This Hollow Union

The End of All Things #2

by John Scalzi

Desperate times call for desperate measures. And for the multi-species Conclave, desperate times have arrived. Faced with the prospect of major planets and species leaving the alliance, the Conclave's leadership has just a few cards left to play...to unpredictable effect. Part Two of the four parts of The End of All Things, John Scalzi's conclusion to the Old Man's War tale that began with The Human Division.

Genres: Science Fiction, Space Opera, Fiction, Aliens, Fantasy, Military Science Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy

163 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 16, 2015

About the author

John Scalzi, having declared his absolute boredom with biographies, disappeared in a puff of glitter and lilac scent.

(If you want to contact John, using the mail function here is a really bad way to do it. Go to his site and use the contact information you find there.)

Reviews

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fast on the heels of The Life of the Mind, I got to dive right into the next End of All Things installment. Here we transition from a brain in a box to chief advisor to the head of the Conclave, a massive quasi-governmental organization with representatives from hundreds of alien worlds (though no humans). Hafte Sorvalh is happy to remain in the background, doing the dirtier work for her boss, General Grau. Not that it is all cloak and dagger excitement.

My position has come largely form being usefully competent to others, each more powerful than the next. I have always been the one who stands behind, the one who counts heads, the one who offers advice.

And, also, the one who has to sit in meeting with anxious politicians, listening to them wring whatever appendages they wring about The End of All Things.

Where The Life of Mind was a tense escape story, This Hollow Union is all about the various political machinations and factions that populate the Conclave and how to manage the fallout from the events in The Life of Mind. There is a lot of plotting, maneuvering, and spur of the moment moves to keep everything in a delicate balance. Just as the shadowy organization has ill intentions towards the Colonial Union, so too does it have its eyes set on fracturing the Conclave.

Sorvalh could not be more different from Rafe. Where Rafe was a down on his luck human pilot and ex-programmer who was just in the wrong place at the wrong time, Sorvalh is a seasoned and effective alien (to us) political operator who is exactly where she needs to be. Though being a desk jockey hasn't exactly given her a taste for the fast life that she sometimes finds herself in:

"You have no sense of adventure."

"I do have a sense of adventure. It's overawed by my sense of self-preservation."

She is a very serious person who is doing a very serious, and at times impossible and thankless job, constantly on guard against sharks that would rip apart the Conclave for their own ends. It shows Scalzi has a nice range of writing and isn't all technology and sarcasm (not that we didn't know that from his other work, but is always nice to get it reconfirmed).

While perhaps not quite has immersive as The Life of the Mind it was still quite engaging and an excellent addition to this sprawling story. There are, once again, some pretty major events in this one that completely reshape the political landscape of the galaxy, heightening the stakes even more. It is clear that the shadowy conspiracy has a far reach and powerful backers; whether the other species can recognize and react to them effectively is still very much in doubt. Once again I await in eager anticipation of the next installment of The End of All Things.

[Erin (PT) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This installment of the serial hit hard and all of Scalzi's patented character banter couldn't make it not hurt. Politically and intellectually, I can see why all of it had to happen...it just doesn't mean it didn't hurt.

[Tomasz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Step two, the plot thickens.

[Serena · Rating 3 out of 5]

i retained nothing from this book except brain box

[Ron · Rating 3 out of 5]

Even the master’s miss occasionally. This second installment of Scalzi’s larger work, The End of All Things, advances the story but little else. A lot of “as your know, Bob” conversations intersperse with precious little activity. Good story telling, just not much story.

Scalzi obliquely deals with the same issue as the last book I reviewed, Uprooted, that being dealing with uncertainty in making decisions. Large or small, many of life's decisions are usually bounded by unreliable data. In this case both the data and the source are not to be trusted. Given the varying motives of the varying actors, it's a wonder otherwise intelligent species aren't at war with each other (and among themselves) all the time.

What's a leader to do? If I told you, you wouldn't need to read the book.

[Conal · Rating 5 out of 5]

I gulped down the second episode of this story this week and already wish it was next week already so I could continue with the story. John Scalzi keeps us enthralled in his OMW universe and and I find it really entertaining. He could keep writing these stories and I will keep coming back for more!!!

5 stars for keeping the entertainment going. Can't wait for next Tuesday for the next episode.

[Pedro L. Fragoso · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid continuation, with the former b-team back as supporting characters. I found the political machinations too much nobility based, but hey after last night's Game of Thrones season finale, I'm all for some basic human (and alien) decency and good old fashioned heroism. And women with genuine agency. Which This Hollow Union provided in spades.

[Lindsay · Rating 4 out of 5]

It always surprises me how much these guys hate Humans, even including the "good guys".

[Daniyal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gripping. I knew it was a great chapter when I would walk in the bathroom reading or still be reading while eating dinner.

[James Mourgos · Rating 3 out of 5]

Scalzi writes some great books but I'm not much of a fan of these episodic series. Why not just write a whole novel?

In any case, read Old Man's War before you read this series or else you won't understand half of what's going on. I had. Most of the book is spoken in the first person of an alien named Hafte Sorvalh, and some political intrigue between those who want peace with Earth's Colonial Union and those who want to wipe it out -- since the CU kicks their butts in most of the battles I suppose.

Anyway, Hafte is counsellor and second in power to the General who put the whole association together. Things happen such as a rescue scene of some Earth ships near the main Conclave base. Who fired the first shot? Will Earth or the CU retaliate? And to whom? Will Conclave use this as a provocative reason to get at the humans?

Hey, find out in Episode 3, sometime in the future!

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5/5: soooo good, it has my favorites front & center Gau 😥, Hafte 🥰, & Wilson 😍. I'm disappointed with Gau's exit but it also made strategic sense 😕. I honestly believe that Hafte will be a wonderful & smart replacement, her being crafty in her own right.

[Erikir · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simply fantastic. Hafte comes into her own as the power behind the throne then the head upon which the crown rests.

[shawn murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome series , thanks John John good hands

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Colonial Union and Conclave are doing their diplomatic dancing with much at stake. The pawns are making their moves and who knows what the end result will be. Definitely recommended

[Juni · Rating 4 out of 5]

Political manoeuvring was never this riveting before.

[Aaron · Rating 3 out of 5]

As I said in my review of the first entry in the "End of All Things" series, Scalzi does first person very well. This second entry is also in the first person, but this time, from the point of view of an alien, and thus highlighting something that Scalzi struggles with: unique character voice. Every single one of Scalzi's characters -- male, female, rich, poor, human or alien -- speaks with the exact same mildly-sarcastic tone. In "This Hollow Union," we read conversation after conversation between the main character -- a female alien who is the chief assistant to the leader of the Conclave -- and various other alien politicians. And yet there is nothing "alien" about the tone of those conversations. They are all filled with quips and sarcastic comments. Even when an alien is a gender other than male or female, the only thing that changes about that alien's interactions with other characters is the made-up pronouns used in their conversations. There is no hint in the dialogue that an alien actually has a non-human viewpoint.

Having said that, Scalzi still tells a good story in this entry. The plot moves along well with some surprises for the reader along the way.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

The idea behind these novellas is that they're connected but standalone, and this is the second episode in the narrative established in The Life of the Mind. This novella deals with the ramifications of the events from the first, and tells the story from a different perspective; that of the Conclave, rather than someone with CU sympathies. It continues the story at a quality commensurate with the high bar of the first novella, and I am very much looking forward to reading Can Long Endure and To Stand or Fall!

[Mayank Agarwal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Immediately continuing on where “The Life of Mind” left us, just the action shifting to Conclave. We have all the major players in the series present for this story, with the political intrigue on preserving the conclave being the main agenda. The major highlights of the story for me are

-Has trademark Scalzi humor even when the people concerned are aliens having serious personalities.

-One of the best space action sequences I have come across, kept me on the edge of the seat, best part its well explained and imagined.

-The look at alien’s called Lalan, the up bring of their children was a shocker, great world building.

-The ending was brilliant, emotional and unexpected. I feel Scalzi still has hidden aces up his sleeves and will throw us another surprise in the near future.

[Pamela · Rating 1 out of 5]

One star for a Scalzi? This is madness!

In one of the long past seasons of Big Bang Theory, there is a scene where Sheldon and Raj stand around in Sheldon's office trying to figure out the answer to a problem while "Eye of the Tiger" plays in the background. They make a mark on the white board then erase it. They stand around and stare some more. They sit and stare. Stand and stare. On and on.

THIS is what this book was like. Scalzi does humor. Scalzi does action and adventure. Scalzi does lots of things, but what he does not do is diplomatic posturing and intrigue. The book was only slight more exciting that watching two academics try to solve an esoteric problem--and without any of the humor.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The second novella making up The End of All Things takes place on the Conclave's headquarters and features Councilor Sorvalh in her most difficult diplomatic role yet. Agitators within the Conclave of several hundred alien races sense weakness at the top and scheme to take advantage. Meanwhile two different factions of humans are on their way to discuss future relations - leading to one of the most exciting rescues of people in space after a spaceship attack! Meanwhile, the Conclave has just learned of the supposed existence of The Equilibrium, a small group made up of different races, including humans, who wish to see the Colonial Union fall.

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 3 out of 5]

I dunno when the Old Man's War universe went from being an interesting deconstruction of Starship Troopers and other infantry-based military SF to being a less funny version of Retief of the CDT, but we're clearly there.

This story is an entirely passable tale of a very crucial political moment in the life of the Conclave, but it just doesn't feel that dramatic. Oh, there's a cool starship rescue midway through but other than that it's a story of talking heads. Talking.

Perhaps the ending would have been more dramatic if it weren't so obvious what was going to happen, but as is, the big twist at the end is clearly telegraphed, and so it's not that big.

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Second novella in the serialized book by John Scalzi.
This one was good but suffered from two things ~
1.) Every novella is from a different POV. The person telling this story was not very interesting, one dimensional and a tad boring.
2.) This novella suffers a little bit from the "middle book syndrome". It progresses the story and sets up things for future events but the main plotline did not interest me all that much.

That being said it does have the usual fantastic writing from Mr. Scalzi and I am looking forward to the next part in this tale.

[Marco · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the second installment of the serialization of The End of all Things, the latest book set in the Old Man War universe.
The point of view now move to the Conclave and to its leadership, facing desperate times that call for desperate measures. Faced with the prospect of major planets and species leaving the alliance, the Conclave's leadership has just a few cards left to play, to unpredictable effect.

[Josh · Rating 3 out of 5]

The second volume in Scalzi's "End of All Things" switches narrators and gives us an alien protagonist for the first time (as far as I'm aware). It really sheds a lot of light on what's been happening within the Conclave, and contains some very key events that pick up right where the first chapter left off. So overall this was an enjoyable read, though not quite as full of the humor and action pacing that Scalzi has done in the past.

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I started this and saw it was centered around diplomatic relations, lets say I was very skeptical it would be as gripping as the first installment. Might even say I thought it might, in a few small places, be boring.

I was happy to be wrong in my expectations, as this 2nd part was tense and spellbinding as the first. Looking forward to the next two installments of this story.

[Stephan van Velzen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed the previous novella written from the perspective of a space ship. I love this one, written from the first-person perspective of an alien, even more! I've always wanted to read a book with such a perspective, and Scalzi makes it work perfectly. These novellas are amazing, and I'm preordering the next two!

[Shawn Dvorak · Rating 4 out of 5]

So far I'm really liking The End of All Things (how could I not - it's Scalzi!), and this second installment in the serialized novel "The End of All Things" is as good as the first. Where the first part centered on the events occurring in human space (Earth and the Colonial Union), this one focuses on the parallel storylines in the Conclave - the 400-species strong union opposing the CU.

[Chris Eddy · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was always going to be difficult to top the first episode of Scalzi's new serial. Episode 2 of The End of All Things shifts focus to the political machinations of the Conclave and provides a satisfying combination of intrigue and action, along with a shock or two. It doesn't quite live up to the opening instalment, but it comes mighty close. Eagerly awaiting next week's instalment.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

The best of the series. Has all the hallmarks of Scalzi at his best. Likable characters, witty dialogue, high stakes, and a humdinger of an ending that really makes you want to immediately read the next installment.

Alas, it's so good that it makes Parts #3 & #4 feel like a bit of a slog to get through.

[Cmoore · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh, wow... As per usual Scalzi is playing the long game. And like a good game the political intrigue is running high as the players are being moved into place... I loved this as it sets up the next two novellas...

Waiting, drums fingers... Next Tuesday, woohoo hurry up... I need my fix!