Caliban's War

[book:Caliban's War 12591698] continues the story of Captain Jim Holden and the crew of the Rocinante after the events on the Eros space station brought the various factions of the solar system to the brink of war. Time has passed, and the crew is running odd jobs for the OPA. Meanwhile, we are introduced to three new characters. There's a tough Mars Marine named Bobbie, a grieving botanist from Ganymede named Prax, and a foul mouthed, cunning politician from Earth named Chrisjen Avasarala. The story progresses nicely in Caliban's War. We get more insight into some of the crew. Prax has a compelling story. Bobbie is potentially an interesting character, though she often feels out of place and doesn't get much of a chance to shine... but she's set up nicely for future books. Avasarala is a favourite here, slickly navigating through the politics of the ongoing protomolecule plot as Venus is closely being watched. Pacing is about the same as Leviathan Wakes, starting with some slow intrigue build-up, and exploding into fantastic blossoms of action in the second half.