This is the concluding novel of a trilogy, the first two installments of which I read several years ago. Usually, this can be a problem, as much of the backstory has been lost to memory, but in this case, the author inserts several information dumps which were enough to quickly bring me up to speed.

In reading my reviews of the first two novels in the trilogy, I commented that this is pretty run of the mill science fiction; not bad, but not necessarily remarkable or original. It has the trappings of a “Dune-like” universe, with Emperors (Emperox), Dukes and other medieval style royalty trappings, along with guilds and faster than light travel through the Flow, as opposed to space folding.

This novel was marginally better than the first two, but to be honest, two of the characters were so over the top stereotyped that it became almost cartoonish. Every story needs a bad guy, and in this case the bad “girl” is as bad as they came. More annoying, however, is one of the “good guys”, who is so profane and coarse as to become laughable. You want to see how many times the “f word” can be used in a paragraph? Read this book and find out.

I am no prude, and coarse language and sexual content are perfectly welcome and even common in much of my reading list, but both became gratuitous and absolutely unnecessary. So much so that it ultimately became distracting and detracted from my enjoyment of the book. The dialog between the two characters was embarrassing.

In the end, a 9/10 story becomes 7/10 as a result. ( )

For 2.8 volumes of this trilogy, it was a fun series that didn't take itself too seriously. You don't get deep character dives. You don't look too closely at the science-fictiony science. You don't think too much about the deus ex machina of an AI that can ferret out anything. You laugh at co-conspirators who'll trust the villain despite her 100% track record of screwing them over. You just enjoy the romp ... sort of a summer reading type of thing.

Unfortunately, the ending doesn't jibe with those previous 2.8 volumes. It's not a bad ending, per se. It's simply completely inconsistent with the tone and characterizations that went before. And that spoiled it for me. So, rather than this being a series I'd recommend to fans of lighthearted science fiction, I doubt I'll remember this much after some time has passed.

The ending fails on two different levels. At the 30,000-foot level, this series set itself up as a fun, happy adventure where the good guys win after a few travails, and the bad guys lose big time. The bad guys do lose. But it's a Pyrrhic victory for the good guys. And that doesn't work. Expectations weren't set that way, and this series isn't deep enough to carry off that kind of twist.

On a more detailed level, it was inconsistent with Cardenia's character as presented to us. Yes, it's entirely believable that she would sacrifice her life to save the Interdependency. But it is NOT entirely believable that she would commit suicide to do so when there were other, perfectly viable alternatives. One of the main thrusts of the books was how much people had misjudged her ability to come out ahead and triumph over the obstacles they put in her way.

She knew the murder attempt was coming, including the details of time, place, and method. She knew she had the technology to fake a death right down to DNA samples—I mean, come on, that plot device was used more than once in the story. She knew she had a ship that was impervious to spying and could take her off on an adventure in a direction that no one would suspect. It's obvious: let the Countess blow herself up, fake your own death, let your AI clone do what it did. Go live the rest of your life as Cardenia instead of Grayland (which is what you wanted anyway), marry the love of your life, and visit Earth content in the knowledge that you've accomplished exactly what the ending-as-written accomplished while still staying true to character and tone.

Artificially injecting pathos into a story doesn't make it deeper.

Oh, and while we're at it: does anyone really think Marce would jet off to find Earth, no matter how heartbroken he is, when he's the best hope for saving civilization? I don't. That's not the character we met for 2.8 volumes. ( )

Emperox? Scalzi never learned to spell “Empress”? ( )

Damn you Scalzi! You did it again. You wrote a book that managed to break my heart while being humorous and thrilling all at the same time. How dare you?

The desperate logistics of planning for the end reach their climax in the conclusion to a space opera trilogy that began with The Collapsing Empire (2017) and The Consuming Fire (2018) in The Last Emperox. Without giving too much away, Time is running out for Cardenia Wu-Patrick, aka Grayland II, emperox of the planet-spanning Interdependency. We follow Cardenia as she struggles with a plan to save the billions who will suffer and starve in the wake of the collapse of the Flow, the extradimensional network connecting the planets of her far-flung empire, while her nemesis, Lady Nadashe Nohamapetan, continues to scheme against her. Meanwhile our favorite foul mouth lady Kiva Lagos is also still getting herself entangled with the affairs of various houses. How does this play out for her you ask? Read the book to find out for yourself.

I will say, how things eventually play out for Cardenia is shocking. The Last Emperox is full of twists and turns that were certainly a surprise. The way the story resolves itself to give almost everyone in The Interdependency a chance to survive the eventual collapse of the Flow readers will certainly find painful yet engrossing. With the end, there is hope of a new beginning.

The Last Emperox while being a bit bitter sweet—is fast-paced and fun, and will leave space opera fans thoroughly entertained. The book is tIerily timely as well, an exploration of how mercantile self-interest can drive some to view the death of millions as an acceptable loss (cough cough - reminds me of a certain current administration of country that should remain nameless - cough). Scalzi pulls off the perfect ending and conclusion to a beloved trilogy, with room left to still explore the universe of the Inter dependency. Kuddos!

For fans of: Game of Thrones, Space Opera, Iain Banks, Dune, Badass Women. ( )

A great ending. I was hooked from the get go! ( )