The SpaceTime Reading Challenge

As I looked over the review selections I made so far, I noticed something. It's been heavily skewed towards fantasy. Nothing wrong with that; I enjoy fantasy novels quite a bit. But I also really enjoy science fiction. 

So I decided to even out the scales a bit. So I found an online challenge specifically devoted to science fiction: the SpaceTime Reading Challenge! It was nice to find a challenge that was specifically focused on science fiction.

The challenge runs from 1 January to 31 December, 2019. Currently, there are four different participation levels.

• 5 books: Planet hopper
• 10 books: Interstellar explorer
• 20 books: Galactic navigator
• 40 books: To Infinity and Beyond

I've settled on the Galactic Navigator level. I want to leave some open room in my schedule for other books, and perhaps another challenge. I had a lot of success with the 2018 r/Fantasy Book Bingo challenge, and I may want to do that again.

Here's my potential SpaceTime list:

1. Grass by Sherri Tepper
2. The Wrong Stars by Tim Pratt
3. Quantum Magician by Derek Künsken
4. The Poison Master by Liz Williams
5. Dying of the Light by George R.R. Martin
6. Skyward by Brandon Sanderson
7. Nova by Samuel R. Delaney
8. A Big Ship at the Edge of the Universe by Alex White
9. The Ark by Patrick S. Tomlinson
10. The Forever War by Joe Haldeman
11. A Red Sun Also Rises by Mark Hodder
12. Embers of War by Gareth L. Powell
13. Escaping Exodus by Nicky Drayden
14. Noumenon by Marina J. Lostetter
15. Tekwar by William Shatner
16. The Quantum Thief by Hannu Rajaniemi 
17. The Empress Game by Rhonda Mason
18. Downbelow Station by C.J. Cherryh
19. A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge
20. Mistworld by Simon R. Green

This may change over time. I don't typically think about what I want to read until I'm done with one book. So I may find myself mixing up the list a bit. Also, I probably won't go in the numerical order listed, for similar reasons.

As I finish and review each book,  I'll add a link to the title.

The Collapsing Empire by John Scalzi

The Collapsing Empire is the opening volume of Scalzi's latest space opera series. In this world, it is the far future. Humanity has spread to the stars in a vast empire which has existed for a millennium. There has been only one dynasty: that of the Wu family.

Faster than light travel isn't available in the most familiar sense. No hyperspace or warp speed. Instead, starships sail on a space/time current called the Flow. It doesn't take hours or even days to travel; rather, weeks or even months. There are specific points where ships can enter and exit the Flow, called shoals. 

At the beginning of the book, the Empire is in trouble. The Flow is beginning to change. It's no longer becoming accessible to humanity. Some people believe that it's reversing course. Others think something more dire is occurring.

 

According to an interview with NPR, some wondered if the title was a thinly veiled reference to the perceived fragility of the United States. Scalzi pointed out that he was reaching further back. 

In fact I did think very generally about the "golden age" of European exploration, roughly corresponding to the 15th through 17th centuries, in the sense that the empires that rose out of that era were wholly dependent on natural forces (wind, ocean currents, rivers) to move their ships and shape their destinies with regard to trade and exploration. We're so used to having at least some mechanical control of our travel that it's hard to put oneself back into a mindset where travel took months, not hours, and was not always a safe and predictable thing.  

So there was no one particular empire in our past I was borrowing from, but rather, a whole historical gestalt, and then only loosely. Please, historians, don't tell me all the things I'm getting wrong about the European age of exploration! I know. I KNOW.

I loved this approach! I've always found this time frame to be rather fascinating. And the tropes of the Age of Discovery were rather apt for a space opera. For example, trade monopolies. From a historic perspective, the East India Trade Company exerted tremendous power in Great Britain. 5% of all imports came from India, and passed through the Company's control at some point. 

Something similar occurs in this story.  The imperial Wu family is the dominant powerhouse. But they've allowed other nobility members to have their own franchise monopolies. For example, the Lagos family has control of all citrus fruits in the Interdependency.  

Scalzi's trademark snark seasons the story. He's never going to be one of my favorite stylistic writers. In general, I've always found his descriptions generic at best. But his biting sense of humor is a solid compensation. It makes the story easy to read, and I found myself moving through it at a quick clip. 

One area that the humor shines through is in the name of the ships. Scalzi has acknowledged that Iain M. Banks's Culture series were an inspiration. And sometimes a well-crafted homage fits into the tone of a book. Every time I heard about the Yes, Sir, That's My Baby and No, Sir, I don't Mean Maybe it made me smile. 

A word of warning to those who dislike profanity in their stories: this book is heavily layered with them. One character, Kiva Lagos, works in profanity like a proficienct master orator bent towards the obscene. While I found her funny, I can understand why others would easily tire of Kiva's... creative license.

All in all, I'd recommend The Collapsing Empire. It's funny, its easy to read, and it's creative by looking backwards to extrapolate forward. The second book in the series, The Consuming Fire, was a recent release. So expect my thoughts on that soon.