The Collapsing Empire

This was a fun read; not particularly deep, but enjoyable. The bad guys are wonderfully villainous, and the good guys are steadfast and resourceful. Multiple times throughout the book characters did not act/react as I expected while still staying firmly in character (good storytelling). Of the minor characters, I was particularly taken by the very profane and totally focused Kiva Lagos.
This being Scalzi, there is plenty of snarkiness. I think he had way too much fun writing this story.
Slight drawbacks: The economic system Scalzi posits seems very unstable to me. I cannot imagine it lasting a millennium. Also, the story obviously isn't finished (though it does end on a good breakpoint).
I listened to the audio version. Wil Wheaton's narration was very good.
Pretty good space opera.