A revolution brewing for generations has begun in fire. It will end in blood.
The Free Navy - a violent group of Belters in black-market military ships - has crippled the Earth and begun a campaign of piracy and violence among the outer planets. The colony ships heading for the thousand new worlds on the far side of the alien ring gates are easy prey, and no single navy remains strong enough to protect them.
James Holden and his crew know the strengths and weaknesses of this new force better than anyone. Outnumbered and outgunned, the embattled remnants of the old political powers call on the Rocinante for a desperate mission to reach Medina Station at the heart of the gate network.
But the new alliances are as flawed as the old, and the struggle for power has only just begun. As the chaos grows, an alien mystery deepens. Pirate fleets, mutiny and betrayal may be the least of the Rocinante's problems. And in the uncanny spaces past the ring gates, the choices of a few damaged and desperate people may determine the fate of more than just humanity.
Despite the 4-star rating, this was my least favorite Expanse book so far. I think it's primarily due to the fact that it's just one ship battle scene after another as the universe continues to deal with the murderous megalomaniac Marcos Inaros. However, it does a number of things that are particularly wonderful that elevates it to 4 stars.
It presents the story from a larger-than-usual number of points of view. At first I thought this might make things feel disjointed, but the plot sped along quite smoothly. The picture of the universe being affected by the war was painted quite vividly by the large number of characters we got to hear from. There are characters from previous books - not just the obvious ones, but also people like Prax from Caliban's War and Anna and Nono from Abaddon's Gate.
In the quieter moments between battles, there are a lot of moments illustrating just how much the characters have grown over the course of the series. Holden reflects on how he once might have reacted to a situation compared to how he currently feels. Characters like Michio Pa and Filip struggle with wanting independence for the Belters while growing uncomfortably aware that Marcos is less concerned with the Belt and more with his own glory. A scene near the end where Holden is preparing for the Roncinante crew's probable death is particularly heart-tug-worthy. And the moment when I realized the very-very-sub-plot started in Nemesis Game about ships going missing when passing through the Ring was going to be vital was exhilarating.
Reading updates
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Started reading
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8 January, 2017:
Finished reading
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8 January, 2017:
Reviewed