The Collapsing Empire by John Scalzi Book Review

 The Collapsing Empire 

(The Interdependency #1)

By John Scalzi 

2018 Locus Award Winner 

Published Year: 2017

Page Count: 370 pages 

Medium Used: Paperback 

Genre: Science Fiction, Fantasy, Hard Science fiction, Space Opera, Game for Throne, Thriller, Court Intrigues, 2026-read. 

Rating : 5/5 😍😍😍😍😍

The Interdependency is the nation of systems where humans are spread out across the universe. There are around 47 habitable systems in all. On some of them, like the Hub, they live underground. On some, they don't have feasibility to inhabit the planet and hence live on scientific habitats or space stations. Only End is the planet where they live on the surface. These human occupied outposts are interconnected by flow streams. Where even if they use their fastest spaceships called Tenners, it would take them anywhere from decades to centuries to plod between these habitats, using and traveling through Flow, they can reduce the time to weeks or months. Basically, these spaceships can travel faster than light within the Flow, making the interconnectedness of the systems come alive and real time. Obviously this is a great accomplishment. The Hub is the interconnecting link between any two systems and levies taxes and toll rates for ships traveling through its space. The House of Wu controls this space. The other important houses we come across in the book are House of Lagos and House of Norhamapaten. 

 The current imperial Emperox, Attavio vi, is dying from an incurable disease. His son, Rennerd, who has been groomed since birth to take over after his father, gets killed in a charity car race and gets beheaded when his car slams into a wall. So that leaves his bastard daughter, Cardenia who had always maintained her distance from the office and its politics. Suddenly thrown into the fray of sycophants and blood sucking masterminds, she desperately needs a friend and finds one in her childhood classmate and secretary to the Emperox, Naffe. On the day of her coronation, someone explodes a bomb near the cathedral, targeting the new Emperox and in the attack, Naffe gets killed. They later learn that there is a rebellion happening on the planet End and the rebels are responsible for the attack on the Emperox too. The End is the place where rebellions take place atleast twice in a decade and it is the dumping ground for exiles and troublesome, antisocial people of the Interdependency. The Hub doesn't have proof and can't take any further action. 

Meanwhile, on the End, Ghreni from the house of Norhamapetan is making his moves to usurp the existing Duke and take over End. His family believes in the prediction that the End will become the next Hub in the coming decades and they strive to become prosperous from this knowledge. At the same time, Marce Claremont is being sent to Hub, by his father, a flow physicist, to explain to the executive committee that the flow streams are all gonna dry up leading to the collapse of the empire. There is no way to control the Flow or even understand it fully. Why would it act stable for a millennium and then suddenly vanish - no one could tell. Kiva of the house of Lagos comes to End on business prospects, during the rebellion, and learns the many secrets and motives behind Ghreni's moves. She escapes from his pirate attack, carrying away Marce Claremont with her on her ship. After they reach the Hub, they realize that the Claremont's hypothesis has been right and another assassination attempt is made on the Emperox, Cardenia. Who is there to benefit from her death? I didn't fully understand this. Why would the house of Norhamapetan be responsible? Also, didn't they warn their brother, Amit Norhamapetan, about the attack and thus save him from death? I see these two points as a minor loose untied ends and I seek to find answers in the next book in the series! There is clearly more to be said about the Interdependency and what it means when Cardenia says that Rachela, the first Emperox's visions which formed the Interdependency, are a lie! 

Loved the book. Took my time reading and enjoying this twisty and intrigue filled book. The world development and characterization of the main players is flawless. Do check it out. Very compelling. Compelling enough for me to pick the next in the series right away!