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agnewjacob120's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
A fitting end to one of the best science fiction series I have read in a long while. It leaves very few unfollowed threads and includes excellent character development and even makes new characters in a 9 book series interesting
lizzie04's review against another edition
3.5
I made it!! Slightly disappointed, but I made it. Time to ramble:
The first half of this book feels like a slow winding down of the series, anticlimactic and not what I expected. It is not that this series has to pander to my expectations (since I have enjoyed its diversions so much before), it is that it did not meet them AND it was unsatisfactory in how it diverted. It may not be an objectively bad ending but it leaves a bad taste in my mouth. The epilogue was cool in its implications, and I enjoyed our final goodbyes between the Roci crew, but that’s about it. The Roci crew was at the heart of the story, as it has always been. However, they can only hold this expansive story together so much, especially after the significant contributions of other characters whose stories were otherwise left sort of unresolved or unremarkable.
Some characters I want to talk about:
Drummer just fell off the face of the story (I would say Earth but she’s never been on it). There’s no mention of her even after her husband died. It seemed like the last two times we saw her, Drummer was being played up to be some sort of major operative to the underground or at least a covert participant like Holden. Yet, the last time Drummer is on page is in the prologue of Tiamat’s Wrath.
Teresa is also not so strong this time around, being used more as a plot device than anything. She was so interesting in the last book, however, in this book, important plot points and decisions from several characters revolve around her without any satisfactory insight FROM her.
Lastly, I do not particularly care about Tanaka. She is definitely an interesting antagonist and a unique perspective from the Laconians we have met, but I am too fatigued to have much interest in a new viewpoint. The time with Tanaka is well-spent and she has good moments, but did we really need her at the last minute?
Miscellaneous/Wrap-up:
The way this story handles alien contact is great, I like the non-traditional route they went with by leaving the gate builders and ring entities up to interpretation. You have to reread some Elvi and Dreamer chapters to have a semblance of what was going on, but it was nice to have more of a spotlight on protomolecule shenanigans in the last two books.
In addition, this MAY be the whole point of the story, but it feels like The Expanse utilizes aliens the way many stories in the zombie genre utilize zombies. These creatures serve as a backdrop to the real enemy of humans—other humans. I know it is intentionally frustrating that Laconia still gives a fuck about fighting the Underground when beings they cannot comprehend are messing around with human consciousness. And as I’ve said in previous reviews, while I deeply enjoy examining human conflicts in fantastical scenarios, it also feels like the underlying alien threat of the series isn’t used enough until these last two books. Can’t have everything though right? This series could have easily been another three books if they went deeper with the alien stuff and post-1000-year time-skip.
Perhaps that is not the story Corey set out to tell though, and I respect that. There are a lot of threads to this story and I do not envy the authors for having to figure out how to tie it all together. I think they got their themes across well and raised the bar for amazing character development in the science-fiction genre, which are the two most important aspects of a story for me. I still feel overall lukewarm about this ending, but The Expanse is solidified as one of my favorite series and very much worth rereading in a few years.
The first half of this book feels like a slow winding down of the series, anticlimactic and not what I expected. It is not that this series has to pander to my expectations (since I have enjoyed its diversions so much before), it is that it did not meet them AND it was unsatisfactory in how it diverted. It may not be an objectively bad ending but it leaves a bad taste in my mouth. The epilogue was cool in its implications, and I enjoyed our final goodbyes between the Roci crew, but that’s about it. The Roci crew was at the heart of the story, as it has always been. However, they can only hold this expansive story together so much, especially after the significant contributions of other characters whose stories were otherwise left sort of unresolved or unremarkable.
Some characters I want to talk about:
Drummer just fell off the face of the story (I would say Earth but she’s never been on it). There’s no mention of her even after her husband died. It seemed like the last two times we saw her, Drummer was being played up to be some sort of major operative to the underground or at least a covert participant like Holden. Yet, the last time Drummer is on page is in the prologue of Tiamat’s Wrath.
Teresa is also not so strong this time around, being used more as a plot device than anything. She was so interesting in the last book, however, in this book, important plot points and decisions from several characters revolve around her without any satisfactory insight FROM her.
Lastly, I do not particularly care about Tanaka. She is definitely an interesting antagonist and a unique perspective from the Laconians we have met, but I am too fatigued to have much interest in a new viewpoint. The time with Tanaka is well-spent and she has good moments, but did we really need her at the last minute?
Miscellaneous/Wrap-up:
The way this story handles alien contact is great, I like the non-traditional route they went with by leaving the gate builders and ring entities up to interpretation. You have to reread some Elvi and Dreamer chapters to have a semblance of what was going on, but it was nice to have more of a spotlight on protomolecule shenanigans in the last two books.
In addition, this MAY be the whole point of the story, but it feels like The Expanse utilizes aliens the way many stories in the zombie genre utilize zombies. These creatures serve as a backdrop to the real enemy of humans—other humans. I know it is intentionally frustrating that Laconia still gives a fuck about fighting the Underground when beings they cannot comprehend are messing around with human consciousness. And as I’ve said in previous reviews, while I deeply enjoy examining human conflicts in fantastical scenarios, it also feels like the underlying alien threat of the series isn’t used enough until these last two books. Can’t have everything though right? This series could have easily been another three books if they went deeper with the alien stuff and post-1000-year time-skip.
Perhaps that is not the story Corey set out to tell though, and I respect that. There are a lot of threads to this story and I do not envy the authors for having to figure out how to tie it all together. I think they got their themes across well and raised the bar for amazing character development in the science-fiction genre, which are the two most important aspects of a story for me. I still feel overall lukewarm about this ending, but The Expanse is solidified as one of my favorite series and very much worth rereading in a few years.
indyne's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
weihe's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-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? It's complicated
4.5
josip_'s review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
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
4.75
slingsby93's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
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
3.75
juliealmeida's review against another edition
5.0
4.5 stars - I feel it’s impossible to really explain the good parts of this book without spoilers. So I’ll just say it was a rollercoaster of emotions and I liked it!
grimdark_dad's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
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
4.75
jennarauhaton's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
This was the best sci-fi series I've ever read. Spectacular.