I’ve always liked books by John Scalzi, mainly because of the likability of the characters, and the strange alien worlds that he brings you to.
While this book had plenty of great characters to like, there was quite a bit less world building and detail than I had hoped for.
The story is excellent, and while some twists are predictable overall it has a good pace that makes the book a quick read. I would have liked to hear more about the worlds that he focuses on here. The Emperor of the Empire would be more of an imposing (and interesting) figure if we had a better sense of the scale of the empire, and this book doesn’t really give you much of that.
But I did like the characters, and the stand out character here is Kiva, who is kind of like a foul-mouthed sexed-up female Han Solo. Sometimes Scalzi’s characters are a little too clever, but Kiva falls just on the right side of the borderline, and was fun to read.
The story continues in another book, so I think I’ll read it later on when it becomes available at the library.
Next I’m reading Paul Theroux’s Deep South.
