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A review by peterkeep
Babylon's Ashes by James S.A. Corey
4.0
If [book: Nemesis Games] tightened the scope of the series by focusing on the main crew as POV characters, then Babylon's Ashes blew the scope out of the water. There are SO many POV characters here, so many storylines from people we've met before directly or indirectly, and for whatever reason it works. Maybe it's because I like that these authors don't try to just rewrite the same book. They try new things and keep the style fresh by doing things like this.
I think part of the reason that I not only didn't mind the many POV characters but actually enjoyed it was that even if they only showed up for a chapter or two, they all had a pretty clear purpose in the overall plot. So they enter the story, remind us of who they are quickly, and then things start happening! There's a lot to deal with in this book, in the aftermath of the huge attack on Earth and the big uprising in the Belt. It seems like the authors were really focused on making sure they treated that huge development seriously. Nothing really seems to get overlooked in the fallout.
I really liked the transition they're making to the last three books here, too. This almost seems like the conclusion of the second act (which it probably is if you count the series as three trilogies), and it sets the table really well for how the last bit of the series could play out.
Super good series that's still holding up really well. I love it.
I think part of the reason that I not only didn't mind the many POV characters but actually enjoyed it was that even if they only showed up for a chapter or two, they all had a pretty clear purpose in the overall plot. So they enter the story, remind us of who they are quickly, and then things start happening! There's a lot to deal with in this book, in the aftermath of the huge attack on Earth and the big uprising in the Belt. It seems like the authors were really focused on making sure they treated that huge development seriously. Nothing really seems to get overlooked in the fallout.
I really liked the transition they're making to the last three books here, too. This almost seems like the conclusion of the second act (which it probably is if you count the series as three trilogies), and it sets the table really well for how the last bit of the series could play out.
Super good series that's still holding up really well. I love it.