Book Reviews -Books 22 and 23 for 2017 – At Rope’s End and The Collapsing Empire
So my last two reads were just slightly different. The first At Rooe’s End was a typical mystery with a police detective and a forensic psychologist chasing a serial killer. The second The Collapsing Empire was a great science fiction book about the plight of the Interdependency. The one thing that they do have in common is that they are both the first book in a new series.
At Rope’s End. – (James Verraday #1) -Edward Kay Rating: ***
James Verraday is a forensic psychologist who’ is not a friend of the Seattle Police Department. He currently has a lawsuit pending against the Department. But years earlier his life was turned upside down when a drunken police officer crashed into his family car. The accident left his mother dead and his sister paralyzed. After the accident the officer walked away from the accident while Verraday cried for help.
But when SPD police detective Constance MacLean comes to Verraday and asks him to help her catch a sadistic. Verraday must put his personal animosities aside for the good if the people. What follows is a typical police investigation to track down the killer.
While this was a fairly satisfying book it lacks something to make it special. There were really not a lot of twist and turns in the story itching to keep guessing or rapidly turning the pages. Likewise, I found the lead characters ok but again they didn’t appear to be overly special.
Bottom Line
Overall I give this book three stars. Basically, At Rope’s End was just okay. But after I finishing the book, I wasn’t left yearning for the next installment in the series. Will I read book 2 of the series?The answer is probably yes. With the hope that maybe the next story will be more complex and the characters will develop a little more to my liking.
Book 22 of 2017
The Collapsing Empire – (Interdependency #1) John Scalzi Rating: ****
In his new science fiction series John Scalzi has created a new empire, the Interdependency, located in a place in space-time where faster than light travel is possible. The Flow is what makes it possible. By riding the Flow, humanity has spread to innumerable other worlds. Earth has been forgotten. A new empire has risen, the Interdependency. The Interdependency is based on the doctrine that no human colony can survive without the others. It’s a hedge against interstellar war and for the empire’s rulers it is a system of control.
While the Flow is eternal it is not static. In the past flow streams to various worlds have collapsed. Their collapse has left colonies like Earth stranded. Cardenia is crowned as the new emporex of the interdependency after the death of her father who was the current emporex. Subsequently, a discovery is made that the Flow is shifting. Various streams may collapse leaving many human outposts stranded. Joining together a scientist, a starship captain and the new emperox of the Interdependency must join together in a race against time to salvage what they can from an interstellar empire on the brink of collapse.
Bottom Line
I really enjoy the books of John Scalzi and The Collapsing Empire is no exception. John Scalzi’s book are usually steeped in hard science but his characters are, typically, very human. They are ones that you can root for. like the new emporex Cardenia aka Greyland II. Unlike At Rope’s End, The Collapsing Empire left me wanting more. So I can’t wait for book two of the Interdependency series.
I give The Collapsing Empire four stars.I liked everything about this book. The story is good, the character are engaging, and the Interdependency and the Flow are intriguing creations. So Check it Out as for me I need to go back and catch up on Scalzi’s Old Man’s War series!
Book 23 of 2017
Links for the Further Exploration of the Books of Edward Kay and John Scalzi
John Scalzi’s Website, Goodreads
Edward Kay – Crooked Lane Books, Goodreads
