The Consuming Fire

This is a direct continuation of [b:The Collapsing Empire 30078567 The Collapsing Empire (The Interdependency, #1) John Scalzi https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1464097677l/30078567.SY75.jpg 50498420]. Read it first. The overall story is quite good so far.TCF doesn't end on a cliffhanger as the immediate problems are resolved, but it does set the stage for the final book in the series. (Scalzi says it will be a trilogy, and he tends to do what he says.)Some new characters make their appearance in this book, but many characters from the first book also reappear in this one. These include the Emperox Grayland II (aka, Cardenia Wu), Lord Marce the flow physicist, and (my favorite) the very profane and totally badass Kiva Lagos. The antagonists are mostly related to or allied with the powerful Nohamapetan mercantile family. Things get very tense and some seriously dirty deeds are done (but not dirt cheap (my apologies to the AC/DC rock band)). As the plot twists and turns, we learn a lot about the history of the Interdependencey (quite painlessly, not as a data dump). We get a bit of romance too (quite well done) and some humor (hey, it's Scalzi after all). And finally, as Kiva Lagos puts it, “The Best Party Ever” near the end of the book is not to be missed.(If a lot of the above makes no sense to you ... well, you haven't read the first book yet.)I listened to the audio version. Wil Wheaton's narration is very good.Good book. Scalzi is a skillful writer. Solid four stars.