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4.11 AVERAGE
4.11 AVERAGE
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I’m just devouring these like the Protomolecule devoured Eros.
Can’t wait to see how they film this one.
Can’t wait to see how they film this one.
3.25/5.00
Cibola Burn feels somewhat out of place. While I dearly wish to love adore and praise an Expanse book, I cannot do so without being intellectually dishonest. This book, shockingly, is a western. While some may appreciate the irony of this concept being executed in a world as diametrically opposite to a western setting, I failed to enjoy the characters, the story and the tension. Guess what, James Holden has indestructible plot armor, and no one can be convinced that his life is in any risk. Overall, a good book. Unfortunately, the lowest ranked among the Expanse books I have enjoyed so far.
Theme -> The expanse continues to ask difficult questions about humanity and focuses intensely on the fundamental forces that drive us. Survival, tribalism and pettiness are things that hold us back as a species.
Characters -> Cibola Burn fails spectacularly in this regard. None of the new characters are interesting. I already drudged through an undeserved redemption arc in book 3, and faced warmongering psychopaths in book 2. Such characters do not need to be revisited. Cibola burns also fails to intrigue main characters and with recurring characters. However, there are some moments where the true ability of the writers comes through, displaying the real potential of these books.
Plot -> I really struggled with the plot here, which is just a repeat of book 3. Book 3 executed this plot style perfectly. I would have rejected the plot as bad, if not for the epilogue at the end, and some of the wordbuilding twists.
Prose -> Nothing new to say here, very competent and skilled as usual. Good dialogue.
World Building -> Cibola Burn's best performance is in the world building as I expected. While we are not even close to the excellence of Book 1 or Book 3, we are still doing reasonably good. Hoping to see better stuff.
Cibola Burn feels somewhat out of place. While I dearly wish to love adore and praise an Expanse book, I cannot do so without being intellectually dishonest. This book, shockingly, is a western. While some may appreciate the irony of this concept being executed in a world as diametrically opposite to a western setting, I failed to enjoy the characters, the story and the tension. Guess what, James Holden has indestructible plot armor, and no one can be convinced that his life is in any risk. Overall, a good book. Unfortunately, the lowest ranked among the Expanse books I have enjoyed so far.
Theme -> The expanse continues to ask difficult questions about humanity and focuses intensely on the fundamental forces that drive us. Survival, tribalism and pettiness are things that hold us back as a species.
Characters -> Cibola Burn fails spectacularly in this regard. None of the new characters are interesting. I already drudged through an undeserved redemption arc in book 3, and faced warmongering psychopaths in book 2. Such characters do not need to be revisited. Cibola burns also fails to intrigue main characters and with recurring characters. However, there are some moments where the true ability of the writers comes through, displaying the real potential of these books.
Plot -> I really struggled with the plot here, which is just a repeat of book 3. Book 3 executed this plot style perfectly. I would have rejected the plot as bad, if not for the epilogue at the end, and some of the wordbuilding twists.
Prose -> Nothing new to say here, very competent and skilled as usual. Good dialogue.
World Building -> Cibola Burn's best performance is in the world building as I expected. While we are not even close to the excellence of Book 1 or Book 3, we are still doing reasonably good. Hoping to see better stuff.
Weaker than the first three--more disjointed, the characters a little more 2-dimensional. Still quite entertaining though.
I want to make special note of the fact that my 3* rating is for the book, however. The performance of the AUDIOBOOK, however, was abysmal. Had to read this one on my Kindle because the narrator of the audiobook was just intolerable. Glad to hear that Jefferson Mays is back for Nemesis Games, he was sorely missed here.
I want to make special note of the fact that my 3* rating is for the book, however. The performance of the AUDIOBOOK, however, was abysmal. Had to read this one on my Kindle because the narrator of the audiobook was just intolerable. Glad to hear that Jefferson Mays is back for Nemesis Games, he was sorely missed here.
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
As per the previous books, I enjoyed the characters, setting, world building and action. My only complaint for the book is that I felt as hough it was a bit slow at the start and the planet partially exploding mid book was a bit sudden. Overall, still enjoyed it thoroughly and can't wait to read the rest of the series.
adventurous
challenging
dark
inspiring
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
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
inspiring
mysterious
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
I loved it. This might be the best book of the series, which is crazy since it's not one of the original trilogy, and is the 4th book in the series!