Reviews

4.25/5

took what made the last book good and made it even better

i still have a hard time connecting with some of the pov characters (Holden and Prax) but Avasarala and Bobbie are excellent additions

adumundead's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

timmytunter's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Caliban’s War follows Leviathan Wakes, an incredibly strong opening to a science fiction series. While Caliban’s War almost maintains the high bar set by its predecessor, it falls just short. Nonetheless, it was a very enjoyable read, and I am eagerly anticipating book 3, Abaddon’s Gate.

Once again, I really enjoyed Corey’s writing. It’s typically simple and readable, yet often clever and creative. One of my favorite passages is when Prax is shown security camera footage from the childcare center where his daughter was kidnapped. The footage plays in reverse, but is described as though the events just happen to unfold backward in this recorded world:

Medics appeared on the screen, seemingly walking backward in the inverted world as they brought a dead body to lay beside the door. Then another draped over it. The two corpses lay motionless; then one moved, pawing gently at the wall, then more strongly until, in an eyeblink, he staggered to his feet and was gone…
…The second corpse sat up and then stood, clutching her belly. A man stepped into the frame, a gun in his hand, healing her by sucking the bullet from her guts. They argued, grew calm, parted peaceably. Prax knew he was seeing it all in reverse, but his sleep- and calorie-starved brain kept trying to make the images into a narrative. A group of soldiers crawled backward out of the ruined door, like a breech birth, then huddled and backed away in a rush. A flash of light, and the door made itself whole, thermite charges clinging to it like fruit until a soldier in a Martian uniform rushed forward to collect them safely. Their technological harvest complete, the soldiers all backed rapidly away…

Caliban’s War introduces several new characters into The Expanse universe, including Bobbie and Avasarala, who have quickly become two of my favourites in the series. Bobbie and Avasarala—along with Prax—more than fill the void left by Miller’s absence, each bringing a rich backstory and compelling narratives. Below are just two examples of the wisdom of Avasarala, the shrewd, ruthlessly pragmatic, and foul-mouthed grandmother and politician:

“I want to hurt someone,” [Bobbie] said. “I’m afraid if it’s not them, it’s going to wind up being me.”
“We all grieve in our own ways,” Avasarala said. “For what it’s worth, you’ll never kill enough people to keep your platoon from dying. No more than I can save enough people that one of them will be Charanpal.”

And:

“Reputation never has very much to do with reality,” [Avasarala] said.
“I could name half a dozen paragons of virtue that are horrible, small-souled, evil people. And some of the best men I know, you’d walk out of the room if you heard their names. No one on the screen is who they are when you breathe their air.”
“Holden,” Prax said.
“Well. He’s the exception,” she said.

In contrast to Avasarala’s abrasive, cynical, and world-weary nature, Prax is polite, childlike, and an utter expert in his narrow band of interest—botany. Yet he too delivers pearls of wisdom:

“It would be late in the game to go for another plan,” Naomi said. “It makes me damn uncomfortable having Earth saving me from Earth, though.”
“Structures are never monolithic,” Prax said. “There’s more genetic variation within Belters or Martians or Earthers than there is between them. Evolution would predict some divisions within the group structures and alliances with out-members. You see the same thing in ferns.”
“Ferns?” Naomi asked.
“Ferns can be very aggressive,” Prax said.

Beyond the new characters, The Expanse universe continues to grow and develop, though I think world-building is one area that could use more attention, as it sometimes feels like it lacks depth.

For whatever reason, I didn’t find the plot of Caliban’s War quite as compelling as Leviathan Wakes, but that was always going to be a tough act to follow. Perhaps it’s because this second instalment trades the noir mystery elements of its predecessor for politics. Nonetheless, I hugely enjoyed it; it appealed to my nerdy love of science and tech, while also evoking deep emotions about the plight of the protagonists and entire worlds of people.

Content Warnings

bweissx5's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

olivera420's review against another edition

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2.0

Pretty much the complete opposite of my preferences when it comes to sci-fi books, really not for me but I do think it was a great improvement on Leviathan Wakes even if it was basically the same exact formula in just about every way

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