The Collapsing Empire

by John Scalzi

English language

ISBN:: 978-0-7653-8888-9

(59 reviews)

The Collapsing Empire is a space opera novel by American writer John Scalzi. The book was published by Tor Books on March 21, 2017. It is the first of a series that was originally intended to be two books but is now a trilogy. The second book, The Consuming Fire, was released October 16, 2018 and the final book, The Last Emperox, was released on April 14, 2020.

4 editions

Rob Dickerson reviewed The collapsing empire by John Scalzi

Foundation-esque Scalzi Space Opera

4 stars

Like Asimov's Foundation, the premise of the novel (or rather, series of novels) is that a vast, galaxy-spanning empire is on the verge of collapse. In this case, the collapse is largely due to the imminent disappearance of an astrophysical phenomenon which allows travel between star systems. Since settlements in individual systems are overly dependent on each other to survive, the fate of humanity is not looking great. This interdependence is codified as a moral and religious virtue in the empire, which, by the way, is literally called "The Interdependency." In this sense, the real danger to humanity seems to stem from imperial arrogance and mismanagement a la Gibbon's "The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire," so the genetic link to Foundation seems real.

Unlike Foundation, however, the characters can say "fuck" as often as they want. So there's that.

While "collapsing galactic empire" is a …

Unlike Foundation, however, the characters can say "fuck" as often as they want. So there's that.

While "collapsing galactic empire" is a well-trodden sci-fi trope at this point, Scalzi's telling of the story feels fresh and fun to read. The characters bounce off each other in satisfying ways, and the plot is in the regular habit of thickening as various personal agendas and political machinations unfold. If you like space operas, John Scalzi, and a good old fashioned galactic imperial implosion, this is definitely one to pick up.

ManyRoads reviewed The collapsing empire by John Scalzi

Review of 'The collapsing empire' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

This space opera was not as good as his earlier series. There was simply too much use of the f-bomb. (I know it was supposed to be definitive of a character, but really?!?!) Otherwise, the plot line was pretty pedestrian and lacked any serious science. I'm not likely to read the remainder of this series... although I plan to read another in the "Old Man' series.

Bodo reviewed The Collapsing Empire by John Scalzi

Review of 'The Collapsing Empire' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

I loved every page of this and can’t wait for the next part. Hopefully I don’t have to wait too long.

Gossamerchild reviewed The Collapsing Empire by John Scalzi

Review of 'The Collapsing Empire' on 'Storygraph'

2 stars

Meh. Mostly the plot got in the way. I felt like everything was happening all at once, and there wasn't enough time spent on world building or character development. I enjoy Scalzi's sense of humor, but sometimes this felt more flippant than was necessary. I'll be interested to see where this series goes.

Jason Molenda reviewed The collapsing empire by John Scalzi

Review of 'The collapsing empire' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

I thought this was ok but it's mostly setting up the universe for the following books, there isn't a lot of character development beyond introductions. The goal of showing the house of Lagos matriarchs as bad assess is nice but the swearing seemed silly after not too long. The sex scenes were surely intended to be hilarious riffs on how little sci-fi books delve into relationships. I don't think I'd particularly recommend this book to friends, maybe once there's a second book to continue with it would be more interesting. I've enjoyed Scalzi's other books more.

Patrick Johanneson reviewed The Collapsing Empire by John Scalzi

Review of 'The Collapsing Empire' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Every time I read a John Scalzi novel, I'm reminded what a good writer he is. This one's no exception. He handles the big picture and the small, personal details with equal deftness.

After I finished the epilogue, I jumped back to the prologue. With the knowledge of everything else that happens in the book, it was fun to see how this little piece of the story -- largely unconnected to the events in the remainder of the novel, featuring characters we wouldn't see again -- still added to the whole.

When I started reading the book, I wasn't sure if it was a stand-alone novel or the launch of a new series. When I got to the end, it was pretty plainly the opening volume in a multi-volume set. (Don't get me wrong -- the novel is complete in itself, but the ending indicates there's more to come.) Under …

Chris Adams reviewed The Collapsing Empire by John Scalzi

Review of 'The Collapsing Empire' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

If you like space opera, you'll like this: it's a fast, fun read.

I had two objections: it's a bit short, which means waiting for roughly long enough for a round-trip voyage to End until the next installment and it's definitely the start of a series. Also, I feel like this universe has plenty of room for more books, which left me wanting a bit more in the way of background. Technology is generally left unexplained, which feels more natural since people don't typically walk around explaining pedestrian details of daily life but did leave me wanting to know more about what the average person does.