I finished John Scalzi’s latest novel, The Consuming Fire, and was in the process of writing a short little review when I see that Warren Ellis has done the same and pretty much nailed the review in a way I never could.

THE CONSUMING FIRE by John Scalzi sees John pretty much perfect his frictionless high-speed platinum-pulp science fiction storytelling.  I read it in two sittings. John’s stripped his style down to what people are saying and what people are thinking, with the bare minimum of staging, and the thing flies along magnetic rails.  If John was a straight crime writer, he’d have five hundred million in the bank and Lee Child would be bending the knee.  If you want to study how commercial fiction writing works, take a look at this.

This is the second in his Interdependency sequence, and if you’re missing Game Of Thrones or The Expanse, this is both.  Also, if you ever liked the Mission Impossible or Leverage tv series, you will fucking love this.  It’s court intrigue, spaceships, and a lovely long con.