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4.1 AVERAGE
4.1 AVERAGE
What a ride it has been. I have read the prequels at least three times while waiting for this. An engaging and entertaining conclusion. Again, Scalzi knocks it out of the park. I am hoping for a spin-off in the future.
I listened to this on audiobook; throughout the series, the narration was very well suited to the tone of the novel. I haven't listened to him on anything else, but for this book at least, I could totally imagine his voice being the one that Scalzi heard in his head when thinking of these characters =)
I liked this book OK, though I don't think the characters are ones that'll stick around in my head particularly long. But, it served its purpose of being competently crafted entertainment. When I finished I looked up the publication date because some of the far-future references were a bit on-the-nose for Brexit and the later days of the Trump administration, and yup, that's when it was written. However, that didn't get in the way of my enjoyment.
I admit to being 7/8 through and thinking "there's no way that this will be tied up satisfactorily", but, well, it was.
I liked this book OK, though I don't think the characters are ones that'll stick around in my head particularly long. But, it served its purpose of being competently crafted entertainment. When I finished I looked up the publication date because some of the far-future references were a bit on-the-nose for Brexit and the later days of the Trump administration, and yup, that's when it was written. However, that didn't get in the way of my enjoyment.
I admit to being 7/8 through and thinking "there's no way that this will be tied up satisfactorily", but, well, it was.
While I’d thoroughly enjoyed the series prior to this book, the last installment felt completely rushed; the ending was both abrupt and underwhelming.
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
First of all, I liked the ending of the series. Well done. The romantic in me wishes that Cardenia had actually still lived and just let Grayland II "die" while she and Merce worked behind the scenes to help things not go horribly for everyone, but this is a more realistic and more powerful ending. I also like the idea that Merce can run off to explore the Earth systems. Maybe Scalzi will explore that once there's a less distracting government in the US.
I thought the storytelling was a little more solid here than the previous novel and it was a far sight more so than the first. However, I kept stumbling and rolling my eyes as he threw in explanations of things from the previous books. It kept happening well into the book, too. I realize that these weren't published back to back and so people weren't expected to be binge reading them the way that I did, but it's not like this is the first series that I've read like this and I felt that his slipping in the explanations really threw off the flow of the narrative. I really wish that they'd just had a glossary, instead.
That said, like the other two novels, I thought that this was a fun read. I am thinking that I'll probably steer clear of serials from him, though, and stick to his stand-alone novels. At least for the time being.
I thought the storytelling was a little more solid here than the previous novel and it was a far sight more so than the first. However, I kept stumbling and rolling my eyes as he threw in explanations of things from the previous books. It kept happening well into the book, too. I realize that these weren't published back to back and so people weren't expected to be binge reading them the way that I did, but it's not like this is the first series that I've read like this and I felt that his slipping in the explanations really threw off the flow of the narrative. I really wish that they'd just had a glossary, instead.
That said, like the other two novels, I thought that this was a fun read. I am thinking that I'll probably steer clear of serials from him, though, and stick to his stand-alone novels. At least for the time being.
The Last Emperox is the third and final book in Scalzi's Interdependency series, which features a cast of smart/funny characters dealing with the highest of stakes, the collapse of an empire. Admittedly, I didn't like this one quite as much as the first two, but it's a satisfying finale regardless. There were plenty of laughs and surprises. I enjoyed where the series ended as a whole, even if I wasn't as satisfied with all of the steps to get there. If you've read and enjoyed the first two books in the trilogy, then you need to finish things off with The Last Emperox!
What it's about: Everyone in the Interdependency now knows that the Flow is going to close and cut off the many human habitats scattered throughout the cosmos. The only question left is: How many people will survive?
Emperox Grayland II wants to save everyone. But she has many critics among the "noble" Houses that have monopolies on commerce across the Interdependency. And those critics think it may not be necessary to save everyone, just those who will facilitate the flow of trade - which happens to be them.
As the two sides try to outmaneuver each other, the death toll starts to rise. Truly no one is safe as titanic powers clash, attempting to determine the fate of the billions of inhabitants of the Interdependency. And as surprising new pieces of information are discovered, it's anyone's guess who will emerge victorious - or alive - as the Emperox tries to lead and the Houses try to maintain control.
What I thought: Scalzi concludes his trilogy nicely. There were definitely quite a few twists and turns, and he does a good job of disguising what he's up to with abrupt scene changes that leave the reader guessing for a while before he reveals the outcome of some very high-stakes situations.
I know Scalzi has killed characters in other series out of the blue, and he does some of that here as well. But he does some nice bait-and-switch that leaves some of these deaths up in the air.
He also reveals new information about Jiyi, the computer program meant to guide emperoxes with information and advice. It wasn't a huge surprise - he left some seeds of the idea in the previous book - but it was still a little bit of a shock to find that there was more happening there than we (and the other characters) had been led to believe.
In the afterword of this book, Scalzi explains that this was the first time he wrote a series that had started in his mind as a trilogy, and that this installment concluded his vision. But I think (and kind of hope) that he will revisit the universe of this story. He has left lots of interesting loose ends drifting here about why the original folks who formed the Interdependency collapsed the Flow from Earth, and the "dark age" that followed, and the fact that there was at least one other human collective out there, and whether the Flow collapse precipitated by the pre-Interdependency collective caused the other systems of Flow that other civilizations were depending on to also collapse. There's lots of fertile ground here that Scalzi could come back to. There's also the ultimate fate of the people left after the Interdependency is over - Scalzi gave a thumbnail sketch of how it's going to work out (in theory), but there's quite a lot of possibilities that could be explored about the aftermath of the Flow collapse.
Why I rated it like I did: Scalzi writes interesting characters. His protagonists tend to be good people trying to do the right thing against forces that are greedy and self-centered. This series is no different. I enjoy that kind of story, and this series (and this installment, in particular) delivers.
Emperox Grayland II wants to save everyone. But she has many critics among the "noble" Houses that have monopolies on commerce across the Interdependency. And those critics think it may not be necessary to save everyone, just those who will facilitate the flow of trade - which happens to be them.
As the two sides try to outmaneuver each other, the death toll starts to rise. Truly no one is safe as titanic powers clash, attempting to determine the fate of the billions of inhabitants of the Interdependency. And as surprising new pieces of information are discovered, it's anyone's guess who will emerge victorious - or alive - as the Emperox tries to lead and the Houses try to maintain control.
What I thought: Scalzi concludes his trilogy nicely. There were definitely quite a few twists and turns, and he does a good job of disguising what he's up to with abrupt scene changes that leave the reader guessing for a while before he reveals the outcome of some very high-stakes situations.
I know Scalzi has killed characters in other series out of the blue, and he does some of that here as well. But he does some nice bait-and-switch that leaves some of these deaths up in the air.
He also reveals new information about Jiyi, the computer program meant to guide emperoxes with information and advice. It wasn't a huge surprise - he left some seeds of the idea in the previous book - but it was still a little bit of a shock to find that there was more happening there than we (and the other characters) had been led to believe.
In the afterword of this book, Scalzi explains that this was the first time he wrote a series that had started in his mind as a trilogy, and that this installment concluded his vision. But I think (and kind of hope) that he will revisit the universe of this story. He has left lots of interesting loose ends drifting here about why the original folks who formed the Interdependency collapsed the Flow from Earth, and the "dark age" that followed, and the fact that there was at least one other human collective out there, and whether the Flow collapse precipitated by the pre-Interdependency collective caused the other systems of Flow that other civilizations were depending on to also collapse. There's lots of fertile ground here that Scalzi could come back to. There's also the ultimate fate of the people left after the Interdependency is over - Scalzi gave a thumbnail sketch of how it's going to work out (in theory), but there's quite a lot of possibilities that could be explored about the aftermath of the Flow collapse.
Why I rated it like I did: Scalzi writes interesting characters. His protagonists tend to be good people trying to do the right thing against forces that are greedy and self-centered. This series is no different. I enjoy that kind of story, and this series (and this installment, in particular) delivers.
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.
Not quite how I thought it would end, but Scalzi did give enough clues to foreshadow the various characters’ fates. I’m not sure if I love this particular book, but everything did tie up (albeit a bit clumsily).
Overall, I did enjoy the trilogy (the first is still my favourite) and would recommend it because they are quite fun reads.
Overall, I did enjoy the trilogy (the first is still my favourite) and would recommend it because they are quite fun reads.
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This gets 4.00, and the whole series gets that as a whole. Overall, a very enjoyable read, that I'm glad that I read it. But, I still think I didn't read anything wholly new or groundbreaking. After picking up another book after this, I realized that this series never quite built its world or characters up to the levels where I particularly cared about them. There are many great ideas, but the execution didn't seem complete.