Tor Books is very happy to reveal The Collapsing Empire, author John Scalzi’s next book, a space opera coming to bookshelves in 2017 and available for pre-order now.

Our universe is ruled by physics and faster than light travel is not possible—until the discovery of The Flow, an extra-dimensional field we can access at certain points in space-time that transport us to other worlds, other stars.

Humanity flows away from Earth, into space, and in time forgets our home world and creates a new empire, the Interdependency, whose ethos requires that no one human outpost can survive without the others. It’s a hedge against interstellar war—and a system of control for the rulers of the empire.

The Flow is eternal—but it is not static. Just as a river changes course, The Flow changes as well, cutting off worlds from the rest of humanity. When it’s discovered that The Flow is moving, possibly cutting off every human world from faster than light travel forever, three individuals—a scientist, a starship captain and the Empress of the Interdependency—are in a race against time to discover what, if anything, can be salvaged from an interstellar empire on the brink of collapse.

The Collapsing Empire features a cover by Sparth, the artist notable for defining the look of Microsoft’s Halo game series, among others.

Here’s a look at Sparth’s unobscured piece for the book:

The Collapsing Empire by John Scalzi is available for pre-order now. Head over to Scalzi’s blog for more information!