The Core Dump

The Core Dump is the personal blog of Nic Lindh, a Swedish-American pixel-pusher living in Phoenix, Arizona.

[By Nic Lindh on Monday, 09 April 2007]

Review: The Praxis

The first novel about the Shaa empire is pure and unabashed space opera.

Dread Empire’s Fall: The Praxis is pure and unabashed space opera.

The concept is that a race of aliens called the Shaa have dominated and subjugated other species for millennia under the guise of their religion called The Praxis.

The first line of The Praxis reads: All that important is known. So, the Shaa are not exactly into new things, and the empire they have created, with a rigid caste system and merciless punishments for wrongdoers rots at the core as the Shaa die out.

It’s a nice setup.

Most of The Praxis is taken up with setting up the milieu and introducing the major characters, and moves fairly slowly. Walter Jon Williams writes clearly and economically, and really shines in the action sequences, which are taut and tense.

All in all, if you like Space Opera, The Praxis will keep your interest.

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