This is my third Scalzi book and he is now solidly my favorite science fiction author. Of course, I’ve not read a load of sci-fi books but, wow, this guy’s style and voice pull me in and won’t let me go.
The Collapsing Empire is the first in a new series that is filled with political intrigue, cool science stuff, personal conflicts, and plenty of bad-ass powerful women. Also very queer-friendly in a matter of fact way.
Here’s the blurb:
Our universe is ruled by physics. 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.
The Flow is eternal—but it’s not static. Just as a river changes course, The Flow changes as well. In rare cases, entire worlds have been cut off from the rest of humanity. When it’s discovered that the entire Flow is moving, possibly separating all human worlds from one another forever, three individuals—a scientist, a starship captain, and the emperox of the Interdependency—must race against time to discover what, if anything, can be salvaged from an interstellar empire on the brink of collapse.
From the prologue straight through to the last word, I was completely engrossed in the story. And Wil Wheaton’s narration is an added bonus. He did a stellar job. I wasn’t even halfway through the book when I already regretted knowing it would end and would be at least another 18 months until the next in the series is due to be released. I console myself with knowing that I’ll have to reread this one before diving into the sequel.
If you’re a science fiction fan, I highly recommend The Collapsing Empire. And if you’ve never really wanted to give the genre a shot, this might be a great launching off point.
You can download a sample or purchase a copy of The Collapsing Empire by clicking here.