[derwiki]

I have a nagging feeling that Collapsing Empire isn’t “good” literature (the swearing and sex?) but really enjoyed it, along with the other Scalzi books I’ve read. As others have pointed out, the reason for collapse are unique compared to other collapsing empire stories.

[mrgoldenbrown]

Shakespeare is full of swearing and sex. Neither is a clear sign of good or bad literature, unless you have a very specific definition of "good literature" in mind.

[NBJack]

Sex? Scalzi barely touches the subject; contrast that with Arthur C. Clark and his, ah, more detailed scenes, or Heinlein. And I've read quite a few of Scalzi's works (including the Empire series).

Can you offer a comparison? I don't have a good understanding of your baseline.

[whimsicalism]

Scalzi is not highbrow sci-fi (whereas the Radch series is a bit), but it’s still good!