eBook, 536 pages
English language
Published Aug. 5, 2015 by Orbit.
The fifth novel in Corey's New York Times bestselling Expanse series--now being produced for television by the SyFy Channel!
A thousand worlds have opened, and the greatest land rush in human history has begun. As wave after wave of colonists leave, the power structures of the old solar system begin to buckle.
Ships are disappearing without a trace. Private armies are being secretly formed. The sole remaining protomolecule sample is stolen. Terrorist attacks previously considered impossible bring the inner planets to their knees. The sins of the past are returning to exact a terrible price.
And as a new human order is struggling to be born in blood and fire, James Holden and the crew of the Rocinante must struggle to survive and get back to the only home they have left.
They've found a good flow for the series, but it remains frustrating that the action only picks up halfway through the novel.
Yiss.
This book was worth reading but it lacked the edge of the earlier Expanse books. I keep feeling as if this series is becoming a sci-fi Tom Clancy series. Fun to read but a bit too camp and predictable.
I admit that I was sceptical at first, because this book seemed to deviate from the formula by immediately breaking up the crew, but each individual story thread that came out of that was gripping, and made the book impossible to put down. Nice meeting some of my favorite side characters from earlier books again, too.
We all by now know this series is deeply screwed up human dramas set against an impossible backdrop. I again state that I hope we aren't such selfish sociopathic bastards in the future that drift so far from diplomacy that its all politics, backstabbing, and terrorism, but hey.. it's believable and that's just frightening.
This tome isn't different from its predecessors but it is.
Each book prior, as you'll recall my hair pulling, "NOOOO DON'T OPEN THAT DOOR," set of reviews was very hectic on the reader. This one is too but theres a change in the pacing. It's like how a song finally finds its rhythm after a solid hook and you start to nod to it in time.
Here we have a moment in time where the fellowship of the Roci go to different compass points to resolve personal issues. They have a moment of reflection and the …
We all by now know this series is deeply screwed up human dramas set against an impossible backdrop. I again state that I hope we aren't such selfish sociopathic bastards in the future that drift so far from diplomacy that its all politics, backstabbing, and terrorism, but hey.. it's believable and that's just frightening.
This tome isn't different from its predecessors but it is.
Each book prior, as you'll recall my hair pulling, "NOOOO DON'T OPEN THAT DOOR," set of reviews was very hectic on the reader. This one is too but theres a change in the pacing. It's like how a song finally finds its rhythm after a solid hook and you start to nod to it in time.
Here we have a moment in time where the fellowship of the Roci go to different compass points to resolve personal issues. They have a moment of reflection and the reader gets to as well. This is special. Each character shows their character, their depth, their own moralities and sensibilities. Not just Holden's, so it's refreshing to somewhat deep dive into a moment in the life of Amos, Naomi, Alex, Bobbi, and others.
I say this with a wry grin because... "OH CRAPTASTIC WTF BBQ!!111!!" is going on and I won't spoil a damn moment of it. It's horrifying, it's awesome, sadistic, and all that you've come to expect in radical moments of The Expanse series. The saving grace is at the moment they all seem terrestrial in origin. These are humans just messing with humans and that makes it copasetic? Wow I think I might have Stockholm syndrome, hahah!
The last chapter ends without real resolution. The arc of the book completes its circuit but there is a lot unsaid and it just clips over to a prologue. The allusion being strong, mean, and teasing. It's also unfair that once again I realize I've run out of runway in another series and now I wait... well you wait too.. hahaha :P
Also if you haven't read [b:The Vital Abyss|26170028|The Vital Abyss (Expanse, #3.5)|James S.A. Corey|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1440610192s/26170028.jpg|45335194] I think you'll want to. It's characters are coming up next and you'll want the backstory. I understand, and it worries me. 8)
Can't wait for the next installment. Every crew member has a separate plotline, all inevitably merging. And Avasarala remains awesome.
After enjoying the previous books in the series, this one just fell really flat for me. I felt like I could pretty much see the outline behind the plot points, and the coincidence of everyone from the Rocinante just happening to be in exactly the right places at exactly the right times throughout the solar system was too much to believe. Plus, the ending makes it seem like the whole story was just a red herring anyway. Simply did not dig. Some fun scenes and the writing itself was as good as ever, but I'm not sure why this book exists.
