Scan barcode
A review by lurath
Caliban's War by James S.A. Corey
5.0
Absolutely, hands down, one of the best books I've read in the past year. It made me laugh out loud, feel anxious and sad, make my heart rate speed up for the action scenes... in other words, it made me have all the feels like good fiction should.
It reads like a gun shot from the hip: it feels like a spaghetti western with the "western" replaced by a richly layered space/science-fiction world set in our solar system. The language doesn't bog down the story, but I wouldn't call it simplistic. Instead, it's cocky, light, without wasting any time. The authors have a great way of describing a scene (and the actors) with a few poignant details. Characterizations are the same, and as such, the characters are very very real. There is no simplification of adversaries and heroes to typical black and white roles that have become so tired in science fiction and fantasy.
The world is built up from several characters viewpoints, which is a strategy I've seen fail with other authors. Here, it works wonderfully. Each character has something unique to offer and there were no chapters that felt like filler.
If I had to sum up: Caliban's War like an action movie/political intrigue/space opera that doesn't skimp on character development.
It reads like a gun shot from the hip: it feels like a spaghetti western with the "western" replaced by a richly layered space/science-fiction world set in our solar system. The language doesn't bog down the story, but I wouldn't call it simplistic. Instead, it's cocky, light, without wasting any time. The authors have a great way of describing a scene (and the actors) with a few poignant details. Characterizations are the same, and as such, the characters are very very real. There is no simplification of adversaries and heroes to typical black and white roles that have become so tired in science fiction and fantasy.
The world is built up from several characters viewpoints, which is a strategy I've seen fail with other authors. Here, it works wonderfully. Each character has something unique to offer and there were no chapters that felt like filler.
If I had to sum up: Caliban's War like an action movie/political intrigue/space opera that doesn't skimp on character development.