The Collapsing Empire

[Margo]

@cherie - its a bit weird to see the names writen down as they look so different from the way they sound on the audio :-/ (view spoiler)[that was a very interesting conversation in the memory room. I am going to have to go back and listen to it again. I was on the move yesterday and didn't concentrate that well (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 12 and 13 (view spoiler)[ lady keva is great. If she were a man we would all be condeming her as a pig! She treats sex as a bodily function, an itch to be scratched. I suppose at the most basic level thats what it is if you cut away all those annoying emotions and coy behaviours! I assume at the time this story is set they have taken care of the physical problems of s.t.d. , pregnany etc. I just hope poor Marce (?) is able for her - in all ways! She is behaving like the worst kind of man and its cracking me up ;-D (hide spoiler)]

[Cherie]

Cowa Bunga, Batman! I will be suffering for it at work tomorrow but, I just got to Part 3, Chapter 13. Sleep now - spoilers tomorrow!

[Paul]

I'd be curious to hear how the names are pronounced on the audio

[Margo]

The arch villian is pronouced "Grenny" - rhymes with "penny" - and i have yet to catch his family name - its the long one! Randy captain is Key-va, again didn't catch family name.

I think thats whats made it difficult to follow in early parts - the names were incomprehensible on audio. A lot of people got the audio as it was in a recent sale ;-)

[Travis]

I finished this up yesterday. I enjoyed the book and the humor but I'm not sure about a rating for it. I see what all the events were for and how it's setting up for future books but this hub and flow business I'm not so sure about. Probably 3 stars just due to my confusion

[Margo]

Sounds like "grenny no-hom-ed-pe-d'n"

[Margo]

Travis sivarT wrote: "I finished this up yesterday. I enjoyed the book and the humor but I'm not sure about a rating for it. I see what all the events were for and how it's setting up for future books but this hub and f..."

At the half way point i'd have to agree travis. Humour is great but plot and names a bit confusing. So far 3.5. It is picking up though.

[Paul]

The names are a lot easier in text from the sound of it :-)

[Sarah]

It's odd as I had no problem with the names at all nor what was going on. I don't remember having any confusion over things. I rated it 5 stars. I think it's a great start to the series. Looking at my GR friends who have read this (apart from those in this buddy read) they rated the book 5 stars except one who rated it 4 stars.

[Paul]

Did you read it or use audiobook.

[Sarah]

Paul wrote: "Did you read it or use audiobook."

I read it. I received an ARC through Netgalley.

[Margo]

looks like the confusion might be an audio thing. For me it came together a lot better at about the half way mark. I'm glad it wasn't just me - I spend half my life confused O_o

[Paul]

Definitely seems to be an audio thing then. Im fi ding the names grand as well

[Margo]

I just relistened to chapter 9 while less distracted than the first time. Very interesting

(view spoiler)[
the founder and first prophet of the interdendancy admits that it is all a scam! To the new head of the church!! I agree with cherie that this is a gteat way to inform the reader what is happening but i can't imagine how the character will handle that info.

It is also a great comment on the formation of some major religions (in this universe) that plucked parts of existing religious practices and used them to reinforce a new culture. It is the equivalent of the ghost of st. Peter explaining to a new pope that christ didn't actually rise from the dead - mind-blowing
(hide spoiler)]

[Cherie]

I have re-listened to several chapters over, more than once. My issue with the audio names, was that I did not know how to write them, from how they are pronounced in the story.

Marce is pronounced like Marsh. If I were reading it, without knowing how the narrator pronounced it, I would say Mark in my head. The more I listen, the more the characters' names become fixed. Marce's sister is Vrenna. Their father is Lord Claremont.

Lady Kiva (Kee-va) Largo is the family representative for House
Largo. (She is the potty mouth). The captain of Yes, Sir, That's My Baby is Tomi Blinnikka. Nubt Pinton is Chief of Security.

The brother on End is Grenny No-hamma-pee-ton - spelled Lord Ghreni Nohamapetan. Sister Nadashe is pronounced Na-dah-sha. Older brother Amit pronoumced Ah-mit.

At the end of Chapter 12 and before Chapter 13, which is the beginning of Part 3, is a section in the book called Interlude that is not listed in the table of contents. THERE IS A LOT OF INFORMATION here! In the Audio book, it is Chapter 14. (view spoiler)[I did not like the way Wheaton did Sir Ontain's voice. He was yelling so loud, it was almost uncomfortable to listen to. Same for the Duke, pretty much. The teenage years and House Nohamapetan plans was great information! Did you get "oenophiles"? I had to look it up. Re the meeting at Weatherfair. I almost fell over when Ghreni shot the Duke. (hide spoiler)]

[Janice, Moderator]

Thanks for listing the characters' names Margo and Cherie. That really helps.

I'm in the Interlude. I think. Unless I didn't hear Wil announce the next chapter. You might want to hold off reading the spoiler until after chapter 14. (view spoiler)[ The Duke is dead. Backing up though....

I loved how Kiva got the better of Ghreni when he sent the pirates to retrieve Marce. But he is a devious s.o.b., killing the duke and framing Marce's father. I'm sure he's underestimated the Claremont family, especially Vrenna. (hide spoiler)]

I'm only a couple of hours to the end of the book. I hope it doesn't end in a cliff-hanger.

I just read Cherie's chapter 14, and I must be in chapter 14.

[Travis]

Sarah's right, although we might just both be looking at the same friends, but most of my friends gave it a 4 or 5 star rating. I just didn't feel that much love for it. I read 2 if not 3 other books while reading this one.

[Cherie]

@Travis - I think there is so much going on, and the audio flows so mesmerizingly, that it is easy to overlook the subtleties In the story. Not necessarily in the plot, but in the characters. I bet if you re-listened you might agree and like it better. There are a few places that Wheaton is a little off putting. He seems over excited. I think his voices for Ghreni and Amit are fantastic and the way he reads their parts an Oscar performance. Others - not so much. After I am done laughing at each new female voice, I have to consciously ignore it and hear what they are saying. I am at Chapter 16 in the text, Chapter 17 in the Audible book, with 1 hr and 17 minutes remaining. (view spoiler)[Marce just had his meeting with the Emperox (hide spoiler)].

[Cherie]

Well, now I'm upset! My whole post just went the way of the Flow leaving End. GONE. I'm going to pout for the rest of the night.

I finished the book and was writing a spoiler about the words I had book marked in Ch 14, Ch 15, and in the Epilogue.

Scalzi gets my 5*s for this one. Wheaton gets 4.

Happy Thanksgiving for those celebrating tomorrow. I will be with my family and I don't have to cook this year. My grandson just graduated from Marine Corp boot camp and is home for two weeks before leaving for training at 29 Palms in the desert in Southern California.

[Margo]

I have so many thought after chapter 12! I will try to get a few of them down before i catch with posts.

(view spoiler)[
I am really getting into this now. The part with the teenage nohom- whatsits was very iluminating. They were assigned their roles in the family ealy on. Not sure of the birth order but i suspect it was like this:
Natasha - the brain. Was to marry the empero and use has superior intelligence to rule.
Grenny- less clever but a talker. He was planned to talk and politically manipulate his was to ruling End.
Amit- was thought have no skill so was to run family business.

Do i have this next bit right? The theory Natasha got hold of a theory that predicted a shift in the flow. The new centre would converge on End, so the centre of power in the interdependancy would shitf to End. Whoever controlled end would control the altered empire. Grenny was the only one them to consider the effects on the trade routes. Amit sat at the bar drinking - typical student lol

When the heir to the empire was killed (by whom?) the family switched plans so that Amit would now marry the emporo. Natasha wriggled har was into the imperial advisors. Grenny funded the rebellion on end and prevented the Counts (who is not the ruler of end) children leaving - why?

The assassination of the Duke was Grenny - set up to look like it was the work of the Count. Was this to prevent him inheriting the dukedom or was it just convieniance?

What will happen next? The Duke points out the obvious -that the theory the Nohom??? is just that-a theory. Never experimented on so no evidance, plus mistakes in the maths and faulty hypotheses i.e. it was wrong. He presents an alternate hypothesis - is this one correct?
(view spoiler)[

Now i will read all the spoilers and probably find all my questions have been answered ;-p (hide spoiler)] (hide spoiler)]

[Margo]

Happy thanksgiving all!

Cherie - comiserations on your lost post - i know how that feels! Like you i am always too disgusted to redo it right away. Congrats on you grandson though! A marine in the family - wow, that's so cool ;-)

Btw Scalzis writing in this portion is definatly 5*. I hate to say it bit Wheatons narration wasn't ideal for the early parts. I did not mind the voices i think for me it was his pacing.

[Janice, Moderator]

Margo wrote: "I have so many thought after chapter 12! I will try to get a few of them down before i catch with posts.."

The way I understood it, (view spoiler)[Ghenri was losing control of everything around him. He thought about what his sister would do, and came up with the plan to kill the Duke and take over control of End as Duke himself.

Something I meant to mention is that Ghenri seems to have forgotten the comment made to him about how each Duke isn't around for long. Hehehehe! He may have just signed his own death warrant. (hide spoiler)]

[Margo]

Good point Janice and (view spoiler)[ with the counts daughter ( i am not going to attempt to spell her name) and lady Kiva both after his blood, i think execution day may be close (hide spoiler)]

[Janice, Moderator]

But then, (view spoiler)[ he's a great antagonist. Maybe Scalzi will want to keep him awhile, (hide spoiler)]

[Margo]

Finished this last night (view spoiler)[ I think your right Janice, Grenny will be the big bad for the rest of the series. Was he responsible for the bombing of the tenor ship - i can't remember the name but it cracked me up! Did he intentionally kill Amit? That would bring him to a new level of evil and would suggest that he is not working with his family any more.
I think the emporox and Marce make a good pair. It's an interesting scenario where all can travel to End but none can travel back. Marce is obviously going to want to get to his father and sister but they can't evacuate an entire solar system to one planet. I might be missing the point here but isn't the flow just about about trade between worlds? They can survive as individual planets?

I enjoyed the second part of the book much more than the first. This may have been due to the reading of it - it was a bit frantic in the first half and much to fast in patched which made it hard to follow. The large cast of characters didn't help. I'm not good at following intricate politics anyway.


I did enjoy the quality of the writing. The characters were great. As someone has already said, the strong, females were awesome. I'm a bit disappointed that it was left so much up in the air (no pun intended!). This is a series that i would like to read in it's entirety So I won't be rushing to buy the next book. I think it was a 4 star for me - 3star narration. Disappointed in Wheaton this time! (hide spoiler)]

[Janice, Moderator]

I was in the interlude and thought that was around chapter 14. Nope. I've started part 3 which starts at chapter 13, and I'm at chapter 14 now. Kiva comes by it honestly! LOL!

(view spoiler)[I feel very distrustful of the sister trying to finagle a deal with Cardenia to date Ahmed. Is he going to kidnap her? (hide spoiler)]

[Paul]

Just finished. Not as good as Old Mans War, a lot less depth to it all but still a pretty good scifi

[Janice, Moderator]

I finished it as well. (view spoiler)[ I really expected Cardenia to be kidnapped and taken to End. It was worse - an attempt on her life. As cunning as the Nohamapetan's were, they let their greed and ambition get the best of them. The sister was so cold as to kill her brother in the process.

As much as I liked Kiva at first, her brazen attitude started to wear a bit thin. (hide spoiler)]

I will definitely read the rest of the series as it is published.

[Janice, Moderator]

Margo wrote: "Finished this last night ."

(view spoiler)[ I think the sister was the mastermind, not Grenhi. When Marce was explaining to the council about the collapse of the flow, Cardenia walked in and confronted Nadashe. She lashed back at Cardenia and it became evident that she was behind the bombing of the new ship.

I'm looking forward to finding out how this is all going to play out. (hide spoiler)]