The Interdependency

I love Scalzi.  He is fun and his books a fast reads that always leave me entertained.  His audiobooks are frequently narrated by Will Wheaton and I enjoy his voice work.  All in all, I am a fan and the Interdependency trilogy is a lot of fun and I really enjoy it.

This is a new world for Scalzi.  In this universe, interstellar travel is possible through pathways known as the flow and it is collapsing.  Soon worlds will not be able to access each other and entire planets and systems will be left on their own.  The premise is interesting enough on its own, but the thing that makes these books so good is the cast of characters they employ.  The reluctant and accidental emperox (the preferred non-binary term for emperor/empress in this universe), the foul mouthed business heir, and the shy intellectual lead us through their POVs.  Both books are good but I enjoyed the second more and I think it is because I already knew the characters.  Criticism for the series, that I’ve heard from friends, is that Scalzi wraps up conflicts and entire books a little too cleanly.  I think the criticism is completely valid but it didn’t bother me to any extent.

Read this if you liked Old Man’s War or other Scalzi.  Read it if you like quick paced, smart sci-fi loaded full of jokes and witticisms, this is the book (and series) for you.  It’s also a good choice if you enjoy Wheaton’s narration.