Caliban's War is a 2012 science fiction novel by James S. A. Corey (pen name of Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck). It is about a conflict in the Solar System that involves Earth, Mars, and the Asteroid Belt (colonies of people living on asteroids, referred to as "Belters"). It is the second book in The Expanse series and is preceded by Leviathan Wakes. The third book, Abaddon's Gate, was released on June 4, 2013. One of eight short stories and novellas published by James S. A. Corey, entitled "Gods of Risk", takes place directly after the events of Caliban's War.
The series is like a freight train, constantly picking up speed
5 stars
Everything I loved about the first book, the second book built on. The politics have higher stakes. The characters begin to really grow in interesting ways. Where the first book wrote rules, the second book breaks them in a way that never feels contrived or arbitrary. And the humor is still there.
I am still thinking about why I think the humor in this series is such an important part of it. I'm not 100% sure yet, but I think it's because as high stakes as the story is, it's still a series about humans who grow and laugh. Maybe humor is just important to me because it's where I look for characterization. Like I said, still thinking about it.
Si bien la primera parte era un duo entre dos personajes. Este ya es más una novela río, tenemos 4 personajes que se van alternando por cada capítulo. Y presentan a dos absolutas cracks de la saga, Avasarala y Bobby. Que les pondrías un piso a cada una.
La historia ahonda en las consecuencias de lo ocurrido en la primera parte, y en un maremágnum político y económico por intentar controlar un poder que nadie conoce, y las consecuencias que puede acarrear.
Muchas facciones implicadas pueden y falsas acusaciones pueden prender una mecha hacia la destrucción total.
Acción divertida, las relaciones entre los personajes aumentan a mayores, ya empiezas a sacarles sus cositas a cada uno. Y lo que quieres es que sigan teniendo aventuras a montones.
Tengo que buscar tiempo y ponerme con el siguiente.
I watched the second season of the TV show and wasn't a fan. I mentioned this in my review of Leviathan Wakes, but the TV show added so many Belter characters, and Avasarala was a main character from day one, so it felt more about Solar Politics than it did about the protomolecule. After finishing Caliban's War, I'm delighted to join the fans of the Expanse universe, and that's strictly because of one thing:
The books are better than the TV series.
I'm sure you're eyerolling, but I'm serious, and I think anyone who liked the TV series will be blown away by the superiority of the novels. It's not a mismatch in expectations, or real-world constraints preventing the fantastical elements from coming to life on-screen... it's about how the author tells a story.
The TV series rewrote the plots of two books, interweaving them into about …
I watched the second season of the TV show and wasn't a fan. I mentioned this in my review of Leviathan Wakes, but the TV show added so many Belter characters, and Avasarala was a main character from day one, so it felt more about Solar Politics than it did about the protomolecule. After finishing Caliban's War, I'm delighted to join the fans of the Expanse universe, and that's strictly because of one thing:
The books are better than the TV series.
I'm sure you're eyerolling, but I'm serious, and I think anyone who liked the TV series will be blown away by the superiority of the novels. It's not a mismatch in expectations, or real-world constraints preventing the fantastical elements from coming to life on-screen... it's about how the author tells a story.
The TV series rewrote the plots of two books, interweaving them into about 3 seasons of content. The climax of Leviathan Wakes occurs in the middle of season 2, muddling the conclusion of Eros with that of Caliban's War. Equally important, Bobbie and Avasarala spend episodes doing nothing of import because their role is to interact with the events of Caliban's War. What felt like plots that go nowhere, filler sequences that had no emotional impact... that's because they really were filler! It's a fantastic example of how difficult it is to adapt a novel into a TV series. Even introducing someone like Avasarala doesn't work if she isn't doing anything important.
Meanwhile, the novel Caliban's War starts with solar-system changing events and never stops. Avasarala is the stand out character, making even Holden feel like a second fiddle, and she puts us in the driving seat of high-stakes politics that we only heard about through hearsay. Bobbie and Prax add a welcome balance of humanity vs the polar opposites of Holden and Avasarala, and the mystery of Ganymede brings back the blend of detective work and action that made the first novel memorable.
No puedo más que seguir alabando esta saga. El tercer libro ya lo recogí hace dos días y en cuanto me termine dos novelas más cortas (una ya empezada y otra por empezar) me lo empiezo a leer y encargo el siguiente.
Holden's an idiot, but he's not stupid. If he realizes he's being watched, he'll start broadcasting pictures of all our Ganymede sources or something. Do not underestimate his capacity to fuck things up.
Like in Leviathan Wakes it will be difficult to separate this review from the Syfy/Amazon series but I will do my best.
Caliban's War benefited from additional characters and providing perspective on events happening elsewhere. The scope of conflict and political posturing required more than a Miller or Holden view and the additional voices resulted in an excellent read.
The TV show tried to handle the introduction of Drax and Avasarala and Bobby but it felt incomplete and didn't do their characters justice. The source material was excellently crafted and these new characters resulted in the best chapters in the book.
Avasarala is noted as being a 'bitch' (as per Soren) and she was all bark and …
Holden's an idiot, but he's not stupid. If he realizes he's being watched, he'll start broadcasting pictures of all our Ganymede sources or something. Do not underestimate his capacity to fuck things up.
Like in Leviathan Wakes it will be difficult to separate this review from the Syfy/Amazon series but I will do my best.
Caliban's War benefited from additional characters and providing perspective on events happening elsewhere. The scope of conflict and political posturing required more than a Miller or Holden view and the additional voices resulted in an excellent read.
The TV show tried to handle the introduction of Drax and Avasarala and Bobby but it felt incomplete and didn't do their characters justice. The source material was excellently crafted and these new characters resulted in the best chapters in the book.
Avasarala is noted as being a 'bitch' (as per Soren) and she was all bark and yelling, she thrived on high pressure scenarios and when there was a crisis she could only use her words. I disliked her in the TV show but she won me over in text, which is true for the rest of the newcomers.
"So I'd like to find this little girl before someone uses her up, and she disappears. I'd like to do that for her," Amos said. His voice caught for a moment, and he clear it with a loud cough. "For her dad."
In the TV show the friendship that Amos and Drax developed was charming but I didn't appreciate how deep it went. It was adorable that Amos said "he was the best friend I had" but I felt that what lead to that comment missed some weight. Like most areas of the TV show I didn't like the book has done a wonderful job filling in the gaps, and with Amos and Drax, explaining their friendship.
"Point of clarification," Alex said, raising his hand. "We have an apocalypse comin'? Was that a thing we knew about?" "Venus," Avasarala said. "Oh. That apocalypse." Alex said, lower his hand. "Right."
The action started and didn't let up. Leviathan Wakes had a slow build and then concluded with a frantic finish, but Caliban's War took off like a shot and didn't ease up. The breathes between action sequences were necessary but it wasn't all guns blasting and vomit zombies.
Reputation never has very much to do with reality.
The book also did an excellent job damaging relationships and then trying to patch them together. There were moments between characters where they talked about their lives, their issues and concerns. Problems are discussed aloud and the team works with what's been presented. In some ways the character development in Caliban's War is the real gem and it is supported but excellent action and some terrifying bad guys.
No one on the screen is who they are when you breathe their air.
I'm committed to reading the series and right now it's a pleasure because the books are so enjoyable!
"Cap," Amos said with a grin. "Anything that kills me has already killed everyone else. I was born to be the last man standing. You can count on it".
Second book of the series. Fun read, but the plot became less interesting fast. It's very one dimensional. Just one thing happening after another and you never really feel any characters are in real danger.
Hardly the "scifi game of thrones" that some claim it is.
Caliban's War est le deuxième volume de la saga de science-fiction The Expanse signée James S.A. Corey, le nom de plume du duo composé des auteurs Daniel Abraham et Ty Franck. Ayant déjà vu les trois premières saisons de la série TV qui adapte ce cycle de SF pour le petit écran, je connaissais déjà l'essentiel de l'intrigue de cette deuxième tome :
La principale différence avec le premier volume, c'est que nous suivons désormais le récit à travers quatre points de vue. Là où le premier tome alternait les narrations de Jim Holden et Joe Miller, celui-ci s'enrichit de nouveaux points de vue : Joe Miller n'est plus présent suite à la conclusion du livre précédent, mais Holden l'est toujours et est rejoint par trois nouveaux narrateurs :
- Bobbie Draper est une marine de l'armée martienne et la seule survivante de l'attaque de la dernière évolution de la …
Caliban's War est le deuxième volume de la saga de science-fiction The Expanse signée James S.A. Corey, le nom de plume du duo composé des auteurs Daniel Abraham et Ty Franck. Ayant déjà vu les trois premières saisons de la série TV qui adapte ce cycle de SF pour le petit écran, je connaissais déjà l'essentiel de l'intrigue de cette deuxième tome :
La principale différence avec le premier volume, c'est que nous suivons désormais le récit à travers quatre points de vue. Là où le premier tome alternait les narrations de Jim Holden et Joe Miller, celui-ci s'enrichit de nouveaux points de vue : Joe Miller n'est plus présent suite à la conclusion du livre précédent, mais Holden l'est toujours et est rejoint par trois nouveaux narrateurs :
- Bobbie Draper est une marine de l'armée martienne et la seule survivante de l'attaque de la dernière évolution de la protomolécule qui a tué toute son escouade sur Ganymede
- Chrisjen Avasarala est une politicienne influente aux Nations Unies, qui tente de comprendre ce qui se passe sur Ganymede et d'éviter l'escalade vers la guerre entre la Terre, Mars et l'OPA
- Praxidike Meng est un botaniste qui a grandi et travaillait sur Ganymede jusqu'à l'évacuation de la station suite aux tensions militaires entre la Terre et Mars qui ont suivi l'attaque de la protomolécule ; depuis, il recherche sa fille de cinq ans, enlevée par son médecin quelques heures avant l'évacuation
Ces nouveaux personnages apportent un regard neuf sur l'univers de The Expanse en explorant des points de vue différents : Bobbie est le premier narrateur venu de Mars, Avasarala nous dévoile les coulisses de la politique terrienne et interplanétaire, et Prax nous sert de voir le récit à travers le regard d'un homme "normal" dont le quotidien est bouleversé par les événements qui se déroulent autour de lui et malgré lui. Quant à Jim Holden, il reste égal à lui-même : capitaine fidèle à son équipage et à ses principes, quoiqu'un peu tourmenté par la mort de Joe Miller.
J'ai adoré ce livre : je ne sais pas s'il est meilleur ou juste aussi bon que le premier, mais je l'ai dévoré en redécouvrant l'intrigue déjà suivie dans le série TV. A moins que ma mémoire ne me joue des tours, certains événements m'ont semblé différents entre le livre et la série, ce qui ne serait pas étonnant. Quoiqu'il en soit, le récit est passionnant, bien aidé par une mécanique bien huilée et une structure narrative qui alterne les narrateurs au fil des chapitres pour ménager le suspense, ou en créer un peu artificiellement parfois. C'est en tout cas diablement efficace.
J'ai maintenant très envie de plonger dans le troisième tome de la saga, même si je vais me forcer à lire au moins deux ou trois romans en attente avant de répondre à l'appel de Jim Holden et ses compagnons.
Review of "Caliban's War (Expanse 2)" on 'GoodReads'
5 stars
The writing style of this series is impeccable. Crass when it needs to be, as well as funny, disjoint, confusing & tense - all these threads woven into a fantastic web of intrigue and suspense. Sometimes a character's disposition or emotional state is given in a five sentence paragraph for dramatic effect. It's incredibly surprising how such a small set of words can be constructed in such a manner that seems to never have occurred to me to arrange like that, yet convey such an impressive statement of fact and emphasis.
And then, we have such a thrilling story going on with characters, vernacular and hard sci-fi themes deeper than many contemporary sci-fi stories even begin to attempt.
These are the first set of books I'm reading after seeing the TV adaptation, so I'm not going to comment on much of the story here, since for the most part I …
The writing style of this series is impeccable. Crass when it needs to be, as well as funny, disjoint, confusing & tense - all these threads woven into a fantastic web of intrigue and suspense. Sometimes a character's disposition or emotional state is given in a five sentence paragraph for dramatic effect. It's incredibly surprising how such a small set of words can be constructed in such a manner that seems to never have occurred to me to arrange like that, yet convey such an impressive statement of fact and emphasis.
And then, we have such a thrilling story going on with characters, vernacular and hard sci-fi themes deeper than many contemporary sci-fi stories even begin to attempt.
These are the first set of books I'm reading after seeing the TV adaptation, so I'm not going to comment on much of the story here, since for the most part I already knew it coming into the book, thus probably have some bias. But suffice to say, the changes done in the TV version weren't any better or worse than discussed in the book - that's something I hear about ad inifitum about other television adaptations, so I'm very pleased in that sense.
This was great. Love the characters, the story kept me reading "just one more chapter" multiple times - it's rare that I get started book n+1 just after reading book n in a series, but that's definitely what's happening with this one :)
This second novel of the Expanse series was humorous, entertaining, 'thrilling'; it was simply a wonderful read. Don't expect great literature, this 'space opera' is simply much better than the Expanse TV series and great fun.
