Thanks to Netgalley for a "teaser" of this book. I was initially annoyed to see that the edition provided was only the first 6 chapters, but I got over it - that gave me the excuse I needed to go ahead and get the audio version. Wil Wheaton's narration is always perfect for a John Scalzi book!

John Scalzi's books are always fun - that's the first word that always comes to mind when I pick up a new one. I can safely guess that it will be a good adventure, interesting characters, and an amusing plot. This book fills that description completely, and I thoroughly enjoyed this.

This picks up where the first book in the series (trilogy maybe?) leaves off. Many of the same characters, although none of this takes place on End, so doesn't involve the characters located there. It appears that the next book will involve End, so I imagine we'll read more about those characters, which is a plus.

Definitely worth reading - I re-read The Collapsing Empire to "refresh my memory" before reading this and it didn't disappoint. It's a series that I will probably read more than once, when I want something light and fun.

NOTE: I downloaded the preview excerpt, and then waited to read the entire book before reviewing.

The story picks up pretty much where The Collapsing Empire leaves off. The three viewpoint characters, Cardenia, Marce, and Kiva return in this new volume.

Cardenia is becoming more comfortable in her role of Emperox and spiritual figurehead. She has decided to move forward with preparing the Interdependency for the Flow's collapse. There is doubt against her from her government, from the Wu clan, and from the church she leads.

Marce has found some new changes in the Flow's collapse. He teams up with another scientist who had been studying the Flow for House Nohamapetan. They determine there could be new, temporary Flow shoals that can pop up. One of these leads to a previously lost member of the interdependency. They convince Cardenia to let them launch an expedition.

Kiva Lagos has taken to the task of dealing with the Nohamapetan's dealings around Hub. Her efforts have turned up some rather elaborate skimming schemes. The Nohamapetan house is less than thrilled with her management of their functions. She also finds love!

There's a lot to enjoy with The Consuming Fire. Just like it's predecessor, it's an easy read that's fun to get into. Scalzi's story-telling is breezy and enjoyable. He keeps the chapters short enough to keep pulling the reader through the story. I found myself toting the book around to different appointments so I could read it in my free time. I loved the exploration aspect in this story. The idea that there's a lot more beyond the Interdependency is both exciting and intriguing.

A big theme of the story is the use of religion as a tool by the government. It definitely follows what Scalzi established previously. The use of religion as a political tool is historically undeniable. From the deification of the pharaohs to the creation of the Holy Roman Empire, history has shown time and again that religion and power go hand-in-hand.

But the way religion is handled is hard to swallow.

Personally, I think religion when properly handled can be a positive force in the world. It can give people a sense of belonging. It can also provide a strong mythology for people to use as a cornerstone for their identity. The brain is a story-making machine, and faith can provide a context for the personal story.

Let me point out: not everyone feels religious faith is necessary, and that's perfectly fine. I think Scalzi was trying to make points about the use of religion by government, not about faith as a whole.

But he doesn't present it in a concrete, understandable way. I don't know the tenants of the Interdependancy's religion after reading this book. I know it's a bit sanitary in practice; i.e., it doesn't normally trend towards the mystical. It promotes being a decent person. But I don't know how the faith actually provides believers with a higher understanding of their place in the cosmos.

The way Cardenia uses the church in her official capacity is an interesting move. She knows why the church was created, and seems to have some qualms about the morality of her role in it. But she doesn't hesitate to use it to prepare people for the imminent disaster. I liked that development; but I wish we could have seen some more personal wrestling with this idea. She makes up her mind to use a religious approach between books, and so we're only really seeing the aftermath.

I also had issues with the way the science was glossed over in the story. In several points, Marce was asked about particular details in the science. And he always said to the layperson that they wouldn't understand the math involved.

I don't typically like hard SF. Space opera and science fantasy are my jam. But I do want some more technobabble in my science fiction. I understand that pacing is a concern, but it doesn't have to be a lot. Just a bit. It's the paprika on the deviled egg.

The characters didn't have a lot of internal drama, either. It's a rather plot-based story. There are some romantic elements. It was easy to see from the last book that Marce and Cardenia would become an item. Box checked. But, for the most part, the characters remained static people. There wasn't a lot of personal growth. Just preparation for the upcoming Flow collapse.

Finally, it doesn't feel like this is a middle book of a trilogy. It feels like book two out of at least a six book story. The overall story moves a bit, but not significantly. I still feel like there's a lot more to learn about this world. That's not a bad feeling; I'm being entertained. I just want more.

The overall length of the book was just over 300 pages. It could have at least 150 more pages. I would have loved to see more world-building, more character development, and also more advancement of the plot. What we got was good, but The Consuming Fire could have been even better.

What can I say...It's a Scalzi book. I can't wait to read the full book. The characters that Scalzi writes are always extremely compelling and I always want to know their stories. I was a huge fan of the first book in this series and do not anticipate being anything but thrilled with the second installment!

This is only an excerpt, but it's an excellent taste of the novel to come (which has now come). I had already enjoyed the first novel in this trilogy, so the preview was a great way to keep up with the world while I waited for the new volume.

John Scalzi writes in a very straightforward manner, but he also writes with a good balance of humor and heart and this book is no different. If you're looking for an excellent space opera with excellent worldbuilding, good humor, and intricate politics, check out The Consuming Fire!

When I asked to read this book I did not realise that it was a preview only - I therefore don't feel qualified to give a full review and was left feeling a little disappointed .
I was unable to give it more than 3 stars due to the little amount of the full story read

This is a genre I love and what I did read was enjoyable and would lead me wanting to read the full story .

I was given an arc of this book in exchange for my honest review - such as it can be in this instance .

When a novel is good, publishers give reviews an advanced readers copy. When publishers worry about bad reviews, they try to gin up buzz with "preview excerpts." I didn't realize this was a preview excerpt when I applied for it. Nobody with integrity reviews a book without reading it cover to cover. I can't imagine what use a preview excerpt would be to an honest reviewer.

I can't wait until the entire book is out! This just made me more impatient. What a great series! Thank you for making the preview available.

As a massive fan of JOhn Scalzi and his various works, this was guaranteed to be a hit for me.

Following on after the events of The Collpasing Empire, I found this to be a very good initial chapter sampler. Others would usually be substantially smaller and not give as good of an idea about the novel. This has definitely gotten me hyped for the release of the next in The Interdependency Series later this month

It wasn't clear when I first downloaded this that it was a preview, which has since been remedied. Due to that I will be waiting until I can read the entirety of the novel before posting a full review on my blog or elsewhere. Still, from what was available this seems like it will be a great second novel in the series. Based on the excerpt I will definitely be picking up a copy of The Consuming Fire for a full review. But as for right now I just don't have enough to go on in order to give a full, detailed review.

I just want more. Love Scazi's world and can't wait to read the rest of this very soon.
Like all the Scalzi books I've read this far this is fun, exciting and makes me want more Scalzi, always more. He's books always puts me in a good mood.

When I first requested this there was nothing to indicate this was an excerpt. I felt mislead. That has since been rectified but I cannot leave a fair review for only 6 chapters of a novel. I was very excited to review The Consuming Fire, but have a policy not to review excerpts.

A laid back start to the sequel of the Hugo Award-nominated The Collapsing Fire. I love Scalzi (who doesn't?) and will be sure to review the book for my blog.

I'm glad you edited the actual title listing of this galley because when I selected it, it was not labeled as an excerpt and I was pretty disappointed. My rating is based upon the excerpt i read, not on my frustration with receiving an excerpt in lieu of the actual book.

I absolutely adore John Scalzi. We always buy him for our library and his website https://whatever.scalzi.com/ is endlessly entertaining. I'm actually waiting to read because I downloaded without realizing it's only an excerpt. I'm going to need the entire story not just 159 pages. I buy Scalzi for my library and for my personal collection.

I didn't read the first instalment in this series so this was completely new.
I really want to read the entire book, what I read in this sampler was wonderful.
I'm also happy because I discovered a new author.
Many thanks to Macmillan-Tor and Netgalley for this ARC

As this is a sample I am not quite sure how to review it.
As usual Scalzi's writing grabbed me from the first line and I was soon smiling at his snark.
Even the few chapters sample left me in suspense and anxious to read the full book.
I think it may be even better than the first.

I really enjoyed The Collapsing Empire, so naturally I was looking forward to this sequel. However, the six-chapter preview provided by Netgalley left me a bit underwhelmed. It opens well but descends into an over-abundance of exposition, religious history, and space politics. There *is* enough good stuff in the first six chapters to make me want to read the rest, and I’m hopeful the pace picks up a bit in the subsequent chapters.

The book starts with an interesting scene: a kid almost dies in a room in the spaceship. The appearance of the god was OK, but after that the book became a long and boring description about religion in this fictional universe. WTF? Scalzi was always strong with his scenes and dialogues - and a long, boring, lexical _description_ about religion? Scalzi forgot how to write a _story_? I just couldn't continue to read, I hope this part will be completely deleted from the finalized version.

When the actual story continues at last, with the empress and the committee, that's just simply boring - some guys are worried, others just think she's crazy, but the actual scene is just boring. This sequel does not seem very exciting at the moment...

The backstory from book one, The Collapsing Empire, was ever so brief, thankfully. With this book, number 2 of 3 in the series, the story picks up right where it left off in book one. At times it’s difficult to keep track of the players with all the political machinations going on, still it’s well worth the time to do so. Although I was disappointed the story of the empire’s collapse was not expanded much, then again, this is only an excerpt, so hopefully the remainder of the complete novel will get the story up and rollin’. This excerpt sealed the deal for me pre-ordering the complete new book, due for release on October 16, 2018.

I received an eARC from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
John Scalzi's newest series The Interdependency returns with its second book "The Consuming Fire". A lengthy prologue - like a little novella - and then we are back to the current events of the interdependency. I enjoy Sclazi and so was not bothered by the lead up to events. This is an intergalatic society - dont look for groundpounder action - its a book with much more political machinations. I give it a 4 out of 5 stars.

I don't usually read excerpts, but I just finished book one and I'm jonesing for more, this took off right where it left off and it doesnt seem like the book will disappoint, I can't wait for the entire book!