Finished "the colapsing empire" by John Scalzi. It was okay, but too much world building and too little story for my taste. Overall I liked it less than any book in his "old man's war" series. I then read "Saturn's children" by Charles Stross. Nice book, got through it pretty fast. I also might have skimmed through some pars where it got too technical. Then I read "red shirts" by John Scalzi, which was a great little book, just finished it today. I find with John Scalzi it's kind of hit or miss for me. I'm now starting "Neptunes brood" by Charles Stross, so will report on that next week.