In a Baltimore half-submerged by rising seas, jobs are hard to come by, and hope nearly extinct. Those who cannot find legitimate work must subsist on basic
income... but many are denied even that much, scraping life from the dark corners and crumbling alleys as the desperate always have since the beginning of
civilization, trading in drugs or sex or contraband. Born into this harsh and loveless world, the unregistered boy Timmy seemed destined to be just another street
thug, a role he seems well-suited for with his complete detachment from his own emotions and penchant for violent solutions to everyday problems. But a citywide
crackdown creates a churn of changing fortunes, and those who survive may find themselves on trajectories they'd never imagined...
This novella takes place in the same universe as the Expanse series, by the same authors.
Review
The Churn presents the backstory of one of the more enigmatic characters in the Expanse series, the possibly-sociopathic Amos Burton. Even without
knowing the fate of one of the central characters, there's a certain predictability about the story arc, a few almost-too-obvious Chekhov's Guns prominently displayed
in the early parts that must inevitably fire by the end. There's also an odd feel overall to the story, much of which is told in a distant overview/omniscient
"telling" style; it almost feels like this was a rough draft that could've been fleshed out into a longer work, but was rushed out as-is to feed the franchise market.
That's not to say it's poorly written, though - it creates a decent sense of atmosphere, an overpopulated, exhausted Earth where optimism and freedom are only visible
in the vanishing boosters of spacebound rockets, a world of complicated and largely unhealthy relationships where only the harshest, most desperate hope or love can
take root, and then more as weeds than flowers. The wrap-up felt a trifle forced, with a minor skip in logic that I can't elaborate on without spoilers. Overall, it's
a decent addition to the Expanse canon, even if it may not stand up well on its own.
Incidentally, as I read more of the novellas, I've decided to attempt listing them in chronological order with the rest of the series. I will likely fail, but it seems
worth the effort.
Humanity's spread through the solar system may ride on ingenuity and persistence, but brings with it other human traits, such as greed, selfishness, and tribalism.
Mars bickers with Earth, while both worlds view the Belters - people of the asteroid belt and beyond, changed by generations of low gravity and artificial atmospheres -
as something subtly less than human. Various factions, particularly the vocal (and occasionally violent) Outer Planets Alliance, rally for rights and independence, but
so far mutual need keeps the guns (mostly) silent on all sides.
The balance is about to change...
When the worn-out ice freighter Canterbury picks up a distress call, Jim Holden is among the small shuttle crew sent to seek survivors - or salvage. Instead, he
finds a trap set by a new foe, one with advanced technology and an unknown agenda. He and his crewmates struggle to survive, dodging lies and gunfire, as they try to
navigate forces beyond their control.
On Ceres station in the Belt, Detective Miller's barely-functional career as a Star Helix law enforcement officer gets a minor boost when his boss selects him for an
off-the-books investigation, tracking down the wayward daughter of an Earth business magnate. The deeper Miller digs into the life and disappearance of Julie Mao, the
more he realizes he's onto something much bigger than a runaway case.
Both Holden and Miller have become part of a system-shaking conspiracy with ties to a mysterious discovery from deep space, one that might lift humans to the stars -
or exterminate them utterly.
Review
I came at this book a little backwards, having watched Season 1 of SyFy's series based on this book. The story arc's mostly the same, though several elements were
tweaked for television... often, I must say, for the better. The book's still rather good, though, a space opera set in the early days of interplanetary expansion. It's
a lived-in world, with dirt in the corners and grease under the fingernails, where the gap between poverty and privilege is enhanced by the vacuum of space; failure to
afford basics doesn't just mean living in a shack, it means death when atmospheric recyclers fail, a weakness the powerful don't hesitate to exploit over the powerless.
The characters could be a little flat at times, and the dialog occasionally clunked, but the action's mostly brisk enough to overlook such flaws, and it culminates in a
fine finale. It kept drawing me back to read just a chapter or two more, which definitely means it did something right. I look forward to Book 2... not to mention
finding the second season of the TV show when it comes to Amazon Prime. (I'm hoping it, too, becomes free when Season 3 airs, though I may cave and just pay the
per-episode fee.)
A year ago, a team of scientists discovered humans were not alone in the universe - and attempted to exploit the protomolecule, the virus-like creation of an unknown
species, for profit, an effort that nearly led to the obliteration of life on Earth. Now, it has taken over uninhabited Venus, running through its inscrutible "program"
while baffled humans observe. With the outfit behind the outbreak dismantled and every known sample beyond Venus destroyed, everyone thought that the threat was as good
as contained... but everyone thought wrong.
Martian space marine Roberta "Bobbie" Draper was stationed on Ganymede, the "breadbasket" of the outer colonies, when an impossible monster attacks, leaving her the only
surviving witness to a strike with all the earmarks of the protomolecule. She becomes a pawn in a political game played by her Martian superiors and the United Nations
of Earth and Luna, but what she really wants is to avenge her fallen friends, no matter the cost.
Praxidike Meng, a botanist on Ganymede, thought the greatest tragedy of the attacks was the loss of his experimental crops - until he learns that his young daughter Mei
was abducted by her doctor, along with several other children, mere hours before the trouble began. His desperate search leads him to a most unlikely knight: Captain
James Holden and the crew of the Rocinante, who are either thieves, heroes, terrorists, or traitors, depending upon whom one asks. All Prax knows, or cares, is
that when he needed help, they were there... but the search for Mei becomes part of a much greater conspiracy.
Undersecretary Chrisjen Avasarala has been a vital cog in the government machine, not to mention a shrewd player in the game, for decades, but never in her career has she
faced anything like this. As the fallout of the Ganymede incident again tilts the delicate balance of power toward open interplanetary war, alliances crumble and enemies
turn up in the most unexpected places. For the first time. Avasalara may have been outmaneuvered - and if she loses the game, countless people may lose their lives.
Review
Like the first book, Caliban's War presents a well-paced tale of space travel, political intrigue, grit, and wonder, not to mention a good deal of explosions and
gunfights. The characters aren't always the deepest, but they do grow and change. Holden has been scarred by his experiences in the first book, and must work to rediscover
himself even as he finds himself once more plunged into danger. (If the other crewmembers of the Rocinante are somewhat less scarred, they didn't personally experience
what Holden did - plus, they're more of a supporting cast than stars, even if their personalities and backgrounds expand here.) The new characters each bring distinctive
strengths and weaknesses to the table, not without some personality and agenda clashes. They also, like the first book, represent a nice swath of diversity in a genre that
sometimes still leans a little white and male. It's not a deep or profound read, with some of the writing still clunking a bit now and again, but it nevertheless entertains.
This book also ends on a hook (not a true cliffhanger) that makes me glad I have Book 3 already on deck, even if it might have to wait a bit before I pick it up. So far, I'm
enjoying this series.
David Draper is everything a good Martian boy is supposed to be: studious and dedicated to a future helping terraform the red planet into a second, better Earth.
He also, unknown to his family and schoolmates, has been cooking up drugs on the side for friends Hutch and Leelee... particularly Leelee, who may be Hutch's
girlfriend but has been giving him enough hints of interest to keep him hopeful. Rising tensions with Earth lead to terrorist attacks on Mars, raising the risks for
everyone involved - but when Leelee calls for help just before disappearing, David isn't going to walk away. He just needs to act without his parents or his fellow
students finding out what he's been up to... not to mention without attracting the attention of his family's recent houseguest, his aunt, the former Martian Marine
Roberta Draper.
Part of the Expanse series, chronologically placed between Book 2, Caliban's War, and Book 3, Abaddon's Gate.
Review
This side adventure, referenced in a later Expanse novel, works decently as a standalone even as it fills in more details of Martian culture. David's not a bad
person, but naïve and immature enough, not to mention irritated enough by the chafe of the restrained, straight-arrow life he's expected to lead as a future Martian
scientist, to be an easy mark for Hutch. He doesn't quite know what to make of his ex-Marine aunt, but has more to learn from her than he realizes as he finds his own
life upended by events beyond his control. Unlike the previous series novella I've read (The Churn), this story felt complete in itself, without the nagging sense
that it had been unnaturally shortened or rushed. Here and there it might've used a little trimming, but all in all I enjoyed it as a quick Expanse-flavored
tale.
After nearly destroying Earth and taking over Venus, the alien protomolecue seemed to have completed its "program" when it sent a mysterious, self-assembling Ring out
to the orbit of Uranus. Surrounded by curious scientists, the vast artifact hung inert, and may have stayed that way until an errant thrill-seeker's ship plunged into its
depths - and vanished. Now the race is on to explore the unknown, starless void beyond the Ring, a race of science and power that once more raises tensions between Earth,
Mars, and the recently-legitimized Outer Planets Alliance... and, once more Captain James Holden and the crew of the Rocinante find themselves in the thick of
things. Further complicating matters are a new OPA warship whose crew are already at each others' throats before they leave Tycho Station, a ship full of artists and
politicians and priests of various denominations whose original goal - publicity and a show of power - becomes dangerously complicated, a woman with a single-minded agenda
who might endanger everyone... and visions that haunt Holden, the image of the deceased Detective Miller as co-opted by the protomolecule, who seems to be trying to tell
him something important about the Ring and the unknown race who built it. As these forces collide, humanity may stand on the threshold of its greatest discovery - or on
the edge of its extinction.
Review
The third installment of the series just barely pulled off its four-star rating. It seemed to take a little longer to get moving, with new characters who were
occasionally hard to care about (particularly Clarissa/Melba, the overlooked daughter of the disgraced and imprisoned magnate Mao, who has bent her entire life on exacting
vengeance for the downfall of her father's empire.) Once the book finds its footing, though, it's once again off and running in a fine spacefaring romp full of new wonders,
escalating danger, and the complicated nature of the human animal as it reaches beyond its native habitat to grasp at new toys. I'm a little concerned at the increased
religious presence and tone in this book - I hope it isn't going to turn into "inspirational" fiction, because that's really not my cup of cocoa and it would rather spoil
the series for me to shoehorn God, particularly a human vision of God, into this space opera. Between that and Clarissa, whom I really didn't care for, it came very close to
losing marks, but a sufficiently enjoyable finale managed to keep it afloat in the ratings. I hope things improve a little for the fourth book, though.
As a boy on an overpopulated Earth, Paolo Cortázar could only watch helplessly as his mother withered and died of an incurable disease. The experience drove
him to push past the limits of the masses subsisting on basic income in search of answers medicine had yet to discover. Somewhere along the way, he stopped being that
boy and became the man currently imprisoned deep in space, a man who sacrificed more than he ever intended, but who stands on the forefront of humanity's greatest
discovery... a man who will stop at nothing to continue his work.
Part of the Expanse series, these events occur chronologically between Book 3, Abaddon's Gate, and Book 4, Cibola Burn. (Note: some would
place it between Book 5, Nemesis Games, and Book 6, Babylon's Ashes.)
Review
Shuffling of characters in the TV series adaptation of The Expanse introduced me to Cortázar before I got around to reading this novella, so I had
some inkling of what he had gone through. Still, this standalone tale functions as a glimpse into one of the many lives forever altered by the discovery of the alien
protomolecule at the heart of the series, not to mention the lengths some went to in order to understand and exploit it. Not as action-oriented as other tales in the
series, it's more of a psychological study of how far a boy's grief and desperation take him and how one wrong turn tragically invalidates much of what drove him, the
core of his own humanity - a sacrifice he is too dazzled to truly appreciate even when the full cost becomes clear. It made for an enjoyable read, filling in background
information and teasing developments to come.
When the alien protomolecule completed its programming and constructed the ring, it opened a gateway to a thousand worlds - and, still, there doesn't seem to be
enough space for humans to stop fighting over territory. A crew of desperate refugees jumped ahead of slow-moving governments, squatting on a planet that's now been
claimed by the Royal Charter Energy megacorporation. Even as the first RCE shuttle attempts to land, bringing scientists and security forces and a new colonial
governor, an explosion rips through the launchpad and first blood is spilled.
Thanks to his previous work with the UN, James Holden and the crew of the Rocinante are sent as mediators... but it's impossible to negotiate a peace nobody
wants. As Holden attempts to prevent further escalation, the planet itself might be their greatest enemy, with the first truly alien biome humans have encountered.
There's also the fact that this world, like all worlds beyond the rings, was once inhabited by a civilization advanced enough to engineer the protomolecule... a
civilization that was wiped out by an as-yet-unknown threat. Even after a billion years, that threat may still be waiting.
Review
After the third volume, which started getting a little too "spiritual" for my tastes, I was wary about continuing the Expanse series. But Amazon Prime will be
getting the second season of the TV show later this year, and I wanted to get back in that frame of mind, so I dug in... and was pleasantly surprised. This book is
a welcome return to pace and form, an action-filled space opera that keeps ratcheting up tension and stakes to the very end. The characters may not be the deepest,
and there's the faintest whiff of an underlying formula, but it kept me entertained and I cared about the people I was supposed to care about, plus it had some nice
sense-of-wonder "eye candy" moments. The authors are also touching bases with characters from previous books, with hints that they might have bigger roles to play in
the ongoing arc. I'm looking forward to reading the next volume, and finding out where things go from here.
After years of service and some exceptionally trying times beyond the ring gates, the Rocinante has returned to Tycho Station for a much-needed overhaul
and repair... and her crew uses the time to tie up some loose ends from their old lives. The death of one of Amos's few Earthbound friends sends him back to
Baltimore, Alex heads to Mars for closure with his ex-wife, and a dark voice from Naomi's past draws her back into a world she'd almost killed herself to escape in
the hardcore fringes of the OPA. If Captain Jim Holden thought he'd be bored, though, he's soon mistaken, as he's drawn into a mystery: something seems to be
happening to colony ships passing through the ring gates, even as missing vessels reappear in suspicious active service throughout the system. A new force is about
to make itself known with a devastating attack - and, wherever they find themselves, the crew of the Rocinante are once more up to their necks in the thick
of the danger.
Review
I admit the extra half-star may be subjective, moreso than my usual review; I started reading this after the finale of the TV show to ease post-season withdrawal
symptoms, and it scratched that itch in a most satisfactory manner. Even disregarding that, though, this one feels like it picks up faster than the last book or two
in the series, in no small part because it keeps its focus on the core crew and isn't spending time building new characters in new corners of the system. (Not that I
minded that necessarily, but there's something to be said for familiar faces.) The Rocinante's crew have all grown older and, in their own ways, wiser through
their adventures, even as they grew together as an impromptu family. Those bonds come to the forefront as they make their separate ways toward the same destination,
albeit unknowingly. Even apart, they can look to each other for strength and guidance and a sense of purpose in a way they wouldn't have even a book or two ago. Side
characters from previous books come back into play, while new players enter the field and the political landscape (er, starscape) shifts dramatically, even
catastrophically, in response. The story moves quickly, as I've come to expect from the series, with plenty of action balanced by some nice introspection. Enjoyable,
and it makes me eager to read the next book - which is already waiting on the shelf. (I have a few other titles I have to clear first, though... the To Be Read pile's
too deep to let one series monopolize my attention. Plus it's going to be a while before Season 4 hits Amazon and Book 8 hits the bookshelves, so I have to pace
myself.)
The unthinkable has happened: the power of the inner planets of the solar system has been broken. Earth is dying, crippled by Belt-born Marco Inaros and his
Free Navy, while Martian defector Duartes - now holed up on a colony world beyond the ring gates - left Mars in shambles and missing many of its fighter ships.
Even Medina Station in the hub of the ring gates is under Free Navy control, choking off supply lines and any chance Earthers might have of fleeing their
devastated world. But while Marco promised freedom for the Belt, he instead delivers instability and chaos... problems complicated by his ongoing obsession with
his former lover Naomi Nagata and her new boyfriend, Earthborn James Holden. As Chrisjen Avasalara, OPA leader Fred Johnson, and others scramble to survive and
respond to the Free Navy threat, the crew of the Rocinante are once again thrust into the heart of the danger, culminating in a mission where their
legendary luck may finally run out.
Review
After a fifth installment that focused more on the core Rocinante crew, if punctuated by the attack on Earth and the rise of Marco Inaros, the series
again broadens its scope to deal with the system-wide chaos created by the Free Navy. Too many people learn too late that destruction, while easy and temporarily
cathartic, is not a viable solution; the killing of Earth may be the death knell for a species that still depends on our only native habitat. The story brings in
characters from previous books and a few new ones, fighting battles in space, in meetings, and in their own hearts as they struggle to find a way forward. It's a
well-paced, action-filled tale with many nice human moments, as I've come to expect. (And if there are a few oddly Earth-centric ideas and idioms floating around
in the depths of the Belt countered by equally-odd gaps in knowledge, and the occasional rare clunk in description and dialog, well, those are easy enough to
overlook.) Another good series installment that sets up a major shift in the inner planet/Belter/colonist dynamic, one that will make things very interesting going
forward.
Though she was not born on Laconia, the alien world is all Cara has known. Earth, Mars, and the old solar system are just places she sees in picture books or hears
about in school, places Mom and Dad talk about in worried tones now that no more news comes through the ring gates. She spends more time outdoors in the native
woodlands than her scientist parents, and probably knows more about the wildlife than anyone - but even she is surprised when she discovers the pack of odd, doglike
animals. Then, quite by accident, she discovers what they can do... a discovery that could change the very nature of the colony, unless the grown-ups ruin
everything.
This novella, part of the Expanse universe, occurs chronologically between Book 6, Babylon's Ashes, and Book 7, Persepolis Rising
Review
This side adventure, with strong foreshadowing of things to come in the next volume, almost works as a standalone, having only passing involvement of a character from
the greater series. Cara struggles to deal with being a first-generation colonist on alien soil, tied culturally and genetically (and metabolically - humans cannot
process native food sources, and vice versa) to a planet of which she has no memory and to which she has no personal connection, yet she faces seemingly-insurmountable
obstacles to truly embracing Laconia as a homeworld as she desperately desires. The "dogs" she encounters are not what they first appear to be, offering choices whose
consequences she may not fully grasp, yet which seem to her better than any alternatives. The ending is a bit dark, especially given its implications for the next
Expanse novel. Overall, I enjoyed it, though I almost clipped it a half-star for deceptive length; only sixty-odd percent of the file is Strange Dogs,
the rest being two long excerpts from other Orbit books that aren't even related to Corey (and which I admit to skipping.)
After a few decades of hard work, humanity finally seems to be pulling itself together after the setbacks created by the rogue Free Navy. With the Belters
transitioned to operators of the Transport Union between colony worlds and Earth finally clawing back from ecological disaster, the future looks bright... which is,
naturally, just when everything goes to Hell.
The Martian deserters on the isolated colony world Laconia have been busy over the past three decades, as well - busy unlocking the secrets of the lost civilization
behind the protomolecule and leveraging them into the creation of a next-generation fleet of warships, among other discoveries and modifications. What comes through
the gate from their world is nothing humans have ever seen, the flagship of a stated new Laconian empire that claims absolute authority over all inhabited worlds,
starting with Medina Station in the ring hub.
James Holden and Naomi Nagata thought they'd finally get to retire from a too-eventful career aboard the aging gunship Rocinante, handing the ship and
attendant responsibilities off to crewmate Bobbie Draper. When the Laconian vessel Gathering Storm arrives at Medina, they again find themselves in the thick
of a battle for the future of humanity... a battle that may wake the very forces that once destroyed the protomolecule's own unimaginably advanced builders, beside
which Homo sapiens barely rises to the level of ants.
Review
In a series that always has been written on an epic scale, Persepolis Rising widens the scope even further, with echoes of historic empires transported to
interstellar space. With protomolecule alterations promising immortality, High Consul Duarte sets out to fulfill a dream that has teased our species since the
beginning: the creation of a truly lasting and stable rule, untroubled by transitions of power or complications of succession. The fact that doing so requires an iron
fist and possible genocide of resistant systems seems to him a small price to pay when measuring his legacy in centuries and millennia - him and his devoted followers,
who have expanded the old Martian vision of terraforming one dead world to rebuilding the whole species from the (metaphoric) ground up.
With now-President Camina Drummer spearheading resistance in the Sol system, Holden and the Rocinante crew inevitably become key to the scattered cells of
defiance aboard Medina, rooted in cultural Belter resistance to authority - a tendency toward anarchy that can hurt as much as it helps the cause. The characters have
aged over the course of the series, both on page and off; being older and more experienced gives them a perspective that their younger selves notably lacked, a combined
weariness at having to fight the same battles over and over and a determination not to lose, that there are still some ideals worth fighting and dying for... and still
ultimately enough good in humanity to make that fight worthwhile. Interpersonal relationships have shifted, too, with some new strains as Bobbie's rise to captaincy is
often overshadowed by Holden's lingering celebrity and tendency to get himself into the middle of everything, not to mention tensions with Amos and the failing health
of former-killer-turned-crewmate Clarissa Mao. Like the Rocinante itself, they may have many more miles on the odometer, but they're still a force to be
reckoned with, especially when driven by bonds of loyalty, friendship, and love. The Laconians are a force to be reckoned with as well, and they generally do not oblige
the heroes by making the same mistakes previous opponents have made. This is a new enemy, and Laconia changes everything in more ways than one.
Like the other books in the series, it starts fairly quickly and ratchets up the tension well. The authors manage to keep space battles fresh despite being seven books
(and a few novellas) into the arc, bringing back old characters and creating new ones (not all of whom make it to the finale) without feeling too repetitive. It ends on
something of a cliffhanger. Fortunately I have the eighth book on pre-order, due at the end of the month (March 2019.) Unfortunately, the series is supposed to be nine
books long. At this rate, I'm fairly confident there's enough story to carry two more books, but it'll be a long wait for Book 9. Dang it.
An Expanse Novella James S. A. Corey Orbit Fiction, Sci-Fi Themes: Aliens, Diversity ****
Description
When Laconia conquered the Sol system and humanity's fledgling colonies beyond the ring gates, it absorbed not only the wealth of innumerable new worlds but the
burdens as well. The sort of people who fled beyond the gates were generally not the sort to take kindly to greater authority, and they have had a couple decades
of self-reliance to breed independence and create their own cultures. For all that Laconia's warfleet brought humanity's greatest navies to their knees with almost
no effort, the battle to win over the hearts and minds of the people they now rule will be much more difficult.
Auberon was supposed to be a jewel in the new empire's crown: the only world where evolutionary happenstance allows for open-air farming of Earth crops, without the
potentially deadly interactions caused by the native biomes on every other inhabited planet. Here could lie the secrets to cracking one of the last barriers to
indefinite human expansion, perhaps even the means to make native plants and animals across all the worlds into viable food sources. But when the new Laconian
governor, Biryar Rittenaur, comes to enforce imperial rules and discipline, he finds a populace entrenched in its own corruption, and a mysterious metal-armed old
man who could prove to be his greatest enemy or greatest ally in this strange new land he must call home.
Review
Auberon gives the reader a glimpse of the cultural and logistical challenges of imperial rule over vast differences... challenges that have, throughout
history, proven more implacable than any military might. The reader saw hints of these issues in the novel arc, but this novella moves things away from the core
conflict to show how those on the colony worlds deal with the swift and surprising conquest of most of humanity by Duarte's Laconian forces, how local ways and
power structures find ways of persisting in the face of invaders. Biryar starts out full of his own importance and sense of righteousness, convinced that Laconian
cultural superiority will win on the ground as effortlessly as its battle cruisers won in space. Needless to say, things do not go nearly as well as he anticipated.
The one-armed local, who has previous ties to the Expanse universe, is an implacable force of his own, though the new governor proves a challenging puzzle
even to a successful criminal like him. If Auberon doesn't stand on its own quite as well as a few of Corey's other novellas, it still adds an interesting
facet to the greater story.
The unthinkable has become reality: the Sol system, birthplace of humanity, now kneels at the boots of Laconian High Consul Duarte, whose protomolecule-derived
warships cut through the combined fleets of Earth, Mars, and the formerly-Belter Transport Union like a hot knife through butter. With their stranglehold on ring
gate traffic secure, they set about building their empire virtually unopposed. While James Holden endures Duarte's hospitality as Laconia's highest-ranked political
prisoner, Naomi Nagata and the rest of the former Rocinante crew struggle to organize an effective resistance before Laconian propaganda erases the last
memories of freedom. But even as humanity is distracted by age-old power games and politics, the entities, seemingly unbound by physical space, that once wiped out
the protomolecule's creators seem to finally be aware of the upstart primates using their former enemies' lost toys... and they are not pleased.
Review
On my budget, it takes a fair bit of convincing for me to pre-order a book, especially a hardcover, but The Expanse has risen to that level. This volume
did not let me down. As one might expect from the penultimate installment of an interplanetary epic, stakes start high and keep ratcheting up, yet the core of the
story remains very much at the human level, as the bonds of family forged on the former Martian warship Rocinante only grow stronger through separation and
adversity; as in previous volumes, even when they aren't physically together, they each draw on memories of each other to help them navigate the seemingly impossible
world they've been thrust into. As they have aged, they have each been tested and honed, acquiring the strength and flexibility required to face the greatest threats
and most unimaginable wonders humanity has encountered, and even as some reach the ends of their arcs, the payoffs for their journeys continue to echo forward.
As for the rest of the plot, it maintains the pace and feel of previous titles. New mysteries are added to the protomolecule and the unknown, unnamed enemy, which
becomes more active after High Consul Duarte's ill-conceived plan to force a response from them. Events from the novella "Strange Dogs" come into play, tied into
Duarte's transformations from "tamed" protomolecule and the scientist Cortazar's ambitions to apply those lessons elsewhere, no matter the human cost... not to
mention Duarte's teenaged daughter Teresa, whose carefully choreographed reality is shattered as she learns more about her father's empire and plans. Some of the new
characters took a bit to grow on me, but every one of them pulled their weight in the plot, and - some expected immaturity from Teresa aside - none behaved with any
outright stupidity, even if their choices are colored and restricted by their roles in (or out) of Laconian society. One can't help seeing shades of current struggles
against rising authoritarian forces in the power struggles ranging across the stars. By the end, there are tears both happy and sad;
though the losses are grim and the stakes never higher, there's nevertheless a sense of hope going forward. As I predicted after the seventh volume, it's going to be a
long wait for the final ninth volume, in addition to the long wait for the fourth season of the show on Amazon Prime. (That's a lot of cumulative waiting... but it's
a good wait.)
The many star systems of humanity linger in disarray after the rebellion, spearheaded by Naomi Nagata, effectively crippled the Laconian forces... but the empire
is far from fallen. Even as forces trade blows, the extradimensional entities that once wiped out the original architects of the ring gates continue their incursions,
testing the limits and weaknesses of the upstart primates. Now, Laconia's ruler Duarte, transformed by the protomolecule into something other than fully human, wakes
from his long stupor, determined to end the threats to his eternal rule - within this universe and without - once and for all. To do it, he will need to pick up the
weapons left behind by the fallen builders... and reforge humanity into a new shape to wield it. Once more, James Holden and the crew of the old gunship
Rocinante will be all that stands between humanity's freedom and annihilation - assuming there will be anything left to save.
Review
This has been a truly epic ride, on so many levels: not just through the books, but through the television series and (tangentially, admittedly) fandom. Even as
I type this, the first episode of the (presumably) final sixth season of the TV adaptation has premiered on Amazon Prime. So I'm carrying many emotions into this
book, and carrying many out, and it's impossible to fully untangle the various threads from each other at this point.
The book starts about a year after the last one left off, with Holden's jailbreak from Laconia (with Duarte's daughter Teresa and her dog Muskrat), and things are
going about as well as one might expect for them. The decades the characters have lived (excepting the newcomers, of course) and the eight previous volumes of
adventures written (plus numerous implied but unwritten) have all taken their toll, but inside they are still the same fighters they have always been, stronger for
their experience, transformed in various ways (literally, in the case of Amos Burton). There is, however, an overall sense of ending hanging over everything: the
enemy incursions - both Laconinan and extradimensional - are increasing, the resistance is being chipped away (or wholesale slaughtered), and it's all coming down
to a breaking point that will literally determine the future of the species, and possibly the universe as a whole. As the scientist Okoye and the transformed
children Xan and Cara explore the encoded racial memories in a planet-sized diamond for the origins of the builders (and any clues as to what killed them and is
currently trying to kill everyone), Holden and crew find themselves pursued by Tanaka, a Laconian soldier tasked with recovering the missing Duarte by any means
necessary... and she has determined the recovery of Duarte's daughter Teresa, the only one known to have reached him in his catatonic state, as the necessary means.
Meanwhile, Duarte pursues his own agenda, so secure in his belief that he alone is in the right, is to be trusted with the salvation of humanity, that he is willing
to destroy the species to do it. Sacrifices are made, assumptions turned on their heads, and tension is raised to a fever pitch by the truly epic climax, which pits
our heroes against the extradimensional invaders, Duarte's Laconia, and basic human nature itself.
I had to think a while about how I felt when I closed the book. Some threads and plot points still felt loose or forgotten, though the overall storytelling runs
smoother than it may have at the start (where it could clunk notably now and again). A couple resolutions, I had mixed feelings about, for all that they worked okay
in the telling. There is bleakness and despair, and much is lost (or so permanently transformed as to amount to the same thing as loss), but underneath it runs a
thread of hope, that humanity - despite its perpetual tendency to grasp at things it cannot understand and toys best left untouched, despite its short-sighted nature
and retreats to rationalization and violence as problem-solvers - can possibly carve itself a future with brighter and wider horizons, if in spite of itself. For
that hope, and for the overall way the whole series - novels and novellas and even televised adaptations - successfully cohered to become so much more than the sum
of its already-solid parts, it earns a near-top rating.
A Martian engineer's new drive design will change the face of the solar system - but he will never live to see it. An Earthborn hero seeks atonement through
death after a raid on a Belter station. A hardened boy on Baltimore's lawless streets faces a choice that will determine his future. An aging Belter, stranded
on a colony world, sees history about to repeat itself. These and other tales from the Expanse universe are gathered in this print collection for the first
time, including author notes and a new story, The Sins of Our Fathers
Review
With this book, the long-asked-for print compilation of the short stories and novellas, the long and winding journey of the Expanse universe seems to finally
be at an end (though, of course, I've learned that "end" doesn't always mean "end"). I've read several of these as e-books, but a few I hadn't gotten to yet,
and the author notes were interesting. As for the new story, it addresses a loose end while touching on events after the finale of the ninth book, as humanity
is once again thrust into a new era of its existence with minimal warning, bringing with it the same habits and cycles that have both elevated and held back the
species since its origins. Overall, it's a nice collection of stories to supplement the main books.
The biggest problem with interstellar colonization has always been how to cross the vast distances of space to reach habitable worlds, but the
discovery of "slow light" solved that issue in a unique way. With it, information could be transmitted far more economically than a large ship
could travel, information that could "unfold" at the other end, basically faxing colonists and a starter habitat to the stars. Further, the same
core information, including copies of the same two hundred crewmembers selected as foundation colonists, could be replicated on various target
worlds... plus the originals would never have to leave Earth.
Roy Cort, one of the chosen, looks forward to the journey in more ways than the mission supervisors know. His ex-wife is one of the other
colonists, the woman he had slowly reconnected with after their relationship and marriage fell apart years ago. Perhaps, in one of the
innumerable unfoldings on innumerable worlds, he will have a second chance at the future he let slip through his grasp... but can even the vast
distances of time and space across the stars be far enough to escape from a broken past?
Review
Part of a new collection of Kindle novellas (despite being called a "series", the tales, by different authors, seem to be standalones),
How It Unfolds takes an interesting idea and explores its implications, not just for humanity's future but for the humans who take the
trip. Roy's optimism already seems a touch desperate and fragile before he is replicated for slow light transmission, and can't help colliding
with reality at some point, no matter what world he wakes on. But it's not just a story of one man pining for the one who got away, where the
woman is an object to pursue or a prize to regain; she's her own person, as is he, and though their fates are inextricably entwined by their
history and their mission, that doesn't necessarily mean their hearts must be, as well. They aren't the only ones on the mission, for one thing,
and other people always have their own secrets and fates. The lives of the Roys, on Earth and beyond, contribute to a larger picture of
humanity's attempt at galactic immortality through colonization, a high-risk venture that may or may not pay off. The whole manages to evoke
some of the old-school sense of wonder without the old-school flatness of characters.
The Expanse series, Issue 1 James S. A. Corey and Corinna Sara Bechko, illustrations by Alejandro Aragon BOOM! Comics Fiction, Graphic Novel/Media Tie-In/Sci-Fi Themes: Diversity, Girl Power, Space Stories, Thieves ****
Description
Mars is dying. With the opening of the ring gates and the thousand habitable worlds beyond rendering the terraforming of an airless red rock quaintly obsolete,
not to mention the collapse of the old rivalry with Earth that fueled their mighty military industry, the pillars of the Martian economy and society are in
freefall... and someone is taking advantage of the chaos. Ex-Marine Bobbie Draper stumbled into Mars's underworld and discovered a greater conspiracy. With
off-the-books backing from Chrisjen Avasarala, a fading political force on Earth (now essentially exiled to Luna by the new secretary general), Bobbie plucks at
threads hoping to find the center of the web - but that web may spread as far as Earth, and beyond, and for once Avasarala may have found an enemy even craftier
than herself.
This series takes place between Seasons 4 and 5 of the Amazon Prime series The Expanse, based on the books by James S. A. Corey.
Review
Filling in some backstory of events between the two seasons, this story follows Bobbie Draper's efforts to find out who is behind the growing web of corruption
and Mars's burgeoning black market in military surplus, and Chrisjen Avasarala's efforts to both help Bobbie and keep her own head above increasingly murky and
turbulent water in Earth's politics, as she realizes there's something not right on Luna. The two make a decent, if outwardly mismatched, team, both driven and
dedicated and somewhat neglectful of personal and family lives in pursuit of greater justice... and both willing to bend a few rules to get what they need. It
almost lost a half-mark for being so short (I prefer reading these things as single volumes once all issues are out, because it feels more like a finished story
in a volume) and for the art sometimes being a bit sketchy. Still, it does what it sets out to do, creating a story and capturing the essence of the characters I
recognize, so I cut it a little slack given that it's just the first installment of a four-issue arc.
The Expanse series, Issue 2 Corinna Sara Bechko and James S. A. Corey (creators), illustrations by Alejandro Aragon BOOM! Comics Fiction, Graphic Novel/Media Tie-In/Sci-Fi Themes: Diversity, Girl Power, Space Stories, Thieves ***+
Description
The investigation of corruption on Mars and Earth takes a turn... and not for the best. On Mars, former Martian Marine Bobbie Draper has been wounded in pursuit
of criminals; how much more can she risk before her luck runs out? Back on Luna, sidelined politician Chrisjen Avasarala seems to have rattled the right cages in
her own pursuit of answers; a contact offers her a chance to regain her former political clout, hinting at the building of a new order beyond the old, dying ways
of Earth and Mars. But at what cost?
This series takes place between Seasons 4 and 5 of the Amazon Prime series The Expanse, based on the books by James S. A. Corey.
Review
As expected, this picks up where the previous issue left off. Bobbie, in trouble after her near-miss with the organization behind the growing ring of thefts and
corruption eating away the heart of the Mars she knew, must call in a favor from a friend, questioning what her commitment is gaining her other than fresh scars
and fresh enemies. Chrisjen finds herself in personal danger after rejecting an offer that's too good to be true, for once without anyone to call upon to help her
out of trouble. As with the previous issue, it's a brief fragment of a larger story, suffering for being a middle installment and thus a bit adrift; it starts and
ends in the middle of larger arcs, and it's so short that, by the time I got myself oriented again in the larger story, it was almost over. (The continued rough
sketchiness of the artwork did not help on this front.) Once more, I'm thinking this is a quartet that will read much better when it's published in a single volume
instead of piecemeal like this, but I'm sufficiently impatient to just grab the issues as hoopla offers them. (The price tag of "free" for hoopla borrows is also a
significant factor.)
The Expanse series, Issue 3 Corinna Sara Bechko and James S. A. Corey (creators), illustrations by Alejandro Aragon BOOM! Comics Fiction, Graphic Novel/Media Tie-In/Sci-Fi Themes: Diversity, Girl Power, Space Stories, Thieves ****
Description
On Earth and Mars, former secretary general Chrisjen Avasarala and ex-marine Bobbie Draper have been investigating a web of corruption - and, in doing so, kicked
a hornet nest far bigger and more dangerous than they could have imagined. While Chrisjen finds herself trapped on Luna, Bobbie regroups after a setback... both
realizing they've only seen the tip of the iceberg, and that they're in too deep to turn back now, even if it kills them.
This series takes place between Seasons 4 and 5 of the Amazon Prime series The Expanse, based on the books by James S. A. Corey.
Review
The third installment of this bridge series picks up the pace somewhat. Both of them are finally realizing the sheer scale of what they've unearthed, how deep the
rot runs and the unimaginable reach of its agents, but this only makes them more determined. The two outwardly mismatched women continue to make an unexpectedly solid
team. Neither one takes well to having been caught off-guard, and the setbacks only make them more eager to get at the heart of the problem. But, for all their
determination, they are still only two people, one a disgraced Earth politician past her prime and the other an ex-officer on a dying world. I'm looking forward to
the fourth installment.
The Expanse series, Issue 4 Corinna Sara Bechko and James S. A. Corey (creators), illustrations by Alejandro Aragon BOOM! Comics Fiction, Graphic Novel/Media Tie-In/Sci-Fi Themes: Diversity, Girl Power, Space Stories, Thieves ****
Description
On both Luna and Mars, the two-woman investigation into a system-wide ring of criminal corruption has struck a nerve with someone - someone willing to murder a
high-profile (if faded) politician like Chrisjen Avasarala and unafraid of former Martian Marine Roberta "Bobbie" Draper. Rescued in the nick of time, Chrisjen
wonders if perhaps she's sacrificed too much and stepped too far over the line... and, when her husband Arjun calls from Earth, she realizes what her commitment
may be costing her. On Mars, Bobbie makes a horrifying discovery.
This series takes place between Seasons 4 and 5 of the Amazon Prime series The Expanse, based on the books by James S. A. Corey.
Review
The fourth installment of this interlude series wraps things up (well, at least partially; it wraps up the character arcs, though the criminal network itself
lives on into Season 5 of the show.) The two women each have gone further than they intended, but then the conspiracy they're investigating is vast on a scale they
still can't quite comprehend, unprecedented in scope and scale and sheer audacity of purpose. This conspiracy is too big and too dark for them to stop on their own,
but what choice do they have but pursue their investigation to the bitter end? Chrisjen's storyline has some extra poignancy given events in the show's fifth
season, a moment lost and path not taken that she will come to deeply regret, while Bobbie's commitment to her changing, dying world only grows stronger. I'm still
not completely a fan of the art style, but it does the job. Again, I'm pretty sure I would've enjoyed all four episodes more if I'd waited to read them in a
complete volume, but the free library-associated digital lending site hoopla only offered them as singletons as of this review, and you really can't say no to free.
(Well, yes, technically you can, but in this case I couldn't.)
The Expanse: Dragon Tooth series, Issues 1 - 4 Andy Diggle and James S. A. Corey (creators), illustrations by Rubine BOOM! Comics Fiction, Graphic Novel/Media Tie-In/Sci-Fi Themes: Diversity, Girl Power, Space Stories, Pirates ****+
Description
One year ago, the solar system was rocked by cataclysmic events. Already destabilized by the opening of the alien ring gates and the colony worlds beyond, the
rise of Belter rebel Marco Inaros led to the bombardment of Earth, while the betrayal and desertion of Martian General Duarte left one of the major system powers
half-gutted. Now, with Marco dead and Duarte vanished behind the now-closed Laconia gate, Earth, Mars, and the newly-created Transport Union of Belters try to
pick up the pieces and move forward in a changed reality... but with Earth in shambles, food growing scarce, and pirates preying on colonists and freighters
alike, the system is still half a click away from disaster.
Captain James Holden and the crew of the Rocinante have been hunting pirates, but one - Sohiro - proves both exceptionally brutal and exceptionally
elusive, leaving nothing but carved-up wreckage in his wake. Camina Drummer, president of the Transport Union, struggles to coordinate traffic through the ring
gates from Medina Station while keeping supplies of food and live soil moving... nearly impossible with the pirate problem, and with Earth - the only source of
microbial-active soil needed to grow human-edible food - in such a state of disarray. Chrisjen Avasalara tries to keep the peace on a broken world, but suspects
the rot revealed by Marco and by Duarte's defection is by no means cleansed; not only is the rage that led to Marco's rebellion still rampant through the Belt,
but Duarte's ability to coordinate such a staggering betrayal suggests a vast network of spies and traitors, not all of whom may have passed beyond the Laconia
gate with him. She is about to be proven right - and it may spell the end of the fragile peace.
Review
In the interest of full disclosure, I contributed to the Kickstarter campaign that helped fund this graphic novel series, billed as "Season Seven" of the
televised version of The Expanse.
Though following the show's version of events (and featuring likenesses of the actors), Dragon Tooth also fills in some of the time that was jumped over
between Books 6 and 7 of the source material. It had a fairly high standard of storytelling and continuity to live up to. Happily, it cleared that bar handily.
Starting one year after the sixth season finale - the end of Marco's rebellion, the disappearance of Duarte beyond the Laconia gate, and Drummer becoming head of
the fledgling Transport Union to keep supplies and people flowing between the new colony worlds - it drops the reader into a familiar situation: the
Rocinante on a desperate rescue mission, hunting enemies in the Belt. From the first frame, it feels just like the show, from the fantastic artwork to the
pitch-perfect dialog to the character interactions. Even though it's been a little while since my last rewatch of the show, I was back up to speed in no time, in
part because it just felt so familiar. Even the new characters slot neatly into the established world. With action, intrigue, emotion, and the odd touch of humor,
this first volume establishes a strong story arc for the next installment. I'm looking forward to Volume 2 already...
The Expanse Origins, Issues 1 - 4 James S. A. Corey, Hallie Lambert, and Georgia Lee, illustrations by Huang Danlan, Triona Farrell, Juan Useche, and Rahzzah BOOM! Comics Fiction, Collection/Graphic Novel/Media Tie-In/Sci-Fi Themes: Diversity, Girl Power, Space Stories ***+
Description
Earthers Jim Holden and Amos Burton, Belters Naomi Nagata and Detective Josephus Miller, and Martian Alex Kamal: perhaps the most famous crew in the solar system,
seemingly always at the heart of history-changing events. Fate brought them together aboard the gunship Rocinante, but all of them have histories and secrets
that shape who they are and who they might become. In this graphic novel, glimpse their backstories.
Based on the Expanse series, created by James S. A. Corey.
Review
As one might infer from the rating, I had a mixed reaction to this one. It skews toward the TV series more than the novels (understandable, as two of the writers
are from the show and the art clearly favors the actors over strict book descriptions), so book purists would likely be disgruntled. (Me, I enjoy both versions: fandom
has prepared me well to accept parallel universes as equals.) Indeed, it's very unlikely these would stand well on their own if someone wasn't familiar with the show,
making the whole collection feel more like marketing than an independent series of stories.
The stories themselves are odd choices. The weakest is the first, Holden's backstory, which does little to elaborate on events that were mentioned in passing elsewhere.
It's strange that the ship's captain and ostensible lead (even in an ensemble cast, the captain tends to be the unspoken lead) gets the least involved entry, and I
couldn't help feeling that cards were deliberately being held close to the writers' vests here, to the detriment of the tale. As the first story, it set things off on an
awkward foot, as I found myself wondering if I'd overpaid for graphic novel adaptations of lines from the show. Fortunately, the other entries become more
interesting, exploring events that viewers and readers (at least, readers up through Book 5, where I'm at) don't already know and meshing well with existing canon,
though I'm no continuity hawk to notice incongruities. The art is serviceable, though I admit that I've been spoiled in that regard with some of my other graphic novel
reads, which generally feature more cinematic styles and spreads.
Ultimately, while it offers insights into character development (and likely foreshadows future events), it ends up feeling a little too much like a marketing cash-in for
me to give it a full fourth star. (More power to 'em, of course, for having a hot commodity, but it does affect my reaction.)
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