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The Collapsing Empire

So I have just finished reading The Collapsing Empire by John Scalzi.

Now I am not going to review it more than saying it is a great read and that it is a fun science fiction opera. It is an epic but fast paced story and it is not to long at just under three hundred and forty pages. In summary: I enjoyed and it is well worth you time.

Now what I want to talk about the language used1 and how all the characters use the same language to talk. Only one stands out because of the amount she swears.

The more I think about it the fact that all the characters speak standard english makes it very easy to read. You do not have to parse the sometimes incomprehensible colloquial sentence structure that I have seen a lot of writers use in science fiction and fantasy as well non-genre fiction.

I will add that is not the same as all the characters being the same. They are all have very different motivation and actions. This is the main difference. If you stripped away the he said / she saids and presented this as a series of dialogues you would have a difficult time separating them apart. This point has been a revelation to me. It does help that Mr Scalzi is very witty writer and all his character have some thing funny to say.

Most books I have read and people I have seen talking about dialogue say that the characters need to have completely different ways of talking. You should be able to tell them apart from each other by just the dialogue. And I have found that very difficult.

But with John Scalzi2 who is a very successful author does not worry about that. I have spent so long being paralysised by my difficultly making all my character sound different. But know I just get on with the job of writing the story I want to tell.

And maybe make my characters little sarcastic. Like me.

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The BOOK

By Keith Houston

So I am not going to do review of The Book by Keith Houston (all though it is very good).

What I am going to review is the physical book it’s self.


It one thing that is not talked about much. When ebooks first became a big thing they they always talk about how convenient they were and the old physical books are dead.

That did not happen. In fact the ebook rise has plateaued and the hard/paper back book is resurgent.

What I missed in all the kindle kerfuffle is that the biggest strength of the book is it’s physical presence. Something you can hold in your hands. Place on your table next to your bed or drop in your bath.

Admittedly you would struggle to fit a thousand books into your suitcase when you travel. But that is one of the strengths of ebooks.

This book is one of the nicest books I have ever read. The pages have a smoothness and weighty feel that is hard to explain but it leads to a fantastic feeling as you turn the page. The more I read the more I wanted to turn to the next page and continue.


It takes explaining how a book is made–and how the whole process began– to great lengths.


It starts with the cover. No dust jacket, just cardboard bound. Each of the parts that make up the cover are labelled with great care.

It has even delt with me spilling coffee on it without any signs of trouble.

I heartily recommend this book as an object. To own, to look at, to feel and even on the outside chance to read. It does help it has been informative and entertaining in equal measure.

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