I was in the mood for a faster read after some of the heavier fiction I’ve read recently, and I have had the first two books of this trilogy on my TBR shelf for quite some time. Feeling like I knew what I was in for, I started this book about a week ago. I didn’t read every day, so this was a quick read for me, and I got what I was expecting (to be honest, a book by TOR with a spaceship on the cover is probably going to hit me right where I need it, so this is a no-brainer 5 star review).
This book is set in a future where there are Lords and Ladies and Houses and a trade federation and a church, and sitting at the top of it all is the Emperox, the head of state, the head of the church, and one of the monopolistic trade families all in one. But with Scalzi’s touch, this reads very much not like the first third of Dune, which can be torpid in its pacing, but instead reads much more like watching a Spielberg action movie. Cardenia is the daughter of a dying Emperox and will be next to lead, though that was never her intention, nor was it of her father, but the heir, groomed to rule, has died, and she is what remains.
Meanwhile, there is a trade dispute at the other end of the “flow streams,” literally on a planet named End. The book starts with a prologue where a ship in one of the streams gets kicked out (that isn’t supposed to happen!) and almost doesn’t make it back, so we know early on that there may be a larger problem.
Much of the rest of the book is political and military intrigue, with the new Emperox trying to figure out her new role, but the son of a Flow physicist hitches a ride back to the Hub, and he has disturbing news which will affect the future of humanity.
I really liked this book. I knew it was the first book of a trilogy going in, but this book holds together and tells a complete story. They win, but that is just the first battle of many. And the future is grim, but few know it (or believe it) yet. It was fast paced, not too deep, and honestly, exactly what I needed. I will probably read the sequel next, while the story is fresh.