9781432839079: The Collapsing Empire (Thorndike Press Large Print Basic Series). Agent: Ethan Ellenberg, Ethan Ellenberg Literary. The Collapsing Empire: John Scalzi (The Interdependency, 1) by Scalzi. Expect several future works set in this sprawling universe. Scalzi’s storytelling centers on dynamic and quick-thinking players with strong personalities who engage in spirited social interactions, making the slightly dubious physics forgivable. This would disrupt the plans of the ambitious noble Nohamapetan family, which is involved in a rebellion raging on the outermost planet of End Kiva Lagos, the foul-mouthed, opportunistic owner’s representative on a starship owned by one of the Nohamapetans’ rivals Marce Claremont, a scientist carrying data from years of secret research into the Flow and the young new emperox, Cardenia, guided by her simulated ancestors.

The planets are governed by the concept of obligate mutual reliance and ruled by those who control access to the Flow, but a change to the Flow that would leave established planets isolated to die seems imminent. Scalzi (the Old Mans War series) delivers a strong opener for his fast-paced new space opera series. The Interdependency is a collection of far-flung, human-colonized, barely habitable planets strung together by the Flow, a naturally occurring, limited-access, faster-than-light network. Tor, 25.99 hardcover (336p) ISBN 978-0-7653-8888-9. Since this network of wormhole-like space tunnels is the only thing that allows humans to travel from one end of the galaxy to the other, and since each planet of the Interdependency is reliant on all the others for resources and trade, this collapse is a civilization-level crisis.Scalzi (the Old Man’s War series) delivers a strong opener for his fast-paced new space opera series, setting up key players along the primary travel corridor of an empire overflowing with complex interactions among nobles, politicians, business interests, and an unstable physical environment.

All of them, in separate ways, end up confronted by the same problem: The Flow is collapsing. Rounding out the trio is Marce Claremont, a physicist destined to continue his father’s important work of studying The Flow.

Then there’s Kiva Lagos, a foul-mouthed merchant heiress whose constant displeasure with everyone on her spaceship allows Scalzi to write F-words to his heart’s content anytime she’s on the page. First is Cardenia Wu-Patrick, a relatively normal woman who nevertheless finds herself crowned Emperox of the Interdependency, a wide-spanning galactic empire connected by a complex space travel network called The Flow. The book focuses on three characters in particular, and shifts between their perspectives. It is true, though, that the characters who populate The Collapsing Empire face a political crisis so massive it forces them to re-examine their worldviews.

The collapsing empire series