but I didn't get
I listened to the audiobook, and as always, Wil Wheaton is a great match for Scalzi. They both do snark really well.
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interested enough in the characters or the worldbuilding to read the rest of the series.I listened to the audiobook, and as always, Wil Wheaton is a great match for Scalzi. They both do snark really well.
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LibraryThing member alanteder
Entertaining space pop with foul language.
This was a fun intergalactic battle of wits between rival merchant guilds which was not too heavy on the sci-fi. There is a intergalactic empire connected by "The Fold" which most of us will read and understand as wormholes. There is an Emperox (the x is
The characters were well done, especially Emperox Cardenia Wu, Guild rep Lady Kiva Lagos and the villains of the House of Nohamapetan.
I listened to the audiobook which was surprisingly (for a recent 2017 book) available as an Audible Daily Deal for $2.95 on Sept. 22, 2017. Presumably they are looking to build buzz for the series to come and for a possible TV-movie for which the rights have been purchased. The narration by actor Wil Wheaton was excellent.
This was a fun intergalactic battle of wits between rival merchant guilds which was not too heavy on the sci-fi. There is a intergalactic empire connected by "The Fold" which most of us will read and understand as wormholes. There is an Emperox (the x is
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silent) dynasty where the current ruler can "talk" to all of the previous Emperoxes in a private hologram chamber. The memories of the entire Wu dynasty have been faultlessly preserved through audio/visual recording in their lifetimes.The characters were well done, especially Emperox Cardenia Wu, Guild rep Lady Kiva Lagos and the villains of the House of Nohamapetan.
I listened to the audiobook which was surprisingly (for a recent 2017 book) available as an Audible Daily Deal for $2.95 on Sept. 22, 2017. Presumably they are looking to build buzz for the series to come and for a possible TV-movie for which the rights have been purchased. The narration by actor Wil Wheaton was excellent.
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LibraryThing member kmartin802
This books starts an epic space opera. Humans have spread out across the universe using a system called The Flow to get around the speed of light. The whole system is run by the Interdependency which is a government featuring an emperox, a parliament, trade guilds, and a church.
Cardenia is one of
Lady Kiva is another viewpoint character. She is a member of one of the merchant families and is very interested in profit for her family. She is also foul-mouthed and tricky. She meets an old rival on End who manages to totally disrupt her plans.
Also on End is Lord Marce whose father has been doing some research on The Flow at the request of the Emperox for more than thirty years. Both Marce and his father are physicists who study The Flow. When they come to an understanding of what is happening to The Flow, Marce has to get to the Emperox to share his findings.
But End is experiencing one of its periodic revolutions - this time orchestrated in part by Lord Ghreni Nohamapetan whose family has plans for End - and they don't want Marce's information going anywhere.
This was an engaging story. I liked the characters and the political intrigue. The dialog was crisp. The worldbuilding was well done. The story was fast-paced. Being the first book in a series, the big problem - the collapse of The Flow - wasn't resolved. There was resolution to the plot which encompassed the Hohamapetan family's attempt to exploit the situation.
I look forward to reading more in this world.
Cardenia is one of
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the viewpoint characters. She is going to be the next Emperox despite the fact that she is the product of a liaison between the current Emperox and her mother. She was raised mostly outside the center of imperial politics. When her older half brother dies, she becomes the heir - like it or not. Now her father is dying and she is getting ready for a job she hasn't been trained for.Lady Kiva is another viewpoint character. She is a member of one of the merchant families and is very interested in profit for her family. She is also foul-mouthed and tricky. She meets an old rival on End who manages to totally disrupt her plans.
Also on End is Lord Marce whose father has been doing some research on The Flow at the request of the Emperox for more than thirty years. Both Marce and his father are physicists who study The Flow. When they come to an understanding of what is happening to The Flow, Marce has to get to the Emperox to share his findings.
But End is experiencing one of its periodic revolutions - this time orchestrated in part by Lord Ghreni Nohamapetan whose family has plans for End - and they don't want Marce's information going anywhere.
This was an engaging story. I liked the characters and the political intrigue. The dialog was crisp. The worldbuilding was well done. The story was fast-paced. Being the first book in a series, the big problem - the collapse of The Flow - wasn't resolved. There was resolution to the plot which encompassed the Hohamapetan family's attempt to exploit the situation.
I look forward to reading more in this world.
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LibraryThing member Pepperwings
Part of the appeal of this story was the voice acting on the audiobook, great characterization!
However, the story is compelling, the politics are interesting (especially given that the politics of empires like this often becomes boring and tedious) and the characters are definitely interesting in
The Empero is dying, and his daughter is rising to the throne--though she didn't want or expect to, her brother died, so now she is next in line. The previous Emperos have their memories stored in the memory room, allowing her to speak with approximations of them for advice. The realism of the futuristic tech is very good, without going into a lot of detail, but leaving a god amount of believability, which is what I want in my sci-fi.
The Empero is in charge of the interdependence of planets, and something big is happening with the interdependence, making this reign a big one.
I didn't know going in that this was book 1, and book 2 won't be released until later this year, which is disappointing, but also exciting.
However, the story is compelling, the politics are interesting (especially given that the politics of empires like this often becomes boring and tedious) and the characters are definitely interesting in
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their own right. The Empero is dying, and his daughter is rising to the throne--though she didn't want or expect to, her brother died, so now she is next in line. The previous Emperos have their memories stored in the memory room, allowing her to speak with approximations of them for advice. The realism of the futuristic tech is very good, without going into a lot of detail, but leaving a god amount of believability, which is what I want in my sci-fi.
The Empero is in charge of the interdependence of planets, and something big is happening with the interdependence, making this reign a big one.
I didn't know going in that this was book 1, and book 2 won't be released until later this year, which is disappointing, but also exciting.
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LibraryThing member jdifelice
This was fun, easy to read, and very enjoyable. I enjoyed the pacing, the easy to follow writing, and the cast of characters we were introduced to. As other people have said, this is definitely an introduction novel to a larger series, but man, this intrigued me and I cannot wait to see where
There was a lot of political scheming involved in the plot, yet it didn't bog the story down, it made it interesting and it was easy to follow. I didn't get confused by the "leaps" the characters made when they made connections and figured things out. It was fun, I didn't have to think too hard, and cool physics was involved.
I really liked the concept of "The Flow" and how it connects the planets and systems of the Interdependency. It was interesting to see how this political system developed and thrived by trading with each other and not every planet having all the resources it needed. The all depended on each other for something. I like how this was executed, and want to see how the plot develops in the collapse of this system.
Overall, I liked this. It was quick, and fun, and I will definitely be reading the next book!
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Scalzi takes us!There was a lot of political scheming involved in the plot, yet it didn't bog the story down, it made it interesting and it was easy to follow. I didn't get confused by the "leaps" the characters made when they made connections and figured things out. It was fun, I didn't have to think too hard, and cool physics was involved.
I really liked the concept of "The Flow" and how it connects the planets and systems of the Interdependency. It was interesting to see how this political system developed and thrived by trading with each other and not every planet having all the resources it needed. The all depended on each other for something. I like how this was executed, and want to see how the plot develops in the collapse of this system.
Overall, I liked this. It was quick, and fun, and I will definitely be reading the next book!
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LibraryThing member macha
the author had a lot of fun with this little space opera. the dialogue is often hilarious, and the story moves at a dizzy pace. possibly my favourite Scalzi ride so far, so i hope there's more to come.
Awards
Hugo Award (Nominee — Novel — 2018)
Locus Award (Finalist — Science Fiction Novel — 2018)
RUSA CODES Reading List (Winner — Science Fiction — 2018)
Grand Prix de l'Imaginaire (Shortlist — 2022)
Dragon Award (Finalist — Science Fiction Novel — 2017)
Los Angeles Public Library Best of the Year (Fiction — 2017)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2017-03-23
Physical description
336 p.; 5.83 inches
ISBN
9780765388889