The Consuming Fire

John Scalzi continues the tale he began in The Collapsing Empire (see 6/12/18 post) in The Consuming Fire.  We have the same characters from the first book dealing with the ongoing crisis caused by the imminent collapse of the phenomenon they have been using to achieve interstellar travel.  The crisis is compounded by the incredibly short-sighted self-interest exhibited by the story’s antagonists (perhaps a telling mirror to our own times).  In any event the story itself is interesting though the volume concludes very abruptly.  Although the story here is wrapped up it is very clear that the series will continue.  The characters remain as generally unlikable as they were in the first volume.

So, if you like a story with plot, don’t mind not liking the story’s characters, and have read the first volume of this series it is worth continuing with this book.  If any of those things are deal breakers pick up something else.