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A review by haldoor
Caliban's War by James S.A. Corey
5.0
Caliban's War starts off where Leviathan Wakes ended in the first book of The Expanse series, and it's just as gripping as the first. The Protomolecule hasn't stopped, even though Holden thought they'd destroyed all of it except a small sample held in safe-keeping by a trusted friend and ally - or is he?
The crew of the Rocinante find themselves heading into more danger as it becomes obvious that the Protomolecule is still causing problems. We also meet Gunnery Sergeant Bobbie Draper of the Martian Marines, who has seen something of what the alien 'life-form' has become; Chrisjen Avarasala, a politician working for the UN, who is determined to do the right thing despite the odds stacked against her; and Praxidite Meng, a botanist from Ganymede where the latest trouble starts. Prax is just trying to find his lost immune-compromised daughter, who should have been in daycare on Ganymede when everything went crazy.
The way this is written is astoundingly good - as I knew it would be after reading the first book. The action moves naturally and with speed, but there's time enough to get to know all the wonderful characters. They're a hybrid bunch - people of many races and from a mix of Earth, Mars and Belter societies, and the attention to this mix never feels forced or 'token'. They all work perfectly with whom each character is and what they're doing where they are. I like that although there is a little sexism here, it's not a usual 'white male' perspective that acts as if it's normal and to be accepted; rather it's a true view from each of the characters' perspective of what they have experienced, and a part of the story as much as the hidden agendas behind the Earth politicians and scientists who are attempting to control the Protomolecule is - something that's wrong, but part of the human condition that people have to deal with.
And deal with it they do, in the most interesting and thrilling way. There's time for a little romance too, a lot of friendship, and there's finding family too, both in Prax's search and in the Roci's crew discovering their connections and how important that makes what they have together.
Brilliantly done, and definitely to be added to my favourites list. I can't wait to read Book Three!
The crew of the Rocinante find themselves heading into more danger as it becomes obvious that the Protomolecule is still causing problems. We also meet Gunnery Sergeant Bobbie Draper of the Martian Marines, who has seen something of what the alien 'life-form' has become; Chrisjen Avarasala, a politician working for the UN, who is determined to do the right thing despite the odds stacked against her; and Praxidite Meng, a botanist from Ganymede where the latest trouble starts. Prax is just trying to find his lost immune-compromised daughter, who should have been in daycare on Ganymede when everything went crazy.
The way this is written is astoundingly good - as I knew it would be after reading the first book. The action moves naturally and with speed, but there's time enough to get to know all the wonderful characters. They're a hybrid bunch - people of many races and from a mix of Earth, Mars and Belter societies, and the attention to this mix never feels forced or 'token'. They all work perfectly with whom each character is and what they're doing where they are. I like that although there is a little sexism here, it's not a usual 'white male' perspective that acts as if it's normal and to be accepted; rather it's a true view from each of the characters' perspective of what they have experienced, and a part of the story as much as the hidden agendas behind the Earth politicians and scientists who are attempting to control the Protomolecule is - something that's wrong, but part of the human condition that people have to deal with.
And deal with it they do, in the most interesting and thrilling way. There's time for a little romance too, a lot of friendship, and there's finding family too, both in Prax's search and in the Roci's crew discovering their connections and how important that makes what they have together.
Brilliantly done, and definitely to be added to my favourites list. I can't wait to read Book Three!