Beyond Reality discussion

Please post here and let us know what you thought of The Last Emperox by John Scalzi, book 3 in the Interdependency series, and the series as a whole. What worked for you? What didn’t?

Spoilers OK here!

7.5/10
This is the final book in a trilogy and the author had a lot to wrap up, so it’s not surprising it felt a little… rushed? Crammed? The death of Cardenia/Grayland II was a surprise; I suspected she was going to do something with her knowledge about the Memory Room and Rachela I, but somehow I didn’t think it would be that. And Marce heading off to Earth, or at least, Earth’s system? Another surprise. While I understand the political machinations and personal stories were the main focus of the books, I would have liked a bit more attention to what Marce was discovering about the Flow, the Shoals, and the Evanescences beside just “it’s mathematics—lots of complicated math”.

A mostly satisfying conclusion to the trilogy; Scalzi’s prose is always fun to read., and he created some memorable characters who will stick with me for a while.

The 3rd book was a disappointment for me. It felt more like the focus shifted to just the political intrigue and the relationships. I agree Kathi that Cardenia's death felt sudden.
I also agree I would have liked more focus on the Flow. Because it was just concluded that the Flow would collapse and any other species would be undiscoverable that the shift was from a science fiction book to a human drama. I would really have liked more scientific discussion!

Its been a while since I read these books so its hard for me to remember exact details, but I felt like the ending was a bit too rushed. It actually almost feels like a different ending was planned and for some reason had to be changed at the last minute. It didn't feel like a natural progression of the story.

Still liked this book, still loved the series, but the ending just felt a bit off to me.

I read this the moment it came out. I loved the first two books, and had eagerly awaited the final book in the series. And it made me so angry! I was surprised and enraged by Cardenia's death, which seemed to happen in such an offhand manner. How dare he get rid of such a wonderful character?!!

I was a bit calmer when reading it this time. And honestly, I think it needed something this shocking to get people focused on a solution, instead of trying to take short-term profits from the situation.

But I have a question -- in the end, who's left in charge. Is it Cardenia/Grayland? Or is it Rachela?

Chris wrote: "But I have a question -- in the end, who's left in charge. Is it Cardenia/Grayland? Or is it Rachela"

I think Cardenia/Grayland. I think she tinkered with the program Rachela had in place and maybe improved it. In doing so, I think she became the “dominant” mind. I don’t Ave the book at hand, but that’s just the impression I have.

I just finished reading this book about half an hour ago, so my thoughts might be a little unrefined. Overall, I enjoyed this just as much as the last two books, if not more. In book 2, I thought that the Jiyi program being able to find out everything was a convenient deus ex machina, but the reveal in this book that it was Rachela I, and not some facsimile program as described in the previous books, was a real surprise and added some context to book 2’s plot twist.

Pushing back on what was posted previously, Cardenia/Grayland II’s assassination didn’t feel like a surprise or rushed to me. It was heavily foreshadowed at the beginning of the book in that security council meeting and the weight of it pressed upon a lot of the story throughout.

What was a surprise was Kiva’s “assassination” in the middle of the book. Kiva Lagos is probably one of my favorite sci-fi characters since Mark Watney in “The Martian” by Andy Weir. I was truly shocked and devastated when she was “killed” and supremely relived when it turned out to be a ruse by Nadashe. And though I am pleased that not only did Kiva survive, but became the titular Last Emperox at the end of the book, I kind of wish Scalzi had stuck with killing her. Her actually dying would’ve truly raised the stakes, dramatically changed the end of the story, and been a significant departure from the previous books where the good guys always come out on top in the end.

As for the ending, while I can understand why some folks would consider it rushed, I felt that it was altogether appropriate. After Cardenia/Grayland II’s death, unless Scalzi had intended for the book to end on a bleaker note (which doesn’t seem to be his style from the works of his I’ve read so far), it made sense to me that he would wrap everything up relatively quickly. Though I wasn’t totally expecting it to end the way it did, it was heavily hinted at throughout the book with Cardenia/Grayland II’s foreshadowed assassination, Jiyi’s reveal to be Rachela I all along, and Marce’s knowledge about how to pridict evanescence flows and even manipulate them. Also, giving jerkwad antagonist’s like the Nohameptan’s their much deserved comeuppance was icing on the cake and, judging from some of his other books, a Scalzi specialty.

Overall, I give this book a 4.5 out of 5 stars. Thanks to everyone who voted for this series and read the books.

I quite agree, Chris, and I enjoyed reading your thoughts. I am one of those, however, who felt the ending was a bit rushed. Even if it didn't actually NEED to be longer, I felt it would have been more enjoyable had it been fleshed out more.