I do not understand how I have avoided reading John Scalzi to this point. Talk about a writer in my wheelhouse! Science Fiction with a bit of an attitude, Hugo award winner, buncha other writing bric-à-brac to keep his walls decorated. The only thing I can think is that he hit the big time in the early 2000s and I wasn’t reading a lot of new sci-fi at that point. But I heard the name with increasing frequency, and one day I needed something new to read. Scanning through the lists at my local library (Support Your Local Library!) I stumbled on this series.
The rest is about to become history. Because, gimme. Gimme now, gimme all.
It’s that good.
The series made up of “The Collapsing Empire”, “The Consuming Fire”, and “The Last Emprox”. The short version is that a human empire that spans star systems is stumbling to an end. It doesn’t understand that the end is coming because no one realizes that The Flow, the extra-dimensional highway that connects the systems, is about to collapse. It threatens the carefully created interdependent nature of the society. Then the Emprox (a lovely gender neutral title) dies and his heir turns out to be a child from outside the power structure. There is plenty of intrigue, double dealing, tension and twists to fill out the rest of the series.
I am not always a fan of stories that continue on to the next book without some kind of wrap up for the story at each step. There are plenty of Scalzi fans who grumble that these books fall into that category, but I’ll disagree. The book ends at a reasonable breaking point in the longer narrative. The storytelling and writing are more than good enough to make me put the remaining books on hold.
The other complaint I see is that there are bad words and sex in these books. As one weaned on “Tom Swift and His Fabulous Electronic Whangdoodle” I remember “clean” science fiction. I’m not sure Tom ever let fly with anything more inflammatory than a heartfelt “Heck”. But it’s the 21st Century and I don’t read juvenile sci-fi any more. The language and action is appropriate for the characters, and it’s not especially lurid. If that’s an issue for you, then consider yourself forewarned.
Scalzi is easy to read, and seasons the work with a judicious amount of snark and humor. He has created an interesting universe and culture that has unique advantages and disadvantages. That’s a great background for a story.
From the first, it reminded me of a different science fiction series. The basic situation here and in Isaac Asimov’s Foundation series is the same. The human empire is stumbling to an inevitable end. The powers that be don’t want to hear it, but one man has amassed the proof. The cause of the demise is different, as is the solution, but there are definite parallels in the underpinnings. Not a bad comparable, I think.
Rating – **** Recommended
Stories Are My Life 