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jai_sedai 's review for:
Babylon's Ashes
by James S.A. Corey
Babylon's Ashes is bombastic conclusion to the second arc of The Expanse series. Filled with action, space battles, orbital mechanics, sci-fi intrigues, excellent characters and all this while remaining poignantly thematic. This book really brings the second half of Holden's character arc to an excellent conclusion. The man went from an hot-blooded idealist to a patient and reflective problem solver unironically doing things that may appear to be self-aggrandizing or megalomaniacal, but in truth stem from a desperate need to make people listen to reality. The Expanse also delivers on the best villain character so far in this series, Marco Inaros. Marco's flaws as a villain are consistent and very unique, perfectly done!
Another unique thing about this book is how the POVs are handled. I don't want to spoil this for anyone, but I really liked it. On the bad side, I found the middle part of the book to be slow and a bit boring. Several plotlines seemed a bit too predictable. IMO, the plot is the weakest part of this book, but the character work and world building make up for it. I also think the prose could have been a little better. Several thoughtful lines in the book didn't really make that emotional landing for me.
One big complaint from me is the death of Fred Johnson. This moment did not have the emotional punch that it could have had.
Another unique thing about this book is how the POVs are handled. I don't want to spoil this for anyone, but I really liked it. On the bad side, I found the middle part of the book to be slow and a bit boring. Several plotlines seemed a bit too predictable. IMO, the plot is the weakest part of this book, but the character work and world building make up for it. I also think the prose could have been a little better. Several thoughtful lines in the book didn't really make that emotional landing for me.
One big complaint from me is