The Collapsing Empire

Definitely not my favorite scalzi

An interesting and engaging story...... Until it peters out with no resolution.

The stopping point of the book feels less like a planed ending and more like the last 50 pages were missing when the book went to the publisher.

62 sur 74 personne(s) ont trouvé cet avis utile.

Not the best of Scalzi

I like John Scalzi's work and in audio book I prefer it read by Will Wheaton. I was excited by this new book and series. Unfortunately the book in not the best Scalzi. often because of trademark Scalzi traits. The plot of an empire united by a subspace effect that allows for faster than light travel; now endangered because that effect is going away, is very interesting. I wish the author had taken this book more seriously. I like Scalzis humor but it gets in the way of the plot and makes some of the characters shallow and uninteresting. It wouldn't be a Scalia book without sarcasm and wit but it gets too crass and over the top for the needs of this story. The first book of his I read "The Androids Dream" needed it and was hilarious, but "Lock In" toned it down and was better for it. Wish this one had too.

52 sur 62 personne(s) ont trouvé cet avis utile.

I really wanted to like this book!

First Wil Wheaton hit this one out of the park! The more I find that he is narrating the more I realize he continues become the master craftsman of story telling. I really wanted to like this book! I have been a fan of John Scalzi stories, but this really didn't hit home with me. I felt that this was a mix drink of Dune, Game Of Thrones and Jupiter Ascending .

18 sur 21 personne(s) ont trouvé cet avis utile.

Just feels small - no sense of scale, so why care?

This is humanity at stake. Gravitas isn't Scalzi's thing, but geez, this one feels like ... who cares? I know I'm in the minority, but this felt like a draft that still needed some pretty hefty structural revisions.

57 sur 69 personne(s) ont trouvé cet avis utile.

What Happened Scalzi?

Being a fan of both the, "Old Man's War" series as well as the author's contributions to the METAtropolis anthologies, I blindly purchased The Collapsing Empire. This unfortunately was a complete mistake as I ended hating the writing, loathing most of the characters and rolling my eyes over the the sci-fi concepts introduced in the series. Worst of all was the sarcasm. My god, the main character, Kiva is like some hyper-foul mouthed, self-entitled space-Millennial. Now, I've read my share, and thoroughly enjoyed several stories featuring dislikable protagonists or anti-heroes. However, I think the author's intention was to make the reader find Kiva charming or a tough no-nonsense female Han Solo-esque scoundrel. Instead of charming, I kept hoping she would get dumped out an airlock every time the narrative focused on her. Other characters include a dying space Pope who reminded of Grandpa Simpson and his snoozetastic daughter. I was also disappointed with sci-fi elements of the story which included an intergalactic space highway and a theocratic super government which was hardly fleshed out at all. This book is such a departure from Scalzi's usually superb work, it almost feels like it was ghost written by a far less talented writer. I sincerely hope Mr. Scalzi returns to form in his future efforts and we can dismiss this novel as an unfortunate deviation from an otherwise immensely talented author. Also, Wil Wheaton narration style always bugs me for reasons I have yet been able to explain.

85 sur 104 personne(s) ont trouvé cet avis utile.

The Collapsing Empire

I love John Scalzi and have loved all of his books. This one disappointed in that it denigrated in superfluous use of "fuck" and sex with anything breathing. He's smarter than that . :/

40 sur 49 personne(s) ont trouvé cet avis utile.

Not very well written

cool world, cool economies, bad character arcs and boring antagonists. it's a weak opening to a series.

52 sur 64 personne(s) ont trouvé cet avis utile.

too many f-bombs

a lot of swearing might not bother some but I find it distracting. I didn't get past the 3rd chapter though. the 1st chapter was interesting but after that it tanked for me.
the narrator makes all the females sound like men so I just couldn't get into it.

3 sur 3 personne(s) ont trouvé cet avis utile.

More vulgarity than story

What disappointed you about The Collapsing Empire?

I only got to the third chapter before giving up. Comes off as a teenager wrote it thinking if they are vulgar enough and have enough sex then it will be a good story. I'm a retired Marine and I thought it was over the top.

3 sur 3 personne(s) ont trouvé cet avis utile.

Sorry I picked it

For my money, the story had no plot and was fraught with F word. I like action in my space operas and it was lacking. The only reason I bought it was Will Wheaton. I had enough by the half way point and deleted it.

3 sur 3 personne(s) ont trouvé cet avis utile.