"The Collapsing Empire" First Impressions *No Spoilers*

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

Who's joining us for Scalzi in space?

Have you read him before? What do you think of the tone?

Please leave all discussion of plot, characters, format changes or any other specific milestones for the full spoiler thread, open shortly!

[E.D.]

Just started. Really impressed with the opening chapter I hope it continues at this pace.

[Corey]

I plan to join in on this one. I’ve read the Old Man’s War series, which I found reliably entertaining. Looking forward to seeing how this compares.

[Ryan]

Scalzi is one of my favorite authors, with the five novels I've read from him all getting 4 or 4.5 stars from me. I have yet to finish his Old Man's War series.

I blazed through this book in a couple of days, just finished. There's probably nothing here that will blow your mind or make you think very much, but it's solid entertainment.

[Ryan]

I noticed the shoutout to Jemisin. I guess Scalzi has a lot of respect for her. It makes me wonder if there's other shoutouts like this I missed in this book or his other work.

[Kari]

Ryan wrote: "I noticed the shoutout to Jemisin. I guess Scalzi has a lot of respect for her. It makes me wonder if there's other shoutouts like this I missed in this book or his other work."

I'm reading the last book of her Broken Earth trilogy this month, too, which is a happy coincidence!

I love how real the characters are so far. I have to admit I did not enjoy Old Man's War, but I've always wanted to try him again. This plot seemed up my ally, and I'm glad I've given it a go. The world-building is really cool, and I love the stakes here (whole planets being cut off forever from the rest of humanity...). Despite the intensity of it all, the humor is hitting the right notes with me, and I look forward to the end of every day when it's time to pick up the book and read some more.

[Travis]

This is my first Scalzi. I'm just a bit in and enjoying the pacing, but I'm also finding the constant attempts at humor to be pretty distracting.

[Gabi]

Anybody far enough in to tell me if he changed his x said, y said, x said, y said (ad absurdum) dialogue style which drove me up the wall in the two other novels I read?

[Anna]

This is very Scalzi, so if he usually drives you up the wall, better have a ladder nearby! :)

[Gabi]

Anna wrote: "This is very Scalzi, so if he usually drives you up the wall, better have a ladder nearby! :)"

Ooookay ^^'

[Anna]

(I've never eye-read Scalzi, so some of the similarity comes from Wil Wheaton.)

[Ryan]

Very excited about this months book! Been firing to reread it since the third and final book comes out this April! Might stop all my reading to reread it!

[Khaiden]

I "cheated" and started both this month's reads yesterday. I went for the audiobook version of this and have been having a great time with it so far.

It has a storytelling approach that I'm a sucker for, so I'm excited to see where it goes from here.

The only issue for me is that this is the first in a trilogy and I KNOW I will have to go and read/listen to the rest after this.

[Karin]

I'm a bit late for the party, but just put this on hold at my library. It ought to be available soon since my library has a copy.

[Atlanta]

Ill
Join, I have a copy.

[Scott]

Not so much of the science part of SF, but a decent premise, well-defined characters, and interesting political intrigue. A good solid read.
As with all galactic empire stories, some kind of trick to get past the limitation of light speed is required, so any uncertainty about that shortcut immediately creates high stakes.
Parallels with our society's dependency on oil?

[Sabrina]

I can't believe that this is my 7th book by Scalzi - I don't even like him that much! I think my favorite this far as been Redshirts: perfect for his style, that I'd describe as excellent ideas with a superficial, but humorous execution. And this is probably why I get back to his books. They're fun and distracting.

I'm not yet sure what to think about this trilogy - it seems a bit too complicated for his easy-going banter to pull this off.

@Gabi: so, his usual style really - I agree you might need a ladder :-)

Also, I'm quite sorry, that I'm reading this - I think his are the best audios. But I could hardly say no to a kindle deal just before our group read.

[Chris]

Not an avid Scalzi fan but read a few here and there. Redshirts, Locked in. While technically SF, his books always seem like they are another genres, with just enough scifi to be marketed to us. Locked in - murder mystery, Redshirts - Humor, and this book is really political intrigue. This isn't really a bad thing. I enjoy the diversity. In fact this book sort of took me back to my earliest SF roots. (oh my that was 40 years ago now) I kept thinking how much this reminded me of Isaac Asimov's Foundation series. Not a bad thing at all.

[Eva]

I'm joining or will at least try (very full TBR this month). I liked Old Man's War and have heard this one's even better.

[Ryan]

Gabi wrote: "Anybody far enough in to tell me if he changed his x said, y said, x said, y said (ad absurdum) dialogue style which drove me up the wall in the two other novels I read?"

This has never bothered me, and I didn't notice when I read the book, so I can't say for sure. But Scalzi wrote a post which addressed this tendency, dated from before the publication date for this series, so I assume he has fixed it. https://www.audible.com/blog/arts-cul...

[Pat the Book Goblin]

I'm in! I'll get my copy tomorrow.

So far I've only read Old Man's War and I thought it was great! I want to finish that series this year.

I'm looking forward to this one!

[Eduardo]

I just started yesterday. This is my first Scalzi book. I've been wanting to read the Old man's war series forever, but since this book came up in here, I decided to read this one first.

I'm on chapter 3 and I'm loving the story-telling and the writing style/language. Hope it keeps being just as entertaining.

[Bruce]

I read this a while back and enjoyed it.

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

I read it a few years ago, and the opening was just perfect for the winter blues. I was laughing and cheering the irascible characters pretty damn quick.

[Banshee]

For me it's one of these authors that I keep hearing about, but have never read myself. I just got my copy from the library and will start reading soon. I'm really curious, if it makes me join the Scalzi funclub ;)

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

I think this is a good one to start with, Banshee!

[Dawn F]

I've read 4 Scalzi books and have enjoyed them all. He may be the literary equivalent to a Mars bar, but I've always been highly entertained and never bored.

The best one I've read of his is The Dispatcher, though, which I believe only exists as an Audible Original, narrated by Zach Quinto. It's fantastic, razor sharp, deeply moving, and proves that you don't need more than a couple of hours to tell a complete and fully realized story.

Anyway, I'll start on Collapsing Empire tonight!

[Raucous]

Elowen wrote: "... My impression is that his stories come across as entertaining and somewhat superficial, but to me there's definitely a (subtle) deeper layer of social observation..."

I'd agree with that description. My favorite of his books is The Android's Dream because of that combination - although there's not so much subtle in that book.

[Nino]

I’ve read ‘Locked In’ and ‘Head On’ and really enjoyed them and the writing style, especially the witty dialogue.

I am still busy with chapter one and I am not sure how I feel about the political intrigue yet. I did enjoy the prologue a lot though!

[Karin]

I just picked up a copy from the library today, but have a few books on the go already, so it will be a few days or so until I start.

[Oleksandr]

I'm a Scalzi's fan, but this trilogy for me was a bit too generic (I've read it when it has just appeared) and I was surprised, when it got nominated for Hugo instead of Lock In published it the same year with I think much more original story. Don't get me wrong, this one is fun, for he is a talented writer, but maybe less original

[Paul]

This is my first Scalzi. I'm nearly half way through already and really like it. When I saw Wil Wheaton was doing the audiobook I had to get that version.

At first I couldn't get past Wil's pronunciation of "Emperor" until I went online and realised he wasn't actually saying that.

Getting an impression of a modern Foundation type setting with parallels to what is going on in the world today.

[Jordan]

I read this I think around when it came out, and I liked it pretty well at the time. I don't remember much of it now though, which is kind of frustrating because I liked it well enough that I would like to read the sequel, but not really well enough that I want to spend the time to reread it. So yeah, fun read for me, but not super memorable.

[Anna]

Spoiler thread is open: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

[Karin]

I read the prologue at lunch and quite enjoyed it--it looks like it will be a lot of fun. Speaking of Lock In and OT, does anyone know if he is going to have a third book in that series?

[Gabi]

I started it and have mixed feelings so far. But at least he seemed to have dropped his x said, y said redundancies which is a great relief.

[C]

Ryan wrote: "Gabi wrote: "Anybody far enough in to tell me if he changed his x said, y said, x said, y said (ad absurdum) dialogue style which drove me up the wall in the two other novels I read?"

This has nev..."

I had not seen his post about reducing the "x said, y said, x said, y said" usage, but I am SO glad he listened to one of his audiobooks and caught it! I love the Redshirts: A Novel with Three Codas audiobook, but the "x said, y said, x said, y said" was so painful.

All of that said, (hah, see what i did there? i groaned as i typed it, sorry) i juuuust finished listening to this audiobook (really liked it, fyi, along with the LOT of other Scalzi i've listened to and read, so... enjoy!

[Roland]

I’m looking forward to this. I do enjoy Scalzi’s books and enjoy the easy style and snarky humour.

[Jain]

Oleksandr wrote: "I'm a Scalzi's fan, but this trilogy for me was a bit too generic (I've read it when it has just appeared) and I was surprised, when it got nominated for Hugo instead of Lock In published it the same year with I think much more original story."

Lock In was published in 2014 and was kept off the 2015 Hugos ballot by the puppies. (See the novel nominations on page 18 of the 2015 Hugo Award Statistics.) The Collapsing Empire was published in 2017 and was a 2018 Hugos finalist.

Though I agree with you that, of the two, Lock In is the more interesting book and would have been a worthier nominee.

[Oleksandr]

Jain wrote: "Lock In was published in 2014 and was kept off the 2015 Hugos"

You're correct, I must mistaken it for something else

[J.W.]

What an opening! Absolutely loved that! I’ve enjoyed the other Scalzi books I’ve read (except Redshirts), so I am excited for the rest of this one!

[Tom]

I've just started listening to the audio version of this. I'm not sure I care for Scalzi's naming convention as far as ships go. It tends to yank me out of The Flow when I bump into a ship named "Yes, Sir, That’s My Baby". Otherwise, I'm enjoying the characters and the story.

[Kathryn]

I'm finding it very hard to read this book, it is basically my first proper scifi read. Is it usual to give absolutely no descriptions of the characters and surroundings? I'm an epic fantasy reader, and those books love going on about the details. Is scifi more character driven at a high pace with not much time for details? Please I need some motivation to carry on. I'm on chapter 14.

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

Kathryn, scifi is as varied as fantasy! Scalzi is known for his sort of casual approach to visuals and story, so this is a "him" thing rather than a genre thing. It doesn't change in tone, so if you're not feeling it, drop it!

[Eva]

I agree, it's nothing to do with the genre, which is the most varied genre I know. If you'd like some ideas for what I'd consider good SF novels for young first time SF readers:

- The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (if you like episodic stories around a group of very colorful characters who grow into a found family)
- Shards of Honor (if you like well-written, realistic love stories set in a war, as well as culture clashes - or start the series with The Warrior's Apprentice if you prefer younger protagonists)
- Dune (if you want a very evocative desert world and mysterious religions, it's a classic but also pretty long)
- All Systems Red (the perfect short but sweet novella, every reader I know ended up loving Murderbot, the main character)
- Skyward (beautiful, fast-paced YA SF about a young female fighter pilot who wants to defend her home)
- Dragonsong (if you want a lot of fantasy elements and dragons in your SF, haven't read this one personally but heard great things)

Hope this helps give you a bit of a taste to see which kind of SF you might like.

[Anna]

Instead of listing recs here, let's do it in the recommendations folder. We have a recent thread called Newbie to Sci-Fi, which seems like a good place to start!

[Kathryn]

Thanks guys. I'll try some of the recommendations out. I just want to explore the hype about scifi and see what it's all about. I couldn't drop the book now, I'm not a big none-finisher.
So this is more an author specific problem...interesting. I'm just so used to rich descriptions that the lack of them left me floundering a bit. But I shall persist!

[Stephanie]

I didn't like Old Man's War, so I started this with some hesitance and may be biased, but it was available at the library so I decided to give it a try since it's a group read.

I didn't really like the prologue, but the first chapter was a little bit better. So far lots of little things that annoy me and push me out of the story, but hoping that will fade as I get more engaged with characters/plot.

[~ Giulia ~]

This is the third novel by this author that I read. Of those I read in the past one I loved (Redshirts) and one was just OK (Old Man's War).
I've read the first 3-4 chapters and so far this one is promising.