Seems like a waste of a Saturday to me.

Google paid a lot for this...or Apple did. I can't tell.

This is a tale of genetically engineered superspiders from space. I make no apologies.

Someone I greatly admire once pointed out to me science fiction's flaw: the preoccupation with world-building at the expense of character.

John Scalzi does a nice job of balancing the two. Empire presents a universe like Dune, but with characters that are far more familiar. I only wish more time was spent with each of the main cast, as it is a very short book for all it introduces. I guess there are sequels for that.

Nick Hunt's journey in the footsteps of Paddy Fermor makes me want to pack a bag and do it myself. The romanticism of this is undercut by his refusal to prepare for the journey in any meaningful way and his subsequent discovery that walking across a city doesn't generalize to walking across a continent. I admire his ability to power through it, but come on. Nobody wants to hear about feet in your heroic epic.

Great book, though.

If you like historic minutiae relevant to the golden age of NASA, this book is delightful. The geopolitics of docking adapters, and USAF's blunder that got greenlit as a 70's blockbuster are great anecdotes. The maiden flight of the shuttle even pales a bit next to them, but still appeals to the 10-year old kid in me. Thanks to my awesome wife @schmia (who didn't type this sentence #alternative facts) for finding this for me via #AlltheBooks.