Praise for The Consuming Fire
"Another fast-paced romp through Scalzi's imagination, bearing hallmarks of his humorous slant on sf tropes." —Library Journal
Praise for The Collapsing Empire
"Provocative and unexpected." —The Wall Street Journal
"Scalzi has constructed a thrilling novel so in tune with the flow of politics that it would feel relevant at almost any time." —Entertainment Weekly, Grade B+
"Scalzi builds a fascinating new interstellar civilization in order to destroy it....[The Collapsing Empire is] amusing escapism full of guts and brains." —Ars Technica
"Scalzi mixes science, history, and politics with sharp action and intriguing characters. Readers will be thrilled to take another wild ride across the universe with the author of the “Old Man’s War” series." —Library Journal, starred review
"Fans of Game of Thrones and Dune will enjoy this bawdy, brutal, and brilliant political adventure" —Booklist
"Scalzi continues to be almost insufferably good at his brand of fun but think-y sci-fi adventure." —Kirkus Reviews
Praise for John Scalzi
“As much as Scalzi has the scientific creativity of Michael Crichton, he also has the procedural chops of a Stephen J. Cannell to craft a whodunit with buddy-cop charm and suspects aplenty–most of them in someone else’s body.” —USA Today on Lock In
"If anyone stands at the core of the American science fiction tradition at the moment, it is Scalzi." —The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, Third Edition
“Plenty of action, great character development, vivid and believable world-building, and a thought-provoking examination of disability culture and politics. . . . Yet more evidence that Scalzi is a master at creating appealing commercial fiction.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review) on Lock In
09/10/2018
Scalzi makes good use of the setting and characters established in The Collapsing Empire for a space opera sequel centered on the battle for control of the interstellar Interdependency. The ruling House of Wu clashes with the ambitious Nohamapetan family in the face of undeniable evidence of changing physics that could isolate whole worlds: the Flow, the naturally occurring interstellar travel network that forms the empire’s infrastructure, is collapsing. Wildcard Emperinox Grayland II claims to have religious visions as part of her calculated attempt to save humankind. Scalzi’s key players remain individually distinctive and delightfully outrageous in their interactions without becoming caricatured. A section about the exploration of a newly reaccessible world falls into a tired mode as old computers reboot and a meeting with a degraded remnant of the population feels like alien first contact, but the story brightens again when the shipbound avatar of an old king breezes in to do historical exposition. This novel sits perfectly in its second-book role, leaving the reader deeply invested in the developing story, with plenty left to tell. Agent: Ethan Ellenberg, Ethan Ellenberg Literary. (Oct.)
Wil Wheaton narrates this space opera full of political intrigue and charismatic characters. The young Emperox Grayland II does not have an easy task ahead. The Interdependency is in jeopardy due to the collapse of various planets in the empire. Powerful families are looking out for their own interests, even if that means killing their enemies and threatening the empire. Wheaton delivers an expressive narration using a humorous tone when needed and employing his acting talent to bring the characters to life. This audiobook is a treat not only for Wheaton's fans but also for anyone who is into well-written science fiction. E.D. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine
