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A review by _juxtapositive_
The Mercy of Gods by James S. A. Corey
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-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
5.0
I am going to try to avoid spoilers in case anyone else reading this is like I was and wanted to know absolutely nothing about it going into it.
This feels, at its heart, like an extension of The Expanse novel series, or at least that it could take place in the distant future of that universe.
The duo are back to their delicate weave of character development and introduction while dropping in an unknown antagonist like a brick wall. I like the additions from them, it very much reminded me of the interjections with Miller. Enough to intrigue you and provide some information, but not enough to explain everything ahead of time.
What little I didn’t know about this book going into it is that it will be a series, much shorter than The Expanse was, so this book would be setting up things for one or two more novels. I was honestly a little surprised that there wasn’t more worldbuilding for the protagonists in this first book, but now that I finished it I’m almost glad there wasn’t. I really don’t feel like they needed to build out the entire universe in the first book, I probably would have gotten bored with it if that was the case.
There are many allegories and parallels that can be drawn from this, which may or may not be implicit or just inspirational. I like that, and I like that about their writing. I like that there are implications and ties to our own society, both present and past, without hammering the current politics of our world in your face. I like that it lets you get to know the characters and understand them. Maybe like them. Maybe hate them. Root for their downfall or cheer when they are stricken. This book started to do that for me much in the way The Expanse series did.
I’m very much looking forward to the next novel. I hate that I have wildly general idea how this will end already, but I’m along for the ride. I’ve been proven wrong by these two before.
This feels, at its heart, like an extension of The Expanse novel series, or at least that it could take place in the distant future of that universe.
The duo are back to their delicate weave of character development and introduction while dropping in an unknown antagonist like a brick wall. I like the additions from them, it very much reminded me of the interjections with Miller. Enough to intrigue you and provide some information, but not enough to explain everything ahead of time.
What little I didn’t know about this book going into it is that it will be a series, much shorter than The Expanse was, so this book would be setting up things for one or two more novels. I was honestly a little surprised that there wasn’t more worldbuilding for the protagonists in this first book, but now that I finished it I’m almost glad there wasn’t. I really don’t feel like they needed to build out the entire universe in the first book, I probably would have gotten bored with it if that was the case.
There are many allegories and parallels that can be drawn from this, which may or may not be implicit or just inspirational. I like that, and I like that about their writing. I like that there are implications and ties to our own society, both present and past, without hammering the current politics of our world in your face. I like that it lets you get to know the characters and understand them. Maybe like them. Maybe hate them. Root for their downfall or cheer when they are stricken. This book started to do that for me much in the way The Expanse series did.
I’m very much looking forward to the next novel. I hate that I have wildly general idea how this will end already, but I’m along for the ride. I’ve been proven wrong by these two before.
Content Warnings
Minor: Death