The Last Emperox

The Interdependency, Book 3

By: John Scalzi

Narrated by: Wil Wheaton

The Last Emperox is the thrilling conclusion to the award-winning, New York Times and USA Today best-selling Interdependency series, an epic space opera adventure from Hugo Award-winning author John Scalzi.

The collapse of The Flow, the interstellar pathway between the planets of the Interdependency, has accelerated. Entire star systems - and billions of people - are becoming cut off from the rest of human civilization. This collapse was foretold through scientific prediction...and yet, even as the evidence is obvious and insurmountable, many still try to rationalize, delay and profit from, these final days of one of the greatest empires humanity has ever known.

Emperox Grayland II has finally wrested control of her empire from those who oppose her and who deny the reality of this collapse. But "control" is a slippery thing, and even as Grayland strives to save as many of her people form impoverished isolation, the forces opposing her rule will make a final, desperate push to topple her from her throne and power, by any means necessary. Grayland and her thinning list of allies must use every tool at their disposal to save themselves, and all of humanity. And yet it may not be enough.

Will Grayland become the savior of her civilization...or the last emperox to wear the crown?

©2020 John Scalzi (P)2020 Audible, Inc.

Surprising ending

well written, fantastic story that leaves you sitting on the edge of your seat or swearing outloud at the events that take place. the ending floored me, and left me sobbing.

Dialog is king or Emperox

Scalzi may be less of a science scholar then other writers in his genre but he is by far the dean of dialog and story telling.
All characters are provided with real life smart dialog and Will Wheaton delivers it perfectly.

would of been a five star but.....

For starters this has been a very great series and excellent book. That being said i have mixed feelings about the ending. I won't spoil it for anyone. you will have to decide for yourself. Overall though this has been my favorite series by Scalzi.

loved it

I love anything Wil Wheaton reads and almost anything Scalzi writes, this series is definitely in Scalzi's top 3.. I recommend starting at the beginning of series but I liked this book best.

Great characters, big ideas, and humor

You have to read the trilogy in order: “The Collapsing Empire,” “The Consuming Fire,” then “The Last Emperox.” The titles give the overall premise away--that is to say, the end of civilization as we know it. Like all good science fiction, these books give you a lot to chew on, along with memorable characters and humor (cynical, often black humor, but I find it funny). However, I laughed less during this final installment than I did in the first two because, in the words of author John Scalzi, "It speaks to our moment more than I intended when I started writing it."

In this far-future universe, humans are spread out over a vast network of planets and space stations that are connected by "the Flow," a deep-space anomaly that, for want of a more accurate analogy, works like a river that allows intergalactic travel. We are happy to take Scalzi's word that "only a few people in the galaxy can understand Flow physics" so he's not going to bother with the details. Space Travel Problem Solved.

There are several Really Big Ideas in this series, not the least of which is the concept of "the Interdependency," an empire that is an amalgam of political structure and religion designed centuries ago to hold the universe of Homo sapiens together. Contact with Mother Earth was lost millennia ago, and no single one of the current large chain of colonies has the resources to supply every different human requirement (there is one exception, and it's introduced early in book 1, so that's not really a spoiler).

The Interdependency was set up so that each of the colonies has a monopoly on producing a few of the necessities (different foodstuffs, oxygen-producing plants, educational training, medicines, hardware, technology, etc) for human life. This means you don't attack any other colony, because you are dependent on each them for a different vital necessity. It also means that when the Flow starts to break down and the supply chain among the colonies is inevitably doomed (sound frighteningly familiar?), the survival of humankind is doubtful.

The founders of the Interdependency were savvy enough to create a structure that made allowances for human greed and lust for power, but over time these human quirks have grown out of control in some quarters, and they blossom in full force with the impending cataclysm. These villains are pitted against a reluctant emperox and an unassuming scientist who is one of the few that understands the Flow, driving an exciting, blessedly compact trilogy with unexpected and emotional plot twists. The characters are vivid and our investment in them is real. Kudos to Scalzi for a memorable series that truly speaks to us more than he intended.

Slightly disappointing end for a promising series

John Scalzi clearly tries to channel the space epics of Asimov, Herbert, and Heinlein and almost succeeds, but for a depressing and somewhat predictable ending that seems rushed. I have never given a book by Scalzi or narrated by Wil Wheaton less than 5 stars, but Uncle John wasn’t at his best here. Hopefully this uninterrupted quarantine writing time will result in something awesome next time.

An Incredible Ending to an Epic Tale

Epic Story, the conclusion to the Interdependency is gratifying, I blew through in a day, Will Wheaton is excellent, truly brings the characters to life, a few nice twists and turns, well worth the credit, go back to book one, a fantastic tale expertly delivered

Great end to a great story.

Will Wheaton once again delivers us a masterpiece of science fiction writing by Mr. Scalzi. Thoroughly enjoyable as usual.

I love this series.

I have loved this series of books from start to finish. And on top of that, I think that the combo of John Scalzi and Wil Wheaton is a winner every time!

I love and hate Scalzi!

I blew through the book in four days, laughing my ass off!
And I know that Scalzi is going to keep us on the hook for the next installment and that's why I hate him...