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4.1 AVERAGE
4.1 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is still a wildly entertaining series, but the speed at which Scalzi writes these are starting to show here. The parallels to today's late-stage capitalism are a little too obviously laid out as the mercantile houses struggle to adjust to changing conditions that threaten their survival and profits. There's nothing particularly subtle about who the villains are here. About 2/3 of the way through, there's an authorial choice that is shocking and one I didn't really care for.
Still, Kiva is amazing throughout, and Cardenia and Mance solid examples of decent people trying to do the right thing through challenging times which is a good example for today's world. Perhaps reading this through the COVID-19 and protest crises have colored my view that the cynicism of the authorial voice was a little hard to take.
But I can't deny that the sheer fast-moving plot and sharp characterization didn't keep me up late reading to finish. 4 stars.
Still, Kiva is amazing throughout, and Cardenia and Mance solid examples of decent people trying to do the right thing through challenging times which is a good example for today's world. Perhaps reading this through the COVID-19 and protest crises have colored my view that the cynicism of the authorial voice was a little hard to take.
But I can't deny that the sheer fast-moving plot and sharp characterization didn't keep me up late reading to finish. 4 stars.
Like in [b:The Consuming Fire|34942741|The Consuming Fire (The Interdependency, #2)|John Scalzi|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1518468399l/34942741._SY75_.jpg|56211540] this book was looking like no more than three stars two thirds of the way into the book. It felt like the characters were getting flat. Nadashe is nasty. Kiva says "fuck" a lot. etc. But the last third saves the book again. This ending was amazing. A plot twist totally unexpected, yet consistent with all that had gone before. Plan to save billions that's not a magic bullet but a work in progress that will take years. And one of the best last lines I have read in a while.
Una vez más Scalzi ofrece una lectura trepidante y que cada dos por tres sorprende con bombazos y sorpresas. Scalzi no es un gran autor que hable en profundidad sobre la naturaleza humana o las grandes cuestiones de la vida, pero diseña personajes que son una gozada de leer y maneja el humor de una manera que ya querrían muchos. Como toda su obra, 100% recomendada.
Man, that was a hell of a ride. It was just about everything you could hope for from the last novel in a trilogy - wrapped up the story, tied up all the loose ends, gave every main character a satisfying arc that concluded with interesting changes to the character, and left the reader (or maybe just me) feeling sated and ready for the next new thing. In a word, perfect.
"Everyone knew what was coming. Some even prepared and planned. But at the end of it, everyone assumed that something or someone would come along to save the civilization that they lived in and could not conceive of actually disappearing. Something or someone would come along to save them."
Wil Wheaton's narration was a delight! The variety of voices and intonations was brilliant.
Spoiler
Imagine the most chipper voice you can (almost reminiscent of a children's programing) set against the back drop of a prison break. That scene had me giggling. All due to his performance.
The final installment in the Collapsing Empire trilogy. This story wraps up many of the loose ends from the first two books neatly. Emperox Grayland II (Cardenia) has successfully put down the coup attempt by a large group of nobles that included silver in her own house. Marce is still working to figure out how to use the data he has gathered to find new ways to save the people of the Interdependency. However Nadashae escaped custody and still has her sights set on the throne. The Emperox will try save all of the people of the Interdependency before the Flow shuts down, and so the final installment begins. There is intrigue, danger, and romance before an ending so u expected that anyone who claims they saw coming is a filthy liar. This book was very good and very difficult for me to put down. So why only 4 stars you might ask? Honestly... I wanted it to be longer. I wanted to find out more about what was happening on the End and in more detail (more Vrenna Claremont!). I wanted to see more of what happened after the wrap-up (so many spoiled additionrequests I typed then deleted). To include all the more I want, either the novel needed to double in size or become a series though. Scalzi said it was only to be a trilogy and so it ends. Enjoyable, but at the same time frustrating.
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read a pre-release copy of this book.
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read a pre-release copy of this book.
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder
Moderate: Confinement, Cursing, Kidnapping, Grief, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Sexual content