Review by Booklist Review
The Flow connects humanity living underground or in habitats across 47 star systems. Only End is habitable since Earth was lost a millennium ago. Political upheaval there will make it difficult for word to reach Hub of a discovery that would challenge a seasoned leader, much less the recently crowned Emperox Cardenia Wu-Patrick. Kiva Lagos needs to make the best of a bad situation when her cargo is quarantined by the machinations of a rival family. Jaimes Claremont has to get his findings from End to the emperox; with rebellion in full swing, accomplishing that will not be easy. Scalzi weaves these threads together with a clever metaphor for the interconnectedness of human society and how it breaks down with his well-known wit, whimsy, and ear for dialogue that is profane and laugh-out-loud funny. Fans of Game of Thrones and Dune will enjoy this bawdy, brutal, and brilliant political adventure in the shadow of a phenomenon that will change society forever, if not end it. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: This book, first in a planned series, is lead title in Scalzi's new 10-book, 13-year contract with Tor.--Miltner, Terrence Copyright 2017 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Scalzi (the Old Man's War series) delivers a strong opener for his fast-paced new space opera series, setting up key players along the primary travel corridor of an empire overflowing with complex interactions among nobles, politicians, business interests, and an unstable physical environment. The Interdependency is a collection of far-flung, human-colonized, barely habitable planets strung together by the Flow, a naturally occurring, limited-access, faster-than-light network. The planets are governed by the concept of obligate mutual reliance and ruled by those who control access to the Flow, but a change to the Flow that would leave established planets isolated to die seems imminent. This would disrupt the plans of the ambitious noble Nohamapetan family, which is involved in a rebellion raging on the outermost planet of End; Kiva Lagos, the foul-mouthed, opportunistic owner's representative on a starship owned by one of the Nohamapetans' rivals; Marce Claremont, a scientist carrying data from years of secret research into the Flow; and the young new emperox, Cardenia, guided by her simulated ancestors. Scalzi's storytelling centers on dynamic and quick-thinking players with strong personalities who engage in spirited social interactions, making the slightly dubious physics forgivable. Expect several future works set in this sprawling universe. Agent: Ethan Ellenberg, Ethan Ellenberg Literary. (Mar.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
The galactic empire of the future is shaped by the Flow-mysterious routes that allow faster-than-light travel to specific points. But now they are becoming unreliable. A scientist, a ship's captain, and the ruler of humanity strive to understand and resolve the danger before whole planets become isolated and perish. Set against them are disbelief, politics, and time. VERDICT With a wonderfully diverse and entertaining cast, award winner -Scalzi's (Lock In) new series launch offers the allure of an Isaac Asimov novel, written with modern concerns in mind. (LJ 3/15/17) © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
In the first of a new series, brutal politics and pitiless physics threaten an interstellar empire built on trade.The Interdependency is a group of barren planets and space stations ruled by mercantile trading houses and linked by the Flow, an extradimensional mode of travel. Occasional shifts in the Flow have cut off the Interdependency's connection to some planets (including Earth), but it's remained relatively stable...until now. Count Claremont, a physicist stationed on the remote planet of End, has determined that the Interdependency will soon lose access to the Flow completely. Once that happens, every member of the Interdependency will be cut off from all the others by impassible light-years of distance, and a delicate web of commerce and survival will dissolve. Claremont sends his son to the Interdependency's ruler, the Emperox Attavio IV, to share their findings before the Flow routes disappear. But Attavio IV is dying, and his daughter, Cardenia Wu-Patrick, was never intended to assume the throne. The reluctant new emperox is immediately confronted with assassination attempts and the ruthless machinations of the ambitious House of Nohamapetan, whose members seem to have their own knowledge of the radical change in the Flow. Readers might wonder whether Scalzi can write another space opera that shares the elements that made his Old Man's War series (The End of All Things, 2015, etc.) so popular but be sufficiently different to feel fresh. Both include political plotting, plenty of snark, puzzle-solving, and a healthy dose of action, but there's just enough here that's new for this to avoid becoming a retread. There's nothing groundbreaking, but you'll still want to find out what happens next. Scalzi continues to be almost insufferably good at his brand of fun but think-y sci-fi adventure. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
