Persepolis Rising (Expanse, #7)

by James S. A. Corey

"The seventh novel in James S. A. Corey's New York Times bestselling Expanse series--now a major television series. AN OLD ENEMY RETURNS In the thousand-sun network of humanity's expansion, new colony worlds are struggling to find their way. Every new planet lives on a knife edge between collapse and wonder, and the crew of the aging gunship Rocinante have their hands more than full keeping the fragile peace. In the vast space between Earth and Jupiter, the inner planets and belt have formed a tentative and uncertain alliance still haunted by a history of wars and prejudices. On the lost colony world of Laconia, a hidden enemy has a new vision for all of humanity and the power to enforce it. New technologies clash with old as the history of human conflict returns to its ancient patterns of war and subjugation. But human nature is not the only enemy, and the forces being unleashed have their own price. A price that will change the shape of humanity -- and of the Rocinante -- unexpectedly and forever... Persepolis Rising is the seventh novel in the New York Times bestselling Expanse series"--

• ISBN10: 0316332836
• ISBN13: 9780316332835
• Publish Date: 5 December 2017
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Orbit
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 560
• Language: English

Reviews

[clq]

Persepolis Rising starts out with a twist (yeah, I know, starting with a twist rather than ending on one? What a twist!) But, almost remarkably considering the framing it sets out for itself, the book falls back into the ordinary flow of things quite quickly. On the one hand it's a bit of a relief to be back on familiar ground, but on the other hand it could have been interesting if the book went all out in changing up the nature of the story entirely.

In one way the book seems almost like a return to the political drama I enjoyed so much in the first Expanse-book. In another way this book is nothing like the first book at all: Persepolis Rising goes extremely light on the passive in the passive-aggressive politicking that upheld the tension in the first book. The result is a more action-driven plot, at the expense of the exciting, drawn-out, political tension. I can see the appeal of both, but personally I would probably have preferred it if the politics played a more prominent role. Some of the political philosophies that are introduced to justify certain "evil" actions lead to interesting trains of thought which I think could have been sustained for longer.

That said, most of the time this is a book about war. And it's a pretty good book about a war. It moves along what feels like a relatively standard path for a story like this, but with enough twists and details that the story remains interesting.

The narrative device, which I haven't really liked when it's been used in the past, of sometimes telling the story through the eyes of the "evil" characters is reprised. It almost worked for me this time, but not quite. The purpose behind it is probably to be a device that can expose the motivation and thoughts of the opposing side in the war, which it does, but I can't help but think that it couldn't also have been done in a different way. The main strength of these books for me has always been that I absolutely love the characters, that I can relate to what they are doing and thinking, and that I'm willing them to succeed when I'm following their stories. Occasionally checking in with the other side of the battle takes me out of this atmosphere.

In any case, this is a very good book. It's definitely a step back up from the previous one. It's not an extraordinary book, which I've come to hope for from this series, but it's a very solid story about a war in space. And now that I'm finally caught up with the Expanse series, I now have to wait along with everyone else, and look forward to what comes next!

[adastra]

Well, this was a game changer for the series. I'm glad that some long forgotten plot points seem to finally be coming back, albeit slowly. Can't wait for the conclusion to the series in book 8 and 9.

[empressbrooke]

I was not expecting a 30-year time-jump (I went back and forth throughout my read on whether it was a full 30, but there were enough references to the time throughout the book that this seems like a solid estimate). I spent the first quarter of the book terrified that this meant Avasarala had died of old age and that at some point there would be an unceremonious mention of her demise. Surely the authors know that she is far too brilliant of a character for that, right? But 30 years! And then...

"Ma'am," Lafflin said from behind her, "please, you can't -"

An unfamiliar voice answered. "Give it a fucking rest, Bendito. I can do whatever the fuck I want. Who's going to tell me not to? You?"

PHEW.

Book #6, [b:Babylon's Ashes|25877663|Babylon's Ashes (The Expanse, #6)|James S.A. Corey|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1442247299s/25877663.jpg|45754030], was the low part of the series for me, but #7 kicked things back into high gear. The actions of Marcos Inaros and the Free Navy are given more context, the mysteries of the protomolecule and whatever killed off its creators continue to unfold, and things are once again irrevocably shaken up and changed. As much as I hated what the Laconian forces did to the universe, I thought wannabe-Governor Singh was extremely well written. He's young, inexperienced, and idealistic, and for all the damage he does, he also fucks up a ton. It was an interesting choice and made the book much more engaging than a fully competent and confident dictator would have been.

This is also the first time I've felt like we were left hanging at the end. I vaguely feel like I read somewhere the final three books of the series would form a trilogy, but I was not prepared for things ending so up in the air.

[remo]

Séptima entrega de nueve de esta INMENSA saga espacial. Ahora ya van por la segunda temporada de la serie de Netflix, creo. Pero los libros son cada vez mejores. Al comienzo de éste hay un pequeño momento de alarma cuando nos cuentan que han pasado más de veinte años desde el último libro, pero los protagonistas siguen siendo los personajes que conocemos: Holden, Naomi, Amos, Bobbie, Alex y Clarissa. Son más viejos, más sabios y están más cansados. Y esta gran pausa sirve para que los acontecimientos que acabaron en el libro anterior se difuminene y sean sustituidos por una amenaza aún más grande y unas aventuras en paralelo de todos los protagonistas que son cada vez más interesantes. He disfrutado como un enano de este tomo, que para mí es de los mejores de la saga. Quedan dos lobros más. Ya los echo de menos.