Psychohistorical Crisis by Donald Kingsbury. [Excerpt.] Another book found, in desperation, at the supermarket.
A clear homage to Asimov's Foundation series, in more ways than one. There's the obvious galactic empire framework, including the lost location of the homeworld in the Sirius sector. Kingsbury is not quite as dry/pedantic as Asimov (something I've noticed in recent rereading of his work).
At the moment (3/24) I'm about six chapters in, and the book still doesn't have a clear focus. We do want to understand how Eron Osa has gotten to the point where his fam must be destroyed, but we don't have much clue about the underlying problems yet. We also haven't seen any female characters, another Asmovian trait.
I think I'll enjoy re-reading this one in a couple of years when I can concentrate on the details better. It had a slow start (those first six chapters!), and a slow build. But it was an enjoyable read, as long as you want a book that places demands on you to figure out what's going on.
Female characters -- not so hot. The salient characteristic of the Frightfulpeople is "controlling", quite literally. And Kingsbury has a wierd thing going on with age of consent. (The Hyperlord's attraction to prepubesent girls made me dread the chapters from his POV.)