Our universe is ruled by physics and faster than light travel is not possible—until the discovery of The Flow, an extra-dimensional field we can access at certain points in space-time that transport us to other worlds, other stars.
Humanity flows away from Earth, into space, and in time forgets our home world and creates a new empire, the Interdependency, whose ethos requires that no one human … one human outpost can survive without the others. It’s a hedge against interstellar war—and a system of control for the rulers of the empire.
The Flow is eternal—but it is not static. Just as a river changes course, The Flow changes as well, cutting off worlds from the rest of humanity. When it’s discovered that The Flow is moving, possibly cutting off every human world from faster than light travel forever, three individuals—a scientist, a starship captain and the Empress of the Interdependency—are in a race against time to discover what, if anything, can be salvaged from an interstellar empire on the brink of collapse.
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I finally got to “The Collapsing Empire”. I loved, loved the whole Old Man Series and that set my expectations of future Scalzi work ski high. Which is why I only mildly enjoyed his book, “Redshirts”. I expected it to be hilarious, but found it only mildly amusing. The coda’s helped, but didn’t put it over the top for me. I kinda ignored this and still went into “The Collapsing Empire” with big expectations. Keeping in mind those high expectations, I found this book to be . . . wait for it . . . very good. Yes, not great, not awful – I enjoyed it, but wasn’t blown away like I was by every book in “Old Man’s War” trilogy.
Having just toured Italy for ten days and getting to see feudal Europe firsthand, I was primed for this book. What did I learn in Italy? In medieval times, people went to incredible lengths to protect themselves. They built amazing walled cities on top of mountains to avoid being pillaged. When you see it firsthand, you can’t help but be awestruck at what it must have taken in a pre-mechanized society to build and live in those cities. You realize there was this crazy juxtaposition of conflict and violence against the need, or even requirement of cooperation and dependence. That’s what Scalzi world built around, which is, I must say – awesome. I love the physics concept of the flow (a force that allows interstellar travel – but only along a set path – like an ocean current) setting the underlying scaffolding for this universe. I love the backdrop of Earth getting cutoff from a disruption in the flow.
So why was it very good and not outstanding? Well, it started with a bang – an attempted mutiny on a starship navigating the flow. It got me all revved up for a high-adventure, action story and whump, we drop out of hyperspace and slow the ‘f’ down into about 200 pages of palace intrigue a’ la space opera drudgery. To be fair, those two hundred pages are well-written and introduce some great characters and this awesome universe that we are going to live in for an entire trilogy. And to be fairer, it wasn’t all politics, we get to see more and more of a political uprising. But for my money, the real action (the good stuff) doesn’t start back up until the final 75 pages of the story. But when it finished, I was satisfied. There was enough resolution of plot to feel like a complete book, but plenty of setup for the remainder of the trilogy. There are some great characters in this book, kick ass women, manipulative baddies, and a few main characters I really wanted to root for. There is plenty of conflict and peril, both in this book and setup for the trilogy. A good indicator is that I’m excited to read the next book in the trilogy.
A strong and fun start to a promising sci-fi trilogy, that established a fantastic backdrop for the remaining trilogy.
Great diverse, female characters and a great story. Perfect if you need a quick, fun sci-fi fix.
Holy cow. Picked this book up after a quick browse of the first few pages and I don’t think I actually slept until I finished it–which is rare for me these days, sadly. Loved the book, and have currently banned myself from starting the next book until I get some work done.
Lots of action, extremely fun, tons of swearing, witty characters, and a deep plot to boot. Pair it with either a fine wine or straight vodka.
This series is so interesting! I love all the different ways sci-fi has approached humans going into space. I find these characters so interesting and the way that the society functions interesting. I’m excited to continue with this series and finally finish it!
Interesting
I ignored all of my podcasts so that I could just listen to this book in all my spare time. I had gone into the book knowing that Scalzi (who is one of my top favorite authors) borrowed on some of the themes in the Foundation series, another favorite of mine. But honestly, I barely saw the connection. I definitely see the influence of the themes of a large galactic empire on the verge of collapse, but that was about it. Scalzi took his own spin on everything with the usual delight. I loved the travel system “The Flow” and how everything about The Flow was characterized by river or ocean terminology. It made it easy to understand and relate to. The system of families controlling everything was believable and rich for drama. I loved the creative cursing coming out of Wil Wheaton’s mouth. It delighted me to no end. Also, I’m tired of people who are angry with Scalzi for being “woke.” It’s the future. It’s totally believable to think that women and men are equal by then (as they SHOULD be now). If you can’t wrap your head around that, you need to have a seat.
This felt a little bit like game of thrones in space. Not too much on the carnage level, but a lot on the political level. I liked the fact that many of the characters were so cunning and manipulative. It took me inside their brains, and I like that for this book.
Another great universe: this one ruled by an accidental Emperox. Cardenia finds herself heir to the kingdom, and her quiet life exploded into one of intrigue, murder, and changes in the universe around her that could end all life.
On the other end of the spectrum, Lady Kiva Lagos is a daughter of a major house, but put in charge of minor ships taking crops to other parts of the galaxy. Her mouth and sexual appetites could make a sailor blush, and I found myself laughing out loud at her exposition.
It’s a great “what if”, and a very fun universe. Can’t wait for the 3rd book (this is the first) in the series.
Scalzi is a fantastic world-builder, and this is as good as anything he’s ever done. Check it out!
When an Empire is built on certain things, like regular crops, the backs of serfs, or an intragalatic Flow (think gulf stream or jet stream – where people used the quick travel benefit long before they understood how fluid dynamics on a global scale worked), and the certain things break, The Collapsing Empire results.
John Scalzi has nailed this tragic tale with his normal snide humor (toned down just enough for the disaster about to ensue).
It’s a tale as old as time. Viking populations grew doubling and tripling during a couple centuries of warm weather and active crops in the north; when the weather changed stopped, Vikings started raiding instead of trading as their people starved to death and eventually escaped to warmer climates except for a few hardy souls unable to leave their home. The Incas, Fedual Europe, and the Roman Empire all fell because plague wiped out communication (messengers) and food production (serfs/slaves) – it didn’t matter if the healthy rich remained when all the fields are fallow.
Now the Interdependency will fall as the Flow slows and stops.
The results will be hideous for a culture artificially sustained for a thousand years by forcing interdependency between systems – no single system can survive on its own by design. A far-flung gestalt of independent (yet interdependent) space stations and bio-domes on inhospitable planets are about to be cut off from everything. Machines will fail as unavailable parts will prevent maintenance; food unable to grow in certain bio-spheres will mean rampant malnutrition as various required nutrients are not consumed (like citrus/vitamin C and scurvy); … the list goes on.
Mr. Scalzi has done an excellent job of setting up the world of The Collapsing Empire. I’m almost scared to follow this dark rabbit hole, even though I think he will concentrate on the areas where humanity will survive and succeed rather than the systems doomed to failure. The fact remains the world-building setup of this first novel of the series establishes the second and third world-building levels of the collapse and I will know what is happening “off-stage” without him needing to show it. (Great job!)
The question I hope will be asked by someone in book two is “If the Flow’s collapse can be tracked, can we predict where and how it will turn back on again?”
Note: One of the main characters speaks nearly exclusively with the f-word. I’ve run into this in about three or four books now by different authors. I really hope it is a phase the publishing industry gets over soon, because *tiresome*.
Note: One of the main characters uses money and position to force people into a situation where saying “no” to sex is impossible – people who work for this particular MC’s family mostly (think skanky boss). If the MC was male, readers would be up-in-arms. It should be no different because the MC is female. But she isn’t the sympathetic part of the MC cast (another female and male hold those slots).
The cast has two sympathetic, compassionate people (who you hope end up with each other). And two power-hungry monsters (and their clans) who hate each other and will be using the chaos of The Collapsing Empire to continuing their long-standing feud.
The Collapsing Empire is the opening volume of Scalzi’s latest space opera series. In this world, it is the far future. Humanity has spread to the stars in a vast empire which has existed for a millennium. There has been only one dynasty: that of the Wu family.
Faster than light travel isn’t available in the most familiar sense. No hyperspace or warp speed. Instead, starships sail on a space/time current called the Flow. It doesn’t take hours or even days to travel; rather, weeks or even months. There are specific points where ships can enter and exit the Flow, called shoals.
At the beginning of the book, the Empire is in trouble. The Flow is beginning to change. It’s no longer becoming accessible to humanity. Some people believe that it’s reversing course. Others think something more dire is occurring.
According to an interview with NPR, some wondered if the title was a thinly veiled reference to the perceived fragility of the United States. Scalzi pointed out that he was reaching further back.
In fact I did think very generally about the “golden age” of European exploration, roughly corresponding to the 15th through 17th centuries, in the sense that the empires that rose out of that era were wholly dependent on natural forces (wind, ocean currents, rivers) to move their ships and shape their destinies with regard to trade and exploration. We’re so used to having at least some mechanical control of our travel that it’s hard to put oneself back into a mindset where travel took months, not hours, and was not always a safe and predictable thing.
So there was no one particular empire in our past I was borrowing from, but rather, a whole historical gestalt, and then only loosely. Please, historians, don’t tell me all the things I’m getting wrong about the European age of exploration! I know. I KNOW.
I loved this approach! I’ve always found this time frame to be rather fascinating. And the tropes of the Age of Discovery were rather apt for a space opera. For example, trade monopolies. From a historic perspective, the East India Trade Company exerted tremendous power in Great Britain. 5% of all imports came from India, and passed through the Company’s control at some point.
Something similar occurs in this story. The imperial Wu family is the dominant powerhouse. But they’ve allowed other nobility members to have their own franchise monopolies. For example, the Lagos family has control of all citrus fruits in the Interdependency.
Scalzi’s trademark snark seasons the story. He’s never going to be one of my favorite stylistic writers. In general, I’ve always found his descriptions generic at best. But his biting sense of humor is a solid compensation. It makes the story easy to read, and I found myself moving through it at a quick clip.
One area that the humor shines through is in the name of the ships. Scalzi has acknowledged that Iain M. Banks’s Culture series were an inspiration. And sometimes a well-crafted homage fits into the tone of a book. Every time I heard about the Yes, Sir, That’s My Baby and No, Sir, I don’t Mean Maybe it made me smile.
A word of warning to those who dislike profanity in their stories: this book is heavily layered with them. One character, Kiva Lagos, works in profanity like a proficienct master orator bent towards the obscene. While I found her funny, I can understand why others would easily tire of Kiva’s… creative license.
All in all, I’d recommend The Collapsing Empire. It’s funny, its easy to read, and it’s creative by looking backwards to extrapolate forward.
Good characters, interesting setting, believable plot. I want to know what happens next (the 2nd book), which is a good sign – for me, anyway..
Some of the vernacular was very modern day (which is a little weird since the story takes place thousands of years in the future), but that’s a quibble. Scalzi keeps it moving with a fun cast of characters and a pointed message. I’m looking forward to book 2.
The first book of a new Scalzi series is very good news.
One of the best new SF novels I read in 2017. Hugo? Yes, please! Can’t wait for the next volume.
I liked this book and I think fans of Scalzi’s work, especially “End Of All Things” or “The Human Division” will like this book. “Collapsing Empire” is set in a completely different universe but the story telling sounds to my ear very similar to the last books in Scalzi’s Old Man’s War universe. The action is brisk but relatively small scale (no space armadas). There are at least three major, intertwined plot threads. Things get somewhat resolved by the end but this definitely feels like the first book in a series. There are several major characters and what they individually lack in complexity is (mostly) made up for by their diversity. The four (maybe 5) most badass main characters, heroes and villains, are women. Which is something I had not realized until I started writing this review. Recommended.