Books: The Last Emperox By John Scalzi (2020)

 

"The collapse of The Flow, the interstellar pathway between the planets of the Interdependency, has accelerated. Entire star systems—and billions of people—are becoming cut off from the rest of human civilization. This collapse was foretold through scientific prediction… and yet, even as the evidence is obvious and insurmountable, many still try to rationalize, delay and profit from, these final days of one of the greatest empires humanity has ever known. Emperox Grayland II has finally wrested control of her empire from those who oppose her and who deny the reality of this collapse. But “control” is a slippery thing, and even as Grayland strives to save as many of her people from impoverished isolation, the forces opposing her rule will make a final, desperate push to topple her from her throne and power, by any means necessary. Grayland and her thinning list of allies must use every tool at their disposal to save themselves, and all of humanity. And yet it may not be enough. Will Grayland become the savior of her civilization… or the last emperox to wear the crown?"

As I mentioned in the review of the first book, I read somewhere this series was supposed to be two volumes, not three. I think it should’ve stayed two books. Part of the problem lies in how many times Scalzi reminds the reader of the plot and while less obvious, here than book two, there still remains an over-reliance on the expository narrative trope –he tells too much of the story instead of showing it. Once again, the books ideas will resonant with modern times -the story isn't very subtle as we see greedy capitalists trying to save themselves and their fortunes and are willing letting the rest of the humans die a horrible death. Of course, not all are evil.

Despite some of my nitpicking, the three female leads are pretty fun, even if they all seem self-aware. Kiva is the best, though.

Books: The Consuming Fire By John Scalzi (2018)

 

"The Interdependency―humanity’s interstellar empire―is on the verge of collapse. The extra-dimensional conduit that makes travel between the stars possible is disappearing, leaving entire systems and human civilizations stranded. Emperox Grayland II of the Interdependency is ready to take desperate measures to help ensure the survival of billions. But arrayed before her are those who believe the collapse of the Flow is a myth―or at the very least an opportunity to an ascension to power. While Grayland prepares for disaster, others are preparing for a civil war, a war that will take place in the halls of power, the markets of business and the the altars of worship. The Emperox and her allies are smart and resourceful, as are her enemies. Nothing about this will be easy... and all of humanity will be caught in its consuming fire."

As with all middle books within a trilogy, everything must be set-up for the conclusion. The Consuming Fire is good, a fun space opera filled with interesting characters and some clever storytelling. But Scalzi relies too much on exposition here and amazing convenience. Everyone knows everything and vomits it out at a drop of hat. The Memory Room is used too much to explain the plot points for readers who’ll read this book in front of the TV or between vids on TickTok. So in the end, this middle book becomes all explanations with little plot. 

The there is the arrival of the mysterious walking holo dude (woman?) Tomas Reynauld Chenevert, who either holds the keys the Interdependency survival or has some other plan to bring it to its knees.

Some reviews claim to think this is Scalzi’s Dune, but this series is not as dense or complex as Herbert’s work. And while it features conspiracies, this series is seemly more an espionage thriller with humor, a lot of fucking, a lot chewing at the scenery. Still, at its heart, I continue to see the many parallels of modern America here. Here Scalzi makes it obvious that it was written during the most divisive time in our modern history.

So onto book three…

Books: The Collapsing Empire By John Scalzi (2017)

"The 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, around 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 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 (as happened with Earth some thousand years ago). When it’s discovered that The Flow is moving, possibly cutting off all human worlds 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."

While John Scalzi’s latest space opera is bit complex –the science is real, and he tries not to dumb it down, but it does hurt the brain- the fun part is the characters, the politics and the sheer audacity of the whole series. At its core, though The Interdependency series (apparently originally two books, but was expanded to three) is about the fall of a civilization and the realization that that it can’t be stopped. Thus the flow (if you’ll excuse the phrase) of the tale is about who’ll control End –the evil or the semi-evil. I also felt the best example of understanding The Flow was make them wormholes like the one seen on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine mixed with the Barzan wormhole from the TNG episode The Price and its semi-sequel episode featured on VOY episode, False Profits. 

As with Scalzi’s other writings, it’s a witty book full of characters who, while charming, are all basically assholes. Of course, some are worse than others, and there are a few morally good folks, but all of them have potty mouths and use sex as political points. Political machinations abound here, and while I’m not fond of these themes, it still handled rather well here.

What works –beyond the humor- is that despite everyone not giving a “fuck” about anything, despite the politicking, despite the fact that there is no one really good here, you end up rooting for the House of Wu to win it all. We’ll see with book 2, coming up next.