Wednesday, April 10, 2019

Review: The Consuming Fire by John Scalzi

34942741Title: The Consuming Fire
Series: The Interdependency  #2
Author: John Scalzi
Source/Format: Borrowed from the library; Hardcover
More Details: Science Fiction; Space Opera
Publisher/Publication Date: Tor Books; October 16, 2018

Goodreads     Amazon     Barnes & Noble     Book Depository

Synopsis from Goodreads...
The Interdependency, humanity’s interstellar empire, is on the verge of collapse. The Flow, the extra-dimensional conduit that makes travel between the stars possible, is disappearing, leaving entire star systems stranded. When it goes, human civilization may go with it—unless desperate measures can be taken. Emperox Grayland II, the leader of the Interdependency, is ready to take those measures to help ensure the survival of billions. But nothing is ever that easy. Arrayed before her are those who believe the collapse of the Flow is a myth—or at the very least, an opportunity that can allow them to ascend to power. While Grayland prepares for disaster, others are preparing for a civil war, a war that will take place in the halls of power, the markets of business and the altars of worship as much as it will take place between spaceships and battlefields. The Emperox and her allies are smart and resourceful, but then so are her enemies. Nothing about this power struggle will be simple or easy... and all of humanity will be caught in its widening gyre....
So, The Consuming Fire picked up where The Collapsing Empire left off with the collapse of the Flow being an imminent threat to even the Interdependency itself. This was one sequel that lived up to my expectations, and answered some of the questions I had about the Flow, the Interdependency, and where the story would go after the revelations at the end of The Collapsing Empire.

Where do you go when easy and far-reaching space travel is on the verge of going away? What can you do when the forces of nature are actively working against you? The situation presented an interesting conundrum, and the characters—all across the board—reacted differently; sometimes for the greater good, or for wholly self-serving reasons. There was Grayland II who wanted to do what was best for the people of the Interdependency. Yet, there were others who were in it for selfish reasons, wanting to believe the collapse is—as the synopsis states—just a myth. At the heart of the story, there was a lot of political intrigue—full of betrayals, plays for power, and so on. It was expected because the main characters were dealing with the imminent collapse of the Flow, and whatever ramification came from it. That also included the fate of the central government of the Interdependency. The Consuming Fire also touched on some interesting topics, such as the subject of denial of actual facts, and those in power trying to maintain it during a time of crisis. It’s something that was done well.

There was also more information about the Flow, which specifically delved into more about the collapse. Even if it wasn’t specific about what the Flow is, or where it came from. That being said, it still presented some interesting questions about the history that predates the Interdependency's inception.

Overall, The Consuming Fire was great. I liked the characters, and the twists were unexpected and exciting. Now, I’m very excited about what could happen in the third book in the series, The Last Emperox....

Monday, April 8, 2019

Music Monday (74): Tayla Parx

   Rules:
  • Music Monday is a weekly meme hosted by Lauren Stoolfire at Always Me that asks you to share one or two songs that you've recently enjoyed. For the rules, visit the page HERE 
Breana: I’m listening to music from Tayla Parx's 2019 album: We Need to Talk. Disconnected is one of my favorite songs. It’s so short, and I wish it was longer....




What are you listening to this week?


Friday, April 5, 2019

The Friday 56 (150) & Book Beginnings: The Consuming Fire by John Scalzi

The Friday 56 is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice where every Friday you pick a book and turn to page 56 or 56%, and select a sentence or a few, as long as it's not a spoiler. For the full rules, visit the the page HERE
Book Beginnings is a weekly meme hosted by Rose City Reader that asks you to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you're reading.

34942741
Synopsis from Goodreads...
The Interdependency, humanity’s interstellar empire, is on the verge of collapse. The Flow, the extra-dimensional conduit that makes travel between the stars possible, is disappearing, leaving entire star systems stranded. When it goes, human civilization may go with it—unless desperate measures can be taken. Emperox Grayland II, the leader of the Interdependency, is ready to take those measures to help ensure the survival of billions. But nothing is ever that easy. Arrayed before her are those who believe the collapse of the Flow is a myth—or at the very least, an opportunity that can allow them to ascend to power. While Grayland prepares for disaster, others are preparing for a civil war, a war that will take place in the halls of power, the markets of business and the altars of worship as much as it will take place between spaceships and battlefields. The Emperox and her allies are smart and resourceful, but then so are her enemies. Nothing about this power struggle will be simple or easy... and all of humanity will be caught in its widening gyre....


Beginning: "Years later Lenson Ornill would reflect on the irony that his time as a religious man would be bracketed by a single and particular word."

56: "I understand the House of Nohamapetan--your house--is currently debating whether or not to ask the state to charge you with destruction of property."


Comments: I finally read The Consuming Fire by John Scalzi, and I loved it. I'm looking forward to the next book in the series, The Last Emperox. What are you reading this week?

Monday, April 1, 2019

Quarterly Recap: January-March

I find that I spend the first couple of months of the year just trying to get back on track with blogging, and it reflects whenever I look over what I’ve gotten done. So that means it’s time for the first quarterly recap of 2019. It doesn’t seem like three full months have already gone by, but according to the current date—April 2nd—it has. The next thing you know, it’ll be November and then it'll be time to break out the Christmas decorations, but I digress. Let’s get on to the review section of this recap….
January Reviews:
February Reviews:
March Reviews:
Other January Posts:
Other February Posts:
Other March Posts:
I’m still trying to figure out what I want to do with Weekend Tidbits. At the beginning of January, I had a…somewhat solid plan of what I wanted to do; however, I’m not too sure about it now. In the coming months, I want to put more work into a Weekend Tidbits overhaul so it doesn’t end up being one of my blogging resolutions in 2020. I also want to do another post dedicated to colored pencils. Namely because I have a very old set of Crayola Colored Pencils in fairly good condition with some of them being mostly unused, because it’s easy to tell which colors were my favorite.

Also, there are two upcoming reviews I’m excited to share on the blog. The first is for The Consuming Fire by John Scalzi, which will be on the blog next Wednesday. And the other is for The Missing of Clairdelune by Christelle Dabos, translated by Hildegarde Serle—which will be posted closer to the release date...


Monday, March 25, 2019

Music Monday (73): Nao, Bishop Briggs, Two Steps From Hell

   Rules:
  • Music Monday is a weekly meme hosted by Lauren Stoolfire at Always Me that asks you to share one or two songs that you've recently enjoyed. For the rules, visit the page HERE 
Breana: Well, I’m still listening to music by Nao. I’ve sort of rediscovered how much I enjoy listening to For All We Know, her first studio album which was released on July 29, 2016. Bad Blood is one of my top favorite songs from the album.


I’m also listening to Bishop Briggs. White Flags is one of my favorite songs.



Adri: Lately, I've been listening to Two Steps From Hell, especially since they released their new album Dragon. While listening to Bravestone, I noticed a lot of comments mentioning Emerald Princess featuring Chris Bleth and Merethe Soltvedt. So I headed on over, and gave it a listen. I then discovered how much I love this song and the meaning behind it....



What are you listening to this week? 


Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...