Babylon's Ashes

This is the book I needed right now. I've loved this series a lot since Leviathan Wakes debuted. It used to be because it filled the Firefly-shaped hole in my heart, but the crew of the Rocinante have evolved so much, the scale of the story has expanded so much (see what I did there?), that it has gone far beyond an enjoyable space romp. Now, the story is much more poised as a mirror of what humanity can be at both its best and its worst. We find our favorite crew (plus Clarissa Mao whom I hope gets a bigger role in the next book), caught up in the war that has destroyed Earth, trying to make alliances and save lives wherever we can. We get the return of several characters we haven't seen in many books, Michio Pa and Prax Meng, and watch how their small pieces fit into this large universe. We get to see into the world of terrorist kings and the justification of people who follow them. It's all good. It's just a brilliant series and I can't wait for more.