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  • The Collapsing Empire

  • The Interdependency, Book 1
  • Written by: John Scalzi
  • Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
  • Length: 9 hrs and 24 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (543 ratings)

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The Collapsing Empire

Written by: John Scalzi
Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
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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. 

©2017 John Scalzi (P)2017 Audible, Inc.

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)

What listeners say about The Collapsing Empire

Average Customer Ratings
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great story and we'll performed

i enjoyed the story and the characters very much. Pleasantly surprised at Wil Wheaton's narration. I never suspected he had narration talent. Bring in the next instalment.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great pacing, and a solid set of characters

Like all Sclazi scifi, these books breeze by quickly without stumbling over the details of the world building too much. It may not satisfy the hard scifi fans, but for a little futuristic escapism, it does the trick.

Looking forward to the rest of this series.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

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.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Best in the Universe

Wil Wheaton delivers another amazing performance! I hope to hear more of his work in the future.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great story

The excessive swearing is literary laziness and somewhat distracting. -1 for that. Otherwise very entertaining.

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
  • 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.

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    4 out of 5 stars

Really enjoyable listen

Ok let's be honest. Will Wheaton makes everything better. This is a great story. I haven't consuming anything by Scalzi since old Mans war. And just seeing whkntbe narrator was brought me in. Glad it did. You will be too

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Very short

Pretty short. Not enough meat to really stand alone as its own novel. Wil was great and the story is a good prelude but it really only sets up the story for the next book. Expect to buy all three.

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  • Rob
  • 2018-05-30

Hell yes!

Loved it! Really great story from Scalzi. As good as Old Man's War. Definitely need the sequel. I mean NEED!

Solid performance by Wheaton. He's not my favorite, and sometimes injects intonation that seems out of character for the Characters, but he's on point and consistent.

Sequel! Now dammit! October 2018 is too far away.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Hilarious

I almost never laugh while reading, or in this case listening to an audiobook, but this one definitely did it for me. Wheaton is perfect for this series and I can’t wait to continue.

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