Who Said The End of Everything Wouldn't Be Fun? A Review of John Scalzi's Interdependency Trilogy.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ — The Interdependency Trilogy by John Scalzi

Reviewed by Beau Selby, Carrots With Knives

OVERVIEW: This is a SPOILER FREE review of the entire series. I just read them all straight through and don't want to write three individual reviews. Okay, here we go.

LENGTH: I read this entire series over about a period of about 2 days. The series is around 950 pages in total length, and I honestly cannot remember the last time a story pulled me in that completely.

PLOT: In The Interdependency Trilogy, John Scalzi imagines a far-future human empire built entirely around a network of wormhole-like connections known as the Flow, routes that make interstellar travel and trade possible across planets and habitats that cannot support life on their own. When scientists discover that the Flow is beginning to collapse, the entire empire faces extinction, chaos, and the deeply inconvenient fact that their civilization was never meant to function independently. At the center is Emperox Grayland II, an unexpectedly sharp and unorthodox ruler who inherits both the throne and the apocalypse, surrounded by scheming nobles, pragmatic scientists, and delightfully foul-mouthed allies (I love you so much, Kiva). What follows is a blend of political maneuvering, scientific problem-solving, and sharp humor as humanity scrambles to survive the slow unraveling of its own universe.

IF YOU LIKE: If Game of Thrones and Dune (or Foundation, take your pick) had a baby that decided not to take itself quite as seriously as its parents, you would get The Interdependency. It has the politics, the scheming, the massive stakes, and the science, but it also has a sense of humor about all of it.

PACING: The pacing is classic Scalzi: quick, sharp, and easy to follow. But what really makes this series stand out are the characters. If you are familiar with Scalzi’s usual lineup of foul-mouthed, sarcastic, and oddly endearing people, you will feel right at home here. The difference, however, is in the execution; These characters are his best ever. It could be that a trilogy gives them more room to grow, but they clicked for me right from the start.

THE ENDING (SPOILER FREE): Excellent. No spoilers, but it wraps up the story in a way that feels both surprising and inevitable. That's no easy task. FLAWS: Yes, there is a fair amount of exposition. I've seen that complaint. And it's true. Scalzi likes to explain things sometimes when he should probably just show them. I'll admit that. But because the narration matches the personality of each point-of-view character, it works. It never feels like a lecture; it feels like the characters themselves are walking you through their world, with all their usual snark and honesty intact. Honestly, I don't get the gripe about it. It works.

SPOILER-FREE VERDICT: The Interdependency is political space opera done right. If you like your sci-fi intelligent but still fun, this is a great option. This is easily my favorite of Scalzi’s works, even more than Old Man’s War. The world-building is tight, the dialogue is razor sharp, and the humor never gets in the way of the heart. It is smart, funny, and fast-moving. In other words, everything I want out of modern science fiction.