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The Collapsing Empire
- The Interdependency, Book 1
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
- Length: 9 hrs and 24 mins
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Old Man's War
- Written by: John Scalzi
- Narrated by: William Dufris
- Length: 9 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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John Perry did two things on his 75th birthday. First, he visited his wife's grave. Then he joined the army. The good news is that humanity finally made it into interstellar space. The bad news is that planets fit to live on are scarce - and alien races willing to fight us for them are common. So, we fight, to defend Earth and to stake our own claim to planetary real estate. Far from Earth, the war has been going on for decades: brutal, bloody, unyielding.
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Excellent book, great performance
- By Cori Oreskovich on 2017-12-12
Written by: John Scalzi
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Redshirts
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- Written by: John Scalzi
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
- Length: 7 hrs and 41 mins
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Ensign Andrew Dahl has just been assigned to the Universal Union Capital Ship Intrepid, flagship of the Universal Union since the year 2456. Life couldn’t be better…until Andrew begins to pick up on the facts that (1) every Away Mission involves some kind of lethal confrontation with alien forces; (2) the ship’s captain, its chief science officer, and the handsome Lieutenant Kerensky always survive these confrontations; and (3) at least one low-ranked crew member is, sadly, always killed.
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Stars can’t do it justice
- By Anonymous User on 2018-09-14
Written by: John Scalzi
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Little Fuzzy
- Written by: H. Beam Piper
- Narrated by: Felbrigg Napoleon Herriot
- Length: 5 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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FNH Audio presents an unabridged reading of H. Beam Piper's classic and much-loved science fiction novel Little Fuzzy. Jack Holloway lives a solitary life in a wilderness of the planet Zarathustra. But then a strange intelligent animal walks into his life from out of the forest. The animal that he names 'Little Fuzzy' seems sapient and that threatens the charter of the company that owns the planet. With the company profits threatened, Jack realises that both his life and that of Little Fuzzy are in danger.
Written by: H. Beam Piper
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Lock In (Narrated by Wil Wheaton)
- Written by: John Scalzi
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
- Length: 9 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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Not too long from today, a new, highly contagious virus makes its way across the globe. Most who get sick experience nothing worse than flu, fever, and headaches. But for the unlucky one percent - and nearly five million souls in the United States alone - the disease causes "Lock In": Victims fully awake and aware, but unable to move or respond to stimulus. The disease affects young, old, rich, poor, people of every color and creed. The world changes to meet the challenge.
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I have a new Author I really like!
- By Amazon Customer on 2018-12-07
Written by: John Scalzi
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The Kaiju Preservation Society
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When COVID-19 sweeps through New York City, Jamie Gray is stuck as a dead-end driver for food-delivery apps. That is, until Jamie makes a delivery to an old acquaintance, Tom, who works at what he calls “an animal rights organization”. Tom’s team needs a last-minute grunt to handle things on their next field visit. Jamie, eager to do anything, immediately signs on. What Tom doesn't tell Jamie is that the animals his team cares for are not here on Earth. Not our Earth, at at least. In an alternate dimension, dinosaur-like creatures named Kaiju roam a warm and human-free world.
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Strong Sunday School energy.
- By Andrew on 2022-05-16
Written by: John Scalzi
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The Android's Dream
- Written by: John Scalzi
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
- Length: 10 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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A human diplomat creates an interstellar incident when he kills an alien diplomat in a most unusual way. To avoid war, Earth's government must find an equally unusual object: A type of sheep ("The Android's Dream"), used in the alien race's coronation ceremony. To find the sheep, the government turns to Harry Creek, ex-cop, war hero and hacker extraordinaire.
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A Very Good Sci-Fi Weave
- By Luis Verma on 2018-06-02
Written by: John Scalzi
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Old Man's War
- Written by: John Scalzi
- Narrated by: William Dufris
- Length: 9 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
John Perry did two things on his 75th birthday. First, he visited his wife's grave. Then he joined the army. The good news is that humanity finally made it into interstellar space. The bad news is that planets fit to live on are scarce - and alien races willing to fight us for them are common. So, we fight, to defend Earth and to stake our own claim to planetary real estate. Far from Earth, the war has been going on for decades: brutal, bloody, unyielding.
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Excellent book, great performance
- By Cori Oreskovich on 2017-12-12
Written by: John Scalzi
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Redshirts
- A Novel with Three Codas
- Written by: John Scalzi
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
- Length: 7 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
-
Story
Ensign Andrew Dahl has just been assigned to the Universal Union Capital Ship Intrepid, flagship of the Universal Union since the year 2456. Life couldn’t be better…until Andrew begins to pick up on the facts that (1) every Away Mission involves some kind of lethal confrontation with alien forces; (2) the ship’s captain, its chief science officer, and the handsome Lieutenant Kerensky always survive these confrontations; and (3) at least one low-ranked crew member is, sadly, always killed.
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Stars can’t do it justice
- By Anonymous User on 2018-09-14
Written by: John Scalzi
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Little Fuzzy
- Written by: H. Beam Piper
- Narrated by: Felbrigg Napoleon Herriot
- Length: 5 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
FNH Audio presents an unabridged reading of H. Beam Piper's classic and much-loved science fiction novel Little Fuzzy. Jack Holloway lives a solitary life in a wilderness of the planet Zarathustra. But then a strange intelligent animal walks into his life from out of the forest. The animal that he names 'Little Fuzzy' seems sapient and that threatens the charter of the company that owns the planet. With the company profits threatened, Jack realises that both his life and that of Little Fuzzy are in danger.
Written by: H. Beam Piper
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Lock In (Narrated by Wil Wheaton)
- Written by: John Scalzi
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
- Length: 9 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Not too long from today, a new, highly contagious virus makes its way across the globe. Most who get sick experience nothing worse than flu, fever, and headaches. But for the unlucky one percent - and nearly five million souls in the United States alone - the disease causes "Lock In": Victims fully awake and aware, but unable to move or respond to stimulus. The disease affects young, old, rich, poor, people of every color and creed. The world changes to meet the challenge.
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I have a new Author I really like!
- By Amazon Customer on 2018-12-07
Written by: John Scalzi
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The Kaiju Preservation Society
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- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
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When COVID-19 sweeps through New York City, Jamie Gray is stuck as a dead-end driver for food-delivery apps. That is, until Jamie makes a delivery to an old acquaintance, Tom, who works at what he calls “an animal rights organization”. Tom’s team needs a last-minute grunt to handle things on their next field visit. Jamie, eager to do anything, immediately signs on. What Tom doesn't tell Jamie is that the animals his team cares for are not here on Earth. Not our Earth, at at least. In an alternate dimension, dinosaur-like creatures named Kaiju roam a warm and human-free world.
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Strong Sunday School energy.
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The Android's Dream
- Written by: John Scalzi
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- Length: 10 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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A human diplomat creates an interstellar incident when he kills an alien diplomat in a most unusual way. To avoid war, Earth's government must find an equally unusual object: A type of sheep ("The Android's Dream"), used in the alien race's coronation ceremony. To find the sheep, the government turns to Harry Creek, ex-cop, war hero and hacker extraordinaire.
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A Very Good Sci-Fi Weave
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Agent to the Stars
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The space-faring Yherajk have come to Earth to meet us and to begin humanity's first interstellar friendship. There's just one problem: They're hideously ugly and they smell like rotting fish. So getting humanity's trust is a challenge. The Yherajk need someone who can help them close the deal. Enter Thomas Stein, who knows something about closing deals. He's one of Hollywood's hottest young agents.
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Wacky and fun
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Written by: John Scalzi
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Roadkill
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Jack Kernigan is having a bad day...a bad year...a bad life. After being booted out of MIT, he’s back in his Ohio hometown, working for the family business, facing a life of mediocrity. Then one day, out on a delivery, his truck hits...something. Something big...something furry...something invisible. And, it turns out, something not of this Earth. Fate can play funny tricks. Which is why Jack suddenly finds himself the planet’s best hope to unravel a conspiracy of galactic proportions that could spell the end of the human race.
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Entertaining, but Dennis E Taylor formulaic
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There's a reason We Are Legion was named Audible's Best Science Fiction Book of 2016: Its irresistibly irreverent wit! Bob Johansson has just sold his software company for a small fortune and is looking forward to a life of leisure. The first item on his to-do list: Spending his newfound windfall. On an urge to splurge, he signs up to have his head cryogenically preserved in case of death. Then he gets himself killed crossing the street. Waking up 117 years later, Bob discovers his mind has been uploaded into a sentient space probe with the ability to replicate itself.
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Didn't think I'd like it, but I loved it
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Outland
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When an experiment to study quantum uncertainty goes spectacularly wrong, physics student Bill Rustad and his friends find that they have accidentally created an inter-dimensional portal. They connect to Outland - an alternate Earth with identical geology, but where humans never evolved. The group races to establish control of the portal before the government, the military, or evildoers can take it away. Then everything changes when the Yellowstone supervolcano erupts in an explosion large enough to destroy civilization and kill half the planet.
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Excellent!
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There are some odd things about Nate’s new apartment. Of course, he has other things on his mind. He hates his job. He has no money in the bank. No girlfriend. No plans for the future. So while his new home isn’t perfect, it’s livable. The rent is low, the property managers are friendly, and the odd little mysteries don’t nag at him too much. At least, not until he meets Mandy, his neighbor across the hall, and notices something unusual about her apartment. And Xela’s apartment. And Tim’s. And Veek’s.
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I enjoyed this audio book very much.
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Written by: Peter Clines
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Columbus Day
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We were fighting on the wrong side of a war we couldn't win. And that was the good news. The Ruhar hit us on Columbus Day. There we were, innocently drifting along the cosmos on our little blue marble, like the native Americans in 1492. Over the horizon come ships of a technologically advanced, aggressive culture, and BAM! There go the good old days, when humans only got killed by each other. So, Columbus Day. It fits. When the morning sky twinkled again, this time with Kristang starships jumping in to hammer the Ruhar, we thought we were saved.
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Easily one of the better books I've read..
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Infinite
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- Narrated by: R.C. Bray
- Length: 10 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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The Galahad, a faster-than-light spacecraft, carries 50 scientists and engineers on a mission to prepare Kepler 452b, Earth's nearest habitable neighbor at 1400 light years away. With Earth no longer habitable and the Mars colony slowly failing, they are humanity's best hope. After 10 years in a failed cryogenic bed - body asleep, mind awake - William Chanokh's torture comes to an end as the fog clears, the hatch opens, and his friend and fellow hacker, Tom, greets him...by stabbing a screwdriver into his heart. This is the first time William dies.
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Excellent Excellent Excellent
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Project Hail Mary
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- Unabridged
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Ryland Grace is the sole survivor on a desperate, last-chance mission - and if he fails, humanity and the Earth itself will perish. Except that right now, he doesn't know that. He can't even remember his own name, let alone the nature of his assignment or how to complete it. All he knows is that he's been asleep for a very, very long time. And he's just been awakened to find himself millions of miles from home, with nothing but two corpses for company.
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Riveting Story!
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How to Defeat a Demon King in Ten Easy Steps
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- Original Recording
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For thousands of years, there has been a cycle: a Demon King rises and conquers, and a Hero is reborn a hundred years later to defeat him. Each time, civilizations are ground to dust beneath the Demon King's hordes, but humanity has remained secure in the belief that a Hero of legend will always save them. There's just one slight problem. It's only been 23 years since the Demon King's latest rise, and this time, he's already conquered more than half the world. If humanity simply waits for the Hero's return, there may be no world left for him to save.
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This book was Hilarious
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The B-Team
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Colonial Union Ambassador Ode Abumwe and her team are used to life on the lower end of the diplomatic ladder. But when a high-profile diplomat goes missing, Abumwe and her team are last minute replacements on a mission critical to the Colonial Union’s future. As the team works to pull off their task, CDF Lieutenant Harry Wilson discovers there’s more to the story of the missing diplomats than anyone expected... a secret that could spell war for humanity.
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Crappy bang for your buck
- By Kyle on 2019-06-17
Written by: John Scalzi
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Paradox Bound
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- Written by: Peter Clines
- Narrated by: Ray Porter
- Length: 12 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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Nothing ever changes in Sanders. The town's still got a video store, for God's sake. So why doesn't Eli Teague want to leave? Not that he'd ever admit it, but maybe he's been waiting - waiting for the traveler to come back. The one who's roared into his life twice before, pausing just long enough to drop tantalizing clues before disappearing in a cloud of gunfire and a squeal of tires. The one who's a walking anachronism, with her tricorne hat, flintlock rifle, and steampunked Model A Ford.
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narrator was great, story was meh
- By Cole on 2018-01-12
Written by: Peter Clines
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Dawn of Wonder
- The Wakening, Book 1
- Written by: Jonathan Renshaw
- Narrated by: Tim Gerard Reynolds
- Length: 29 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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When a high-ranking officer gallops into the quiet Mistyvales, he brings a warning that shakes the countryfolk to their roots. But for Aedan, a scruffy young adventurer with veins full of fire and a head full of ideas, this officer is not what he seems. The events that follow propel Aedan on a journey that only the foolhardy or desperate would risk, leading him to the gates of the nation's royal academy - a whole world of secrets in itself. But this is only the beginning of his discoveries.
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Once I got into it, I couldn't stop!
- By Matt on 2019-08-06
Written by: Jonathan Renshaw
Publisher's Summary
2018 Locus Award, Best Science Fiction Novel
Our universe is ruled by physics, and faster-than-light travel is not possible - until the discovery of The Flow, an extradimensional field we can access at certain points in space-time that transports us to other worlds, around other stars.
Humanity flows away from Earth, into space, and in time forgets our home world and creates a new empire, the Interdependency, whose ethos requires that no one human outpost can survive without the others. It's a hedge against interstellar war - and a system of control for the rulers of the empire.
The Flow is eternal - but it is not static. Just as a river changes course, The Flow changes as well, cutting off worlds from the rest of humanity. When it's discovered that The Flow is moving, possibly cutting off all human worlds from faster-than-light travel forever, three individuals - a scientist, a starship captain, and the empress of the Interdependency - are in a race against time to discover what, if anything, can be salvaged from an interstellar empire on the brink of collapse.
What the critics say
"Fans of Game of Thrones and Dune will enjoy this bawdy, brutal, and brilliant political adventure." (Booklist)
"Scalzi has constructed a thrilling novel so in tune with the flow of politics that it would feel relevant at almost any time." (Entertainment Weekly)
"Political plotting, plenty of snark, puzzle-solving, and a healthy dose of action…Scalzi continues to be almost insufferably good at his brand of fun but think-y sci-fi adventure." (Kirkus Reviews)
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What listeners say about The Collapsing Empire
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Scott Duncan
- 2017-11-03
ok novel
Not as entertaining as other Scalzi novels. I wasn't sad when it was over and I don't think I will read the sequel.
5 people found this helpful
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- Richard Desrochers
- 2020-03-01
Another winner from John Scalzi!
Another enjoyable book from John Scalzi! a great performance by Will Wheaton! Can't wait to hear the rest of the series.
1 person found this helpful
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- Anonymous User
- 2019-10-29
Amazing!
This is a new favourite. Love experiencing a new Scalzi universe. Great characters! A fun read.
1 person found this helpful
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- Dan
- 2019-04-27
well Wil Wheaton was good again
I purchased a few John scalzi novels now and liked all of them except for this one. while Wil Wheaton does another great performance the story was very boring and not very original, it was like a Intergalactic C-SPAN channel put to book. I felt sometimes like I was listening to an Attack of the Clones "Senate edition" of Star Wars it was that bad. I feel we give the classification of Science Fiction too much leeway too, I mean this was basically a political fight , one-upmanship , financial and political maneuvering behind everybody's back, typical and pretty boring cliched story lines.Just because it happened in space it's called Science Fiction ? I didn't fall in love with the characters either. Needless to say I will not be buying the second and third installment of this. Wil Wheaton is once again fantastic but I still have to give this a big thumbs down.
1 person found this helpful
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- Saul
- 2019-04-24
can't wait for the next!
Such an ambitious story. The universe Scalzi has created here is wondrous! Will Wheaton brings an entreating performance that captivates quickly and assuredly
1 person found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 2019-01-02
Entertaining
A strong story that contains the death of an emperor, illegitimate child, a terrorist act and a civil war.....all the while the empire collapsea. I enjoyes this very much
Wil Wheaton is a terrific narrator.
1 person found this helpful
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- B
- 2018-04-07
a good read
it was very good, the beginning I found was hard to follow but I have that issue with every book. very much enjoyed it and looking forward to the next book.
1 person found this helpful
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- Joe
- 2022-11-10
Predictable and really dull in places
Some events were not very logical. I highly doubt that anyone connected to a murder would be cleared of any wrong doing before all the evidence had been examined. When the author needs the story to go in a direction, logic is just thrown out the window. This happens so many times that it's just expected after a few chapters.
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- Rene Fournier
- 2022-09-22
Great story
The excessive swearing is literary laziness and somewhat distracting. -1 for that. Otherwise very entertaining.
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- Nikolas Favreau-Regimballe
- 2022-06-10
Amazing story
Great story, outstanding characters, plot is very intriguing and the twists are just as good.
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- Jim "The Impatient"
- 2017-04-01
THE STUPIDITIES OF COURT
YOUR ALWAYS ALONE INT HE MEMORY ROOM AND NEVER ALONE IN THE MEMORY ROOM
This is filled with lots of LOL moments and some great funny characters. SCALZI humor includes giving funny names to ships, such as the following: TELL ME ANOTHER ONE, I THINK WE'RE ALONE NOW, IF YOU WANT TO SING OUT, SING OUT, YES SIR, THAT'S MY BABY and it's sister ship NO SIR, DON'T MEAN MAYBE. The humor is fairly steady throughout the book without being overwhelming.
SORRY, I GOT DISTRACTED THINKING ABOUT SEX
The book is a tiny bit Dune, Game of Thrones, Foundation and The Last Empress. I listened to the whole book and will be buying the sequel, but had it been a different author, I might have given up within the first three to four hours. That is because it is mostly a political book, with Guilds, Courts, Emperors, and Great Houses. The book builds and because the characters are well developed, gets better the longer it goes on. It does not have a lot of science and their are no aliens. It is mostly politics and back stabbing of nobles. STOP WHINING ABOUT IT FOR F SAKE. One of the main characters is a female who cusses like a sailor and has a high sex drive. I found her hilarious.
Wil Wheaton is the best for this. He not only does sarcasm better than anyone else, if you listen during what would normally be considered filler, you can hear him putting everything into to make it sound interesting.
190 people found this helpful
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- Adam S.
- 2017-06-10
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.
124 people found this helpful
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- pat
- 2017-03-25
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.
98 people found this helpful
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- R.A.
- 2018-11-20
Not a Complete Story, Not Scalzi’s Best
Generally Scalzi’s work is right up my alley: I enjoy the mix of tech and philosophical implications of his sci fi, and the often creative world-building that he achieves without belabouring it; this novel didn’t live up to the average of the rest of his books that I have already read (admittedly, only ~5).
FIRST: IT’S NOT A WHOLE STORY
This is not a self-contained story. Not only is it the first instalment of a series, but there is no self-contained storyline in this novel; it is just a novel that has been quite arbitrarily cut off. There is no resolution, and essentially the entire book is just setting the stage for the actual story. Without passing any judgment on this decision, I’ll just say that you should be prepared to purchase the next books in the series, otherwise your wasting your time.
SECOND: IT’S NOT AN INTERESTING STORY
I’m really surprised by this, as Scalzi’s books are usually rich and detailed and have lots of interesting moving parts, but this one just doesn’t. It largely relies on vulgarity for its humour, but that falls flat and eventually comes to detract from the novel itself (being so contrived that it pulls you out of the story).
The characters are 2D — which is pretty standard for Scalzi — but because there’s nothing else really pulling you into the story, it’s rather painful in this one. They all seem to have more or less the same personality: blandly “ironic” and self-deprecating; it gets boring pretty fast.
THIRD: THERE IS BETTER
Both of Scalzi & of SciFi: for Scalzi, I’d suggest “Android’s Dream,”
If you haven’t read it already. Locked In was pretty good as well.
The Narration:
Narration is such a personal thing that I don’t like including it in reviews: either you like Wil Wheaton or you don’t. If you do enjoy him, I envy you, and you won’t be disappointed by this one :)
Personally, I don’t enjoy his narration: I find he only has one mode (over-the-top: his voice literally squeaks when he gets really worked up). HOWEVER, there were a few elements in his narration of this book that were better than usual: he had a bit more diversity in the representation of characters (unfortunately, he reserved it for tertiary characters, so it doesn’t help with distinguishing primary and secondary characters: for example, everyone from a particular family in this book has exactly the same voice - it’s a bit confusing).
Furthermore, for this book, it is particularly difficult to tell if the shortcomings in the narration are latent in the writing, or more related to Wheaton’s reading.
Like I said, if you like him, you’ll like this, if you don’t like him, it’s not going to change your opinion.
ALL IN ALL
A novel that you can listen to while you do something else, but not a complete story, so you’ll have to buy the rest of the series if you want any sense of closure to the story. I wasn’t drawn in enough to bother with the rest of the series, unless it ends up on sale at a very discounted rate. It’s very possible that the complete series would be much more convincing.
Middle of the road, overall - if you like Scalzi & Wheaton, you’ll probably enjoy this; otherwise, pass on it: there is better out there.
Either way - happy listening. If any part of this review was helpful, please let me know by clicking the button, below :) Enjoy!
91 people found this helpful
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- Ron P
- 2017-03-29
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.
84 people found this helpful
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- Gonzalo
- 2017-05-11
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.
70 people found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 2017-03-29
Not very well written
cool world, cool economies, bad character arcs and boring antagonists. it's a weak opening to a series.
60 people found this helpful
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- Silicon Valley Software Veteran
- 2017-03-22
Male voices for women? 15 people in first 20 min?
Scalzi bombards listener with a barrage of characters in the first 20 minutes. It's an overwhelming sloppy mess. If any listeners truly can follow it all, good for you. You've bested a man with a 157 IQ.
To make matters worse, the narration fails (unsurprisingly) to provide adequate voices for the deluge of characters..and when it finally does, we have an old man voice, and two women with disturbingly male voices with a masculine delivery style. Everyone blames the narrator. But it's not how the business us run. It's the *producer's* fault. So often in the industry, the producers direct the voice talent, literally forcing professionals to render ridiculous performances. Was that the case here? I don't know.
I'm disappointed in Scalzi this time. The introductory chapters of fiction are supposed to draw the listener in. Instead, Scalzi uncharacteristically strays into a machine-gun paced information and character overload style. It didn't serve to draw me in. It repelled me, as if someone sprayed mace at my face from point blank range. I'm outta here, Scalzi.
Last: kudos to Audible for your fantastic policy of refunding customers who don't enjoy their purchases.
52 people found this helpful
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- d creed
- 2017-03-28
SI-FI politics...
Good narration. Not Scalzi best book... like listening to the 2016 election but 500 years in the future.
48 people found this helpful
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- Kate
- 2017-03-28
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 . :/
44 people found this helpful