Reviews

At this point, what do I even say? We're 7 books in. I'm still reading them. And honestly, this far into the series, this is easily one of my top 2 or 3 favorites. The fact that Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck (the duo behind these books) are still churning out stories of this caliber is a testament to their genius.

I was initially worried when I read the prologue and found out that we're dealing with a 30 year time jump from the last Expanse book. I'm so dumb -- 7 books in and I was worried that these guys had made a fundamentally bad decision in plotting this out? Hah. Shows how little I know.

The time jump works. It's pretty perfect. Every now and then I had to remind myself that Holden and Naomi, Alex and Bobbie, and Amos and Peaches weren't the same characters that I left off with in Babylon's Ashes. They were older, more wizened, but also more tired. I only had to remind myself a few times, because the characters were written with some of those small differences built in and noticeable (without being hamfisted). And while we get to see what the passage of time has done to the crew of the Roci, the plotting was expertly handled as well.

There were a few stray plot lines that get picked up here and it's so satisfying to read. We get a patiently waiting authoritarian uprising, and the beginnings of the payoff of all of the promises of the protomolecule (from 3 books ago). The Earth-Mars-Belt relationship has changed. The OPA isn't even a real faction anymore, but their ideals still exist. Belters still don't like being under the foot of an outside authority.

All in all, it's another great plot with lots of action and it sets the stage well for this final act of this series. I'm excited to see the crew of the Roci setting up a bit of a long-term strategy, and it seems like the end of the series will be super rewarding for those of us still reading it.

wordnerdy's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

4.5

https://wordnerdy.blogspot.com/2024/04/2024-book-83.html

juliealmeida's review against another edition

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4.0

Maybe I’m just petty, but I’m only not giving this 5 stars because I want more Naomi being brilliant!

katie_leigh's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional reflective 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

4.0

_ottavia_'s review against another edition

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4.0

Ci ho messo due secoli e mezzo a leggere la prima metà e poi tre giorni a leggera la seconda, come spesso mi capita con The Expanse. A volte, tra il linguaggio iper tecnico e la lentezza della trama, ho difficoltà a procedere; questo per spiegare perchè ci ho messo così tanto.
Dopo un volume che avevo trovato debole, comunque, la saga si riprende e cambia nuovamente tutte le carte in tavola. Non mi azzardo a scrivere nient'altro (neanche una sottile critica alle edizioni? Naaaaa) perchè ogni cosa a questo punto è uno spoiler enorme. Però questo libro è una figata, un po' come lo sono tutti quelli precedenti. Ora voglio solo leggere fantascienza per qualche tempo.
Ho solo il dubbio se continuare o leggere il prossimo più in prossimità dell'uscita dell'ultimissimo libro.

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