A review by anteus7
Cibola Burn by James S.A. Corey

5.0

I keep liking these books more and more--they kind of have it all for me.

Great characterization--check. The people in these books feel (mostly) real. It is true that this book has some Corporate Goon and Plucky Pioneer characters who do feel kind of stock, but they mostly also have a good coating of reasons for doing the things that they do.

Awesome, expanding universe--check, check. And it's not a safe, inviting place. I love it when things level up in a series--character agency/power, danger to said, implications of actions performed by said, scope of problems, distance traveled...lots of metrics.

I also like that a story like this--illegal seizure of a planet to settle on being interrupted by corporate claims--does not give anyone an easy, moral high ground from which to operate, so the story ends up being how people strive and often fail to be human to one another.

I can't wait to read the next one.