John Scalzi is by far one of the most imaginative (and funny at the same time) authors that I read in the last years. This book is not an exception. He brings drama and laughts, gives interesting characters, and give us a great book, once again.

Scalzi is and forever will be one of my favorite authors. Count me in for literally anything and everything he writes.
However, while I do enjoy this series, it has been the most difficult work of his to get into for me. It is very hard Sci Fi/Space Opera (which is clearly stated in the blurb) so I only really recommend it to those who read and enjoy hard sci fi.

-- This review is several years past the release date due to the many issues of 2020, but a huge thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an early copy of the book.

It starts off slow and kind of dense, but once the action begins, it's hard to resist the story as it drives forward. It reads as a true epic, one that makes you feel the world really has been reshaped as you read it. Would recommend.

This was a solid follow up to The Collapsing Empire but I felt like it suffered from “book 2”-itis. Like so many middle books in trilogies the second book has to bridge the gap and is usually full of information and little action. The first half of this book was like that and got a bit boring but the action definitely picked up. The final few chapters provides the perfect springboard into the thrilling conclusion and I can’t wait!

This is the second instalment in The Interdependency series.

The Interdependency is a space empire spanning innumerable light years and travel between each human colony is viable via the Flow. The Flow runs like a river through space and allows the spaceships that enter it to travel at a speed faster than light and across the vast universe in months or years rather than centuries and multiple lifetimes. However, just like a river, the Flow is changing course and millions of lives might be lost in space if this occurs.

Emperox Grayland II has more than just the potential destruction of every human habitation to contend with as enemies seem to be forming all around her. Every notable house has a reason to want her spot and they don't care about the blood spilled in the process of getting to it.

This series is just so damn clever! The entire construction of the flow was intriguing but the second half of this book provided a stream of new additions that opened up this space empire even further, both geographically and historically. It was as taxing as it was rewarding to puzzle out exactly how this immense, space-wide construction was pieced together, who the governing bodies were, and where they were scattered across it.

Whilst the scientific importance remained at an all-time high, this second series instalment was also very heavily politically focused. Underhand tactics were consistently discovered and continuous new attacks were constantly thwarted. Despite fictional politics being highly intriguing, they often slow the narrative pacing but these developments ensured that was never the case, here.

This second volume continues immediately after The Collapsing Empire. As wormholes begin to collapse, political intrigue intensifies because some clans persist in believing it's not true. (One could certainly read this as a metaphor for some other civilization-ending catastrophes.) Unlike most second books, the pace and action continue. While there's a lot of exposition and intrigue, it's incredibly easily consumable. As another reviewer put it, this is how to do a middle volume!

Since this is a space opera, my main qualm is about Marce Claremont and his journey through a recently reopened wormhole. This is a moment where two cultures who haven't interacted in thousands of years meet again. Marce is meeting beings dramatically transformed by their hardscrap existence! But the descriptions are so short and vague. This is exactly where the reader should be stunned by the vastness and cruelty of space or the strangeness of this alien culture. A real missed opportunity.

Scalzi is always a pleasure to read, despite and because of his characters mostly being versions of Scalzi himself (here's Scalzi in a dress, here's Scalzi in a feminine wig, here's a Scalzi talking to another Scalzi...). In this, it feels like he's working on some of these weaknesses, particularly writing female characters.

John Scalzi strikes again this time with The Consuming Fire the second installment of The Interdependency. This is a high speed political drama in space, that has so much plotting and counter plotting while trying to secure the future of the Intedependency against the coming collapse of the flow streams that made the Interdenpendency a possibility.

The Consuming Fire picks up right where The Collapsing Empire left off Nadashe Nohamapaten is in prison for treason and murder. Lord Marce Claremont is now the Flow advisor to the Empereox, and Empereox Grayland II is under increasing pressure as people believe that since she is now having visions that she is no longer fit to be Emperox. This is where this novel picks up, and this one has no kind of slowdown to it. I loved this all the way through. Scalzi’s characters are one of the strongest parts of the book. My favorite is is Kiva Lagos who has been placed of the in system dealings of the House of Nohamapaten because of the traitorous actions of Nadashe. She is the kind of take no crap character that I love.

The story has many different parts to it. One side is Greyland and Marce trying to convince people of and prepare for the Flow collapse, then you have the opposition to her plotting to remove her from her position. The way Scalzi weaves a multi layer interconnected story is a wonderful thing to experience. There are so many layers and so many different ways the layers come together, the best of it is when he throws a twist that you dont expect and makes you set the book down for a minute to grasp what he did.

This is shaping up to be one of my favorite sci fi series. I am chomping at the bit to get into book 3 and get to the conclusion of this wonderful story.

The interstellar empire, known as The Interdependency, is in trouble. The empire encompasses multiple star systems with trade among the different systems an integral part of the empire economics. Travel between the systems is by way of "the Flow' - a naturally occurring 'slip stream' that carries ships at a much faster-than-normal rate. There are specific entrances and exits to and from the flow, which is where civilizations have flourished.

The Emperox of the empire is Grayland II who was never trained for, nor expected to become, the Emperox. One of the biggest challenges to face her reign comes from a young man, a scientist (and son of a scientist) who offers proof that the Flow is collapsing. If the scientist's predictions are correct, the system furthest out (known as 'End') will be the first to lose access to the Flow.

Emperox Grayland II has brought the information to the ruling council, who don't wish to take the information very seriously. Instead, they are bent on preparing for a civil war and over-throwing Grayland II.

The Flow may be creating a new exit - one that existed thousands of a years ago. While Grayland II fends off a possible coup, she sends her scientist to investigate what might have happened to the civilization that once existed where the stream is now opening again. Any insight in how to survive will give Grayland II an advantage when the collapse comes.

I read (or rather listened on Audible) to this book when it first came out. When it was offered up again by the publisher, in conjunction with the next book, I thought it would be a great time to reread it so that I could go into the next book with this story fresh in my head.

John Scalzi writes terrific space opera. The main plot is pretty straightforward, though there are some great subplots that look ready to converge.

We also have a delightful cast of characters. For the most part, they are pretty much white hat/black hat types. The good are so very good, even though they question themselves (Grayland II), and the bad are confident and keenly evil (Countess Nohamapetan).

There's action, there's intrigue, there's sex, and adventure, and plenty of snarky, sassy comments sure to make you smile. Scalzi knows how to spin a yarn! This is a heck of a lot of fun.

Oh ... but ... it's not really a complete book. This is pretty clearly the middle book of a series. If you picked up this without having read the previous book, I think you might be lost. And if you want to have a complete experience, you know, beginning, middle, and end, you might be disappointed as the end is probably coming in book three.

Looking for a good book? If you're willing to commit to a series of at least three books, then you will love John Scalzi's <em>The Consuming Fire</em>, book two in The Interdependency series.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. This is the second book of the the Interdependency series. The story is still fascinating and well developed by Scalzi. The interaction between the characters is real and the conversations are easy to follow. Unfortunately Scalzi has doubled down on his use of long expalnations of what the individuals are thinking at any one time. Needs to be tightened up.

Published by Tor Books on October 16, 2018

The Consuming Fire is the second novel in John Scalzi’s Interdependency trilogy. The Collapsing Empire introduces key characters and sets up the trilogy’s framework. The habitats of the Interdependency are facing a crisis as the Flow streams that link them begin to disappear. The habitats truly are interdependent, with the possible exception of the planet End, resulting in the likely death of their inhabitants when they are cut off from their trade partners.

The Consuming Fire is more satisfying than the first installment because, having established the premise, Scalzi is free to do something with it. In addition to developing a solid plot based on political conspiracies, Scalzi uses the book to teach an allegorical lesson. The collapsing flow streams pose an existential threat, but the members of the power structure — industrialists, religious leaders, and politicians — refuse to consider the long-term implications of that threat because they are only concerned about their short-term goals: acquiring and maintaining wealth and power. They are more interested in propping up the stock market than in acknowledging a threat that will make their stocks meaningless in a few years. They are happy to let the next generation worry about the consequences of their greed. Does that remind anyone of, for example, global warming?

The story fills in more background about how the Interdependency came into being. It’s a clever story involving the manipulation of the superstitious with religious visions and prophesies that were faked by the first emperox. The visions were “meant as parables to help a divided humanity understand the need for a new ethical system that focused on cooperation and interdependency.” The current emperox, Grayland II (f/k/a Cardenia), uses the same trick to control the empire’s citizens in a time of crisis.

The plot follows a grand scheme to overthrow Cardenia that brings together the House of Nohamapetan (which tried to assassinate Cardenia in the first novel) and disloyal elements of her own house (the House of Wu). The few people who are on Cardenia’s side include Kiva, whose house is at odds with Nohamapetan, and Cardenia's lover, the mathematician Marce Claremont, who remains focused on the imminent collapse of the flow streams and the deaths that will follow if humans cannot make their way to End, a planet that is now under the inconvenient control of the House of Nohamapetan.

In a critical subplot, Marce discovers that older flow streams are temporarily reopening, including one that leads to a lost system. Marce travels there with a small team to learn what they can about survival strategies, only to discover that a few plucky humans are still alive, 800 years after their orbital habitats were cut off from supplies. More importantly, he finds a ship from a forgotten system of planets that is operated by a captain whose consciousness was downloaded into the ship’s operating system.

Scalzi combines action with intrigue in a fast-moving novel that suggests important lessons without becoming preachy. Cardenia continues to develop as a character, growing into a role as emperox that she didn’t want, using her wits and marshalling her toughness to take on political opponents who view her as weak and naïve. I look forward to seeing how Cardenia gets the empire out of the mess its short-sighted industrialists and politicians have created.

RECOMMENDED

The second novel in the Consuming Empire trilogy continues Scalzi's most recent series set in the far future and in a novel space / time space. His characters and storyline continue to develop as some mysteries are solved while others develop and expand. As in all of his books the characters are likable and nuanced, the story line convincing and the setting novel. Definitely read the first book first but continue through the whole series, a very worthwhile read.

The Consuming Fire by John Scalzi, a great author. I normally enjoy this author's work very much but really had a hard time connecting with this series.

The Interdependency is a series of human habitats in space, some of them artificial, some adapted planets, but only one which humans can live on the surface of. These interdependent habitats are linked by the Flow, extra-dimensional streams which make the distances between habitats manageable. Picking up where The Collapsing Empire left off, this book sees Cardenia, Emperox Grayland II, growing into her role as ruler of the known universe, while Kiva gets stuck into managing the Nohamapetan business on Hub, and Marce continues to learn more about the Flow streams collapsing, including a very surprising discovery. I can't tell you any more because of spoilers for the first book in the series, but I can tell you that I thoroughly enjoyed it, especially the surprise ending.

The Consuming Fire follows The Collapsing Empire as the second in John Scalzi's extraordinary Interdependency trilogy, a far future Machiavellian space opera.

Discovery of the Flow, an extradimensional field that facilitated travel and trade between distant planets, led to the establishment of a space empire, the Interdependency, with its capital Hub at the center. Each planet (aside from one, End) needed others' resources for survival, hence an interdependency of powerful trading Houses (reminiscent of those in Dune).

After centuries of stability, the Flow is breaking down. Emperox Grayland has just ascended to the throne, a role she never expected, and now works hard to save as many of her people as she can from the imminent collapse of her empire and the probability of civil war, as planets are steadily isolated. Scientist Marce Claremont advises her on what's ahead, while continuing his research.

A gripping read!

Thanks Tor and NetGalley for making this book available during the Quarantine.

Book II of the Interdependency series. The Flow is going away soon and the governing factions are starting to fight for power.
Great characters.
Incredible world building.
Outstanding novel - read it in a day.
Through very hard work, Scalzie doesn't appear to be even breaking a sweat with this novel.
On to the conclusion - The Last Emperox.

I have to admit that I was a tad scared when I started this book because on one hand, I knew that this was going to be good (well, not knew knew, but I was almost sure) because the first book was, to me, not only an enjoyable reading, but one of quality but, on the other hand, I had some great expectations for this one. With the first one I was curious because I wanted to read this author and I had read some pretty good reviews about this series, so yeah, curious. But I have a strange relationship with sci-fi so I had no expectations. Then I read it. And loved it. Hence the great expectations for this second volume. And you know what? It was even better than what I was expecting!

Here we have all the things that I loved in the first book, like great characters, humor and wit at every turn (and I really, really love the spaceships names! They crack me up every damn time!) and an intriguing plot, with action, twists, plot and some science, just to spicy up the mix!
The first book set up the pace and put in places all the actors, given or taken, and the main event, and this second book carry on the story and defines the characters for us, giving them life and personality, while the end of the universe is nearer than ever.
Often the second books are somehow disappointing, especially in a trilogy, because they just serve as a bridge between the first and the last book. It is a sad thing because I don’t know why a duology is bad, but it is a thing that happens. And happens. But this was not the case. This second book was even more substantial than the first, giving us more perspective about, well about all, really! We gain more knowledge about the history of the Interdependency, and hence about the world in which our story is set, we make new scientific discoveries, and we see the characters found their place in the world, growing more complex and complete at every page.
I think that this happens rarely, but if we speak about complexity and development, this second book was even better than the first one! I don’t know which one I enjoyed more, I cannot choose a favorite here, but if the first one has a sort of levity to it, that amused me more, the second one has some epic scenes and the characters become something more. And I loved this!

The Emperox is quietly and slowly but with certainty becoming a real ruler. She may be quiet, and not used to the court politics (or to the court in general) but underestimate her won’t do any good. I like how she is quiet and reflective, insecure, too, in this new role for which she wasn’t ready (because, honestly, she wasn’t to be an emperox) but she is also determinate to do the right thing. And quiet is not synonymous with weak. She has some interesting ideas, a ton of willpower to see them through and she will reserve some amazing surprises. One of the best scenes of these books, one of the most epic ones, has her as the main protagonist. And I was there shouting “Go, Cardenia, Go!”.
And then we have Kiva. In the first book, I enjoyed her and her unique personality, but I wasn’t in love. I think it has more to do with personal taste than anything else, because if the world I have used more for the Emperox is quiet (I know!) the world that I would use for her is “loud”. She is loud, she is boisterous, verging on rude more often than not. But she is quite unique. And her heart is in the right place. She is also proud, loyal, and brave. She was a surprise, once I got to know her better, and I think that she is one of the best features of this book.
They are obviously not the only characters, but they are the best of them!
I think that between the others, my favorite was Monsieur Chenevert. He is one of the new characters, he was fun, and I hope to see more of him in the next book because I have high hope!
I have to say that Marce was the character who disappointed me the most. It is not that he is bad, but he fell flat. And his relationship with the Emperox is the weakest point of all the book. I mean, I like it and I ship them, too, because they are sweet and awkward and are a cute couple but… it seems like something put there because a love story, of any sort, would have added something to the book. But in truth, it is not so.
All thing considered, this is not a big thing, and it didn’t diminish my pleasure during the reading, because there is so much going on, and we can enjoy the company of such great characters that really is a minor thing.

We have also some scheming, plot and some twist. And we have a really good twist, the main one, that was just amazing. It is also the part in which the title is explained and it was great. Simply great.
It is true that not all the scheming and intrigues are unpredictable, but they keep the story flowing. We have some interesting new addition to the scientific and historical discoveries, we learn more about the past, as I was saying before, and in doing so new questions arise. And we learn something more about the future, or the possibilities of it, since the Flow is collapsing and their world is fast approaching its end. But the pace is never slow, and the interest for the story never quiver while reading.

And with the great characters and the entertaining plots, we should not forget the humor and the wit of the author, that makes this book entertaining and fun. A hell of a ride in the space and in the politics of an Empire.

The Consuming Fire is the second book in John Scalzi's Interdependency Trilogy, which began with The Collapsing Empire back in 2017. I've read a a good deal of Scalzi, although most of it was before I started reviewing on this blog, and mainly have found him enjoyable if not special - all of his books tend to have a few fun characters, some strong witty dialogue, and good solid execution, but little of them stand out when all is said and done. Back in 2017, I read The Collapsing Empire, and found it similar, except my main complaint was that the book's ending was unsatisfying, occurring well before any of the title's "Collapse" actually started to happen. Having read quite a bit of other works I enjoyed more I never came around to continuing the series until now, thanks to the publisher granting me a copy on NetGalley.

And well, The Consuming Fire is fine - again excellently crafted, with occasional moments of humor - but I just didn't really find myself caring enough about any of it by the end of the book. It's possible some of that is from not reading The Collapsing Empire more recently, but given my experiences reading other series - I don't think so: I just didn't really care for any of the main characters that much at this point to be that invested in continuing reading. Again it's well done - if you want a SciFi story of scheming conspirators trying to overthrow a leader at a time of likely existential crisis, this is your series - but I guess without me having greater investment in the characters, it's not for me.


---------------------------------------------------Plot Summary------------------------------------------------------

Cardenia Wu, now Emperox Grayland II, has survived two assassination attempts and now only has the troubling task of convincing the rest of the powers of the Interdependency that the Empire is on the verge of collapse - with the hyperspace-like travel routes known as the Flow collapsing, it will take only a coordinated effort to save everyone.

But the other powers in the Interdependency do not trust the new Emperox and would rather make a play for the throne than cooperate, which would require them to take losses....and for what? And these forces will be more careful than the last in their scheme to take out the Emperox....for good.

Meanwhile, Marce Claremont, the lord and scientist whose father discovered the Flow's collapse, discovers a new wrinkle in the Flow's collapse, suggesting new outcomes and pathways are possible. But his exploration of same will be dangerous, especially when others discover how close he is to the Emperox, but it might reveal some truths that could save them all.....

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Like the first book in this series, we really are focused upon the three main characters: Cardenia/Grayland, Marce, and Kiva Lagos, the hyper-swearing former smuggling ship captain noble now in nominal charge of the bad guy Nohamapetan's finances (see last book). Of course, here we also constantly shift between perspectives of side players and some major antagonists (far more than the first book did based upon my quick reskimming of it) as things are going on, to get a more general picture of what everyone really believes is happening.

On one hand, this is executed fairly well, with enough craft that the plot keeps moving and never drags, with surprises generally well set up along the way and characters generally acting in-character. It's mainly a story about a bunch of asshole nobles/corporate big heads being too short sighted and greedy to care about a long term apocalypse - and not very long term honestly - and instead plotting against the one power trying to make long term sacrifices: a plot idea that anyone today will have a hard time finding unrealistic. If you want scifi political conspiracy fiction, well this is what you sort of have here. And Marce's own side mission to a long lost planet is itself interesting, even if it doesn't have a huge payoff in this book but might in the future. These things work fine.

But the constant shifting of perspectives doesn't work fine to build up any of the characters in a way that actually made me really care about them. We spend more time with the antagonists and side characters than Cardenia and Kiva for example, some of whom get disposed of before they actually manage to do anything - seriously, at least one major new antagonist is introduced and is then promptly shoved aside by older ones before they actually add anything....and it's not like I particularly found the new antagonists interesting, but at least they were new!. Cardenia is awkward in her romantic attraction to Marce, but that's solved at the end of book 1 and there's no conflict there, and she has no other character arc. Marce has at least a science arc of discovery but again, it doesn't really excite me that much or build his own character. And whereas Kiva's swearing reckless behavior in the first book was a lot of fun, she's doesn't actually do anything other than swear and have sex in this book, with all of her plot developments more or less happening to her than being the result of anything she actually does.

Basically when I started this series, I was hoping for a book or series featuring the struggle to reunite the empire as it's about to face an existential threat and with antagonists who aim to twist the chaos for their own goals. Instead, we get all of the latter and basically none of the former, and the antagonists are just repetitive in their ambitions and methods - I could literally start a counter for # of assassination attempts being plotted/carried out in this book as a joke, and if I made it a drinking game, I'd get quite drunk. Which you know, could be fine, but I'd probably have to care more about the characters and I didn't here. Maybe if I read The Collapsing Empire right before this one I'd have cared more, but even the middle book in a series should have some interesting character development and uh, I don't really see any here.

The Consuming Fire, book 2 in the Interdependency series by John Scalzi, picks up fairly close to where the first book, The Collapsing Empire, left off. And, it basically jumps right into the action, as Emperox Grayland II tries to shepherd all of humanity through the upcoming collapse of the Flow streams and the end of civilization as they've known it for the past one thousand years.

While The Consuming Fire is a space epic type of book, it really isn't concerned so much with battles and such; it's more focused on saving humanity and the political battles that Grayland II is dealing with. These schemes are interesting in and of themselves, as it's sometimes hard to know who to really trust, and Scalzi plays his cards very close to the vest, not revealing everything until the climax of the story. The other part of this book that I found really interesting was Marce Claremont's arc. I don't want to spoil anything, but I'll say that it reminded me a bit of the Alex Benedict/Chase Kolpath books by Jack McDevitt. The two threads (Grayland's and Marce's) dovetail nicely together.

Scalzi does a fine job with character development, as he mostly focuses on the same point of view characters we followed in the first book. Grayland II continues in her acclimation to being Emperox, becoming more formidable and confident. Marce Claremont sees his role expand and become extremely important. Nadashe Nohamapetan shows up again, and continues to act as a foil for Grayland, although in a different capacity. Kiva Lagos, and her foul mouth, are once again embroiled in conflict with the House of Nohamapetan. Additionally, Scalzi introduces or expands on some characters who were not really a part of The Collaspsing Empire: Countess Nohamapetan, Archbishop Korbijn, Lord Terran, and more members or employees of the Houses of Wu and Nohamapetan. All told, this is a varied and interesting group of characters whose interactions make for an enjoyable read.

The plot of The Consuming Fire is constantly moving forward, and Scalzi fits all the myriad pieces together very well. A little more than halfway through, there is a big reveal that propels the story forward at breakneck speed, and the conclusion, while a fine ending to this book itself, totally expands the scope of where the final book can take the story of Grayland II and the Interdependecy's quest to save themselves from disaster. It wasn't something I saw coming, but all the seeds are there. As far as negatives, I have a couple that are more along the lines of personal preferences: Scalzi's characters use the F-word a lot, enough where it is a little distracting to me when I'm reading; sex is also a driving force for some of these characters, and while not graphic by any means, it seems a bit superfluous at times; and finally, there are a few chapters were it is one paragraph of exposition after another, and while these are necessary, they slowed me down after chapters that pushed the plot forward with snappy dialogue and humor.

Overall, I would recommend The Consuming Fire by John Scalzi. It's both a terrific sequel and a fine book in its own right. Scalzi has written a quickly moving, engaging story with humor and well-rounded characters. I'm looking forward to reading the conclusion, The Last Emperox, in the near future.

I received a review copy of this book from Tor Books and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Consuming Fire feels like a middle-book, but in a good way. Just as entertaining and accessible as the first, this sequel took the plotline of The Interdependency trilogy in an interesting direction.

The story picks up immediately from the previous book. As expected, the news of the imminent collapse of The Flow streams were received with scepticism. Those who stood to lose the most were the noble houses and guild merchants who have built monopolies out of the structure of The Interdependency. And then there are also those who would use what they perceived as a weakness of the new emperox to conspire against her. Political scheming and double-crossings abound even amongst those who were plotting to overthrow Cardenia, also known as Grayland II as her formal emperox name. As I've mentioned before, I'm usually not a big fan of too much political intrigue, but Scalzi was able to at least make it fun to read. I attribute this to the fact that these books are quite short and as such, nothing was dragged out for the sake of it.

What I enjoyed most about The Consuming Fire was the narrative pertinent to The Flow itself. Of course, it would be the space-y stuff because once a nerd, always a nerd. From Marce's POV, the plot went through a most fascinating development as he undertook expedition to an isolated star system, once cut-off a very long time ago. The discoveries and revelations that came to fore were game-changing, and widened the scope of the story beyond just the immediate conspiracies brewing at the Hub.

Once again, Marce was the only prominent male character. There were two new POVs, both females as well, which made me believe that Scalzi was trying to increase their representation in science fiction. I wouldn't say that his female characters were the best out there, but the effort was definitely appreciated as they were good enough not to aggravate me. One thing I have to say is that while I don't necessarily feel any strong attachment to the characters, I do actually like them. Even when it comes to rather bland Marce, and maybe that's because he comes across as genuinely nice person. There's nothing grey about his motivations and actions, and hence he may seem boring. But the story told from his perspective was the most interesting for me because it deals with all the cool sci-fi ideas. Cardenia's character development went a bit sideways at first, but in the end she showed that she was not one to be underestimated. It's a very similar theme of bullies, or in this case schemers, reaping what they sow. Thus, when humble pie was served, the feeling could only be described as cathartic. Kiva was still as remarkably foul-mouthed, but behind that crude facade could be a person who may have a tad more depth than just her F-bombs.

Similar to the previous book, The Consuming Fire cannot be read on its own. The Interdependency trilogy is shaping up to be a continuous flow of a single narrative over the course of three books, and I'm really excited to read its concluding volume.

Reviewed by my co-blogger, TS Chan, on Novel Notions

The Consuming Fire feels like a middle-book, but in a good way. Just as entertaining and accessible as the first, this sequel took the plotline of The Interdependency trilogy in an interesting direction.

The story picks up immediately from the previous book. As expected, the news of the imminent collapse of The Flow streams were received with snide criticism and scepticism. Those who stood to lose the most were the noble houses and guild merchants who have built monopolies out of the structure of The Interdependency. Even when the evidence was pretty clear when some of The Flow streams really did disappear, many were still in denial. And then there are also those who would use what they perceived as a weakness of the new emperox to conspire against her. Political scheming and double-crossings abound even amongst those who were plotting to overthrow Cardenia, also known as Grayland II as her formal emperox name. As I’ve mentioned before, I’m usually not a big fan of too much political intrigue, but Scalzi was able to at least make it fun to read. I attribute this to the fact that these books are quite short and as such, nothing was dragged out for the sake of it.

What I enjoyed most about The Consuming Fire was the narrative pertinent to The Flow itself. Of course, it would be the space-y stuff because once a nerd, always a nerd. From Marce’s POV, the plot went through a most fascinating development as he undertook expedition to an isolated star system, once cut-off a very long time ago. The discoveries and revelations that came to fore were game-changing, and widened the scope of the story beyond just the immediate conspiracies brewing at the Hub.

Once again, Marce was the only prominent male character. There were two new POVs, both females as well, which made me believe that Scalzi was trying to increase their representation in science fiction. I wouldn’t say that his female characters were the best out there, but the effort was definitely appreciated as they were good enough not to aggravate me. One thing I have to say is that while I don’t necessarily feel any strong attachment to the characters, I do actually like them. Even when it comes to rather bland Marce, and maybe that’s because he comes across as genuinely nice person. There’s nothing grey about his motivations and actions, and hence he may seem boring. But the story told from his perspective was the most interesting for me because it deals with all the cool sci-fi ideas. Cardenia’s character development went a bit sideways at first, but in the end she showed that she was not one to be underestimated. It’s a very similar theme of bullies, or in this case schemers, reaping what they sow. Thus, when humble pie was served, the feeling could only be described as cathartic. Kiva was still as remarkably foul-mouthed, but behind that crude facade could be a person who may have a tad more depth than just her F-bombs.

Similar to the previous book, The Consuming Fire cannot be read on its own. For readers who had to wait in between the book releases, Scalzi was able to bring a reader up to speed fairly quickly in the earlier pages. The Interdependency trilogy is shaping up to be a continuous flow of a single narrative over the course of three books, and I’m really excited to read its concluding volume.

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