Nemesis Games (Expanse, #5)

by James S. A. Corey

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.

• ISBN10: 0316334715
• ISBN13: 9780316334716
• Publish Date: 10 May 2016 (first published 2 June 2015)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Orbit
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 576
• Language: English

Reviews

[abookishblether]

Leviathan Wakes ★★★★★
Caliban's War ★★★★☆
Abaddon's Gate ★★★★★
Cibola Burn ★★★★☆
Nemesis Games ★★★★★

Nemesis Games is the first time we see our crew separated. They decide at the beginning of the book that they will all spend their shore leave in a different way, leaving Holden to wait for them all to come back like a lost little puppy. I'm not sure if I've mentioned this before in my reviews, but the strong relationships between Amos, Alex, Naomi and Holden and how they feel so deeply that they are a family is one of my favourite aspects of this series. I really wish it would get a bit more screentime, a bit more emphasis put on their emotional bond.

Well, funnily enough, but separating the characters it did just that. Holden worries like a mother hen about his family, and while he does his best to respect their personal space the relief he feels when the others contact him was intense. I really loved each characters individual story, the reveals we got about their history, and the new relationships they developed along the way. I do feel like only two out of the four characters were given the full advantage of this development and would like to see the other two given more backstory and personal baggage. But all in all, this might be my top book in the series for how it pushed and developed the relationships.

[clq]

Well... Wow. I've been through quite a few Expanse books by now, and as much as I've really liked them, I've been waiting to really love one of them. I really loved this one.

Nemesis Games finally did what I have been aching for these books to do, it started fleshing out the main characters. And boy did it flesh out the main characters. In an unexpected, but, considering the previous Expanse-book, not entirely surprising turn of events, this book starts going off in a new and interesting direction, and just continues moving further and further in that very direction. I'd call it brave, and I suppose it is, but at this point, everything about these books seems so effortless and well thought through that the authors could probably start introducing space-sharks while still making me believe that they were going somewhere sensible and that the story was in safe hands.

The main characters are duly developed, not through exposition, but through demonstration. Interestingly the relative normality in which we see more of their true colours becomes disconcerting in itself. We know these characters, we love these characters, but we've only really seen them interact with each other and a couple of incidental characters they meet along the way – all while doing extraordinary things in extraordinary situations – in space. In Nemesis Games, we get to see how they act in settings that represent their respective backgrounds, which forces them to act more like the normal human beings they once were rather than the space-heroes they became.

Though, as satisfying as the character-development is, the thing that pushes Nemesis Games over the edge is the true and raw emotion that permeates large parts of this book. I can't really say more than that for fear of spoiling something, so I won't, but suffice to say that this book more than any of the others made me feel properly sad about what was going on in it. And it didn't even feel manipulative. The characters all have to endure some tragic events which get thrust upon them, and the understated and realistic way in which we see them gradually process their emotions stands in sharp contrast to the dramatic, "making a scene"-style of sadness and anger one often sees in fiction. In this book, the characters don't get to have any outbursts. Instead, they have to properly deal with what has happened. You can tell that what they are going through affects their words and actions, you can tell that the grief is there, and despite the relative lack of loud outbursts and dramatic reactions, you can tell that it will continue to stay with them. The events of this book were devastating enough in themselves, but there is nothing quite so sad as witnessing the sadness of others, and knowing that the characters that have become so familiar are going to have to continue living with this grief was more of a kick to the stomach than I expected it to be.

If there is one thing that could be said about Nemesis Games that might irritate some, it is that it tries to be several different books at once. However, it blends them together excellently. I didn't ever find it to be boring, nothing ever feels like it's filler or a setup to something that is to come. It's a story that flies off the page and feels a lot shorter than it is. I'm really looking forward to what might happen next... though, despite my unwavering faith in these books, I do kind of hope it doesn't involve space-sharks.

[adastra]

Wow, what a thrillride! This book is soo much better than the deeply flawed book 3 and the mediocre book 4 - though it's still not perfect. What I really don't understand are the motivations of some of the characters - why would Amos want to visit 'Peaches'?! It doesn't make sense at all, and also, that was one of the worst characters of the previous books and I was not happy for her to pop up again. Similarly, I cannot fathom Naomi's motivation to go back to an obviously dangerous, toxic, manipulative abuser. No woman in her right mind would ever do that. Pretty much all the reasons that these character had for leaving seemed like lame pretenses just to break up the crew and get everyone in position so we can experience all the stuff happening from their perspectives...

[remo]

Quinta entrega de la trama principal del universo de The Expanse, que continúa tras Cibola Burn. Tras las aventuiras vividas en el mundo de Ilus, nuestros amigos vuelven a casa y disponen de unos meses mientras reparan su nave. Cada uno parte por su lado para arreglar asuntos personales, pero hay gente que tiene otros planes y liará un pifostio cósmico (literalmente) y hará que desde cuatro mundos distintos nuestros protagonistas tengan que arreglárselas solos cada uno por su cuenta para pode juntarse de nuevo y vencerles. Por supuesto, y como es costumbre, la novela es fantástica, bien construida, con personajes admirables (en este libro el foco cae en Naomi aunque los demás también gozan de sus momentos). Los secundarios de otras entregas aparecen casi todos, llegando a ser principales (y este lector se alegra mucho por ello). Un placer de lectura. La sexta entrega no sale hasta noviembre 16, por lo que tras haberme fundido los cinco primeros en un mes y pico ahora toca esperar.

[empressbrooke]

This was the highest point in the series since the debut, due in large part to all four members of the Rocinante finally getting to be the POV characters that the narration switches between. On top of that, there's a return of a large number of others - Bobbie Draper, Avasarala, Clarissa Mao, Fred Johnson - that really made this book feel like a culmination of everything that came before it.

Each previous book had events in it that shifted and changed the world that the series is set in, which has kept the series fresh and continually provided justification for yet another book. However, Nemesis Games went somewhere I REALLY hadn't expected. As huge of a plot turn as it was, it didn't feel gratuitous. The way that the Belters vs Inner Planets (and to a lesser degree, Earthers vs Martians) has always been set up as a racial divide made the turn of events internally consistent. The sudden availability of countless planets to colonize didn't just eradicate the need for the location of the Belters' homes, but also their very identity. It was a genocide that was accidental, but no less real. So the reaction of the most militant among them was understandable in the context of the series' universe. The authors very skillfully built this world and then just as skillfully tore it apart.

At the end of the book, the authors don't push everything back to a comforting normal. Instead, they've set up the path for the next book and I'm dying to know where it's going to go. While Nemesis Games was the first book in the series where the protomolecule was all but absent, the final chapters show that we're not through with its shenanigans.