The Collapsing Empire

  Additionally, I’d like to thank the administrators and volunteers of the 2016 edition of HawaiiCon for having me as a guest. I got a surprising amount of this novel done while I was on the Big Island of Hawaii for their convention, and I think getting as far away as humanly possible from the mainland, and its constant news feed, made a huge difference. Not to mention, you know, being in paradise. Thanks, folks.

  I’ll close these acknowledgments as I usually do, by thanking my wife and daughter, Kristine and Athena. They actually have to live with me while I write these novels, and it’s not always a happy walk through the poppies. I can be cranky and snarly, especially when (as in this particular case) I get a little behind and I’m uncomfortably reminded that novels are actual work. They love me anyway, even when I only debatably deserve love, and my appreciation for them is nonending and immense. I love them more than pie and churros combined. I think you all know how much I love pie and churros. They’re even better, trust me.

  —John Scalzi

  October 5, 2016

  OTHER TOR BOOKS BY JOHN SCALZI

  Agent to the Stars

  The Android’s Dream

  Fuzzy Nation

  Lock In

  Redshirts

  Your Hate Mail Will Be Graded: A Decade of Whatever, 1998–2008

  The Old Man’s War Novels

  Old Man’s War

  The Ghost Brigades

  The Last Colony

  Zoe’s Tale

  The Human Division

  The End of All Things

  Edited by John Scalzi

  Metatropolis

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  JOHN SCALZI is one of the most popular and acclaimed SF authors to emerge in the last decade. His massively successful debut, Old Man’s War, won him science fiction’s John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer. His New York Times bestsellers include The Last Colony; Fuzzy Nation; Redshirts, which won 2013’s Hugo Award for Best Novel; and Lock In. Material from his widely read blog, Whatever (whatever.scalzi.com), has also earned him two other Hugo Awards. He lives in Ohio with his wife and daughter. You can sign up for email updates here.

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  Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Notice

  Dedication

  Prologue

  Part One

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Part Two

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Part Three

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Epilogue

  Acknowledgments

  Other Tor Books by John Scalzi

  About the Author

  Copyright

  This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

  THE COLLAPSING EMPIRE

  Copyright © 2017 by John Scalzi

  All rights reserved.

  Edited by Patrick Nielsen Hayden

  Cover art by Sparth

  A Tor Book

  Published by Tom Doherty Associates

  175 Fifth Avenue

  New York, NY 10010

  www.tor-forge.com

  Tor® is a registered trademark of Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC.

  The Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.

  ISBN 978-0-7653-8888-9 (hardcover)

  ISBN 978-0-7653-9722-5 (signed edition)

  ISBN 978-0-7653-8889-6 (e-book)

  e-ISBN 9780765388896

  Our e-books may be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use. Please contact the Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at 1-800-221-7945, extension 5442, or by e-mail at MacmillanSpecialMarkets@macmillan.com.

  First Edition: March 2017