Caliban's War

This was a step up from Leviathan Wakes. I loved that the writers added more POV's with very different personalities. The characters are well written and I felt more emotionally involved with them than in LW.
I definitely liked the fast pace and all of the action in this book.

I have had so much fun discovering this series, I'm only upset that I now have to wait for Abaddon's Gate. The crew of the Rocinante really gels into a likable unit in this book and the new characters of Chrisjen and Bobbie do not disappoint. My only regret and also relief is that nobody you love dies. An excellent follow-up to Leviathan Wakes.

Ik heb maar één negatief punt: de slechteriken zijn echt wel minder-dan-eendimensionele slechteriken. Het zijn er van het genre “duister militair-industrieel complex”, en we krijgen zelfs geen begin van zwijm van verklaring wat of waarom.

Voor de rest: rollicking good fun, gelijk ze zeggen.

Het is een jaar na Leviathan Wakes, Jim Holden en crew doen klusjeswerk voor de Outer Planet Alliance (grote politiek-militaire speler nummer drie in het zonnestelsel, na Aarde en Mars).

Ganymedes, de grootste maan van Jupiter (en van het hele zonnestelsel trouwens — een wistjedatje), is de graanschuur van de mensheid: massief belangrijk, dus, maar ook fragiel: het blijft natuurlijk een artificieel ecosysteem.

En dan gaat het (wat hadt ge gedacht) mis: een gespannen situatie tussen marines van Aarde en Mars lijkt te ontploffen — maar het is geen gevecht tussen die twee, het is een soort monster dat meteen doet denken aan het alien gedoe uit het eerste boek, dat op één na iedere soldaat afslacht en Ganymedes in spiraal van system collapse duwt.

Crisis, natuurlijk: is het een alien? Is het een wapen van Mars dat losgeraakt is? Of van Aarde? Of van de OPA?

Alweer spannend, alweer vintage space opera, alweer goed. Een aantal bijkomende POVs, naast Jim Holden die (gelukkig) wat minder idealistisch en vlak blijkt te zijn, is er ook Roberta ‘Bobbie' Draper (die ene niet-afgeslachte soldaat), Praxidike Meng (wetenschapper op Ganymedes, op zoek naar zijn ontvoerde dochter), en Chrisjen Avasarala (de bejaarde assistant to the UN's undersecretary of executive administration, eigenlijk één van de meest machtige vrouwen op Aarde).

En een cliffhanger, gedomme. Abaddon's Gate (niets te maken met Warhammer, ga ik van uit) komt uit op 4 juni 2013.

Great sequel, highly recommend!

Good book for character and world building. This one is much more political and less action compared to the originally. Feels a little slow and the ending a bit flat.

Caliban's War is the sequel to Leviathan Wakes. However there is enough backstory covered that you can read it stand alone. (Though why you would want to do that I don't know, as they are both crackin' good space opera.)
The story picks up a little over a year after the end of Leviathan Wakes. Jim Holden and the crew of the the Rocinante have spent that time chasing down pirates in the asteroid belt and beyond. But, something really strange and bad has started happening on Ganymede, and the Rocinante and crew are dispatched there to find out what is going on. Meanwhile, on Earth high level political maneuvering has started. The Ganymede disaster has precipitated a crisis, and a power struggle has started involving double-crossing and backstabbing of the highest order. On top of that the alien entity on Venus is stirring and it might have some connection with what's happening on Ganymede. Add in a distraught father and a clutch of children kidnapped by a gang of sociopaths with unknown motives and you have all the elements needed for a ripping good story. And that is what Caliban's War is.
One side note – the name of the book is somewhat of a mystery to me as there isn't a character named Caliban in the story. (Caliban of course is one of the primary characters in Shakespeare's The Tempest. Perhaps I should go back and re-read that to try to find what inspired the name.)
Highly recommended.

Pros: still fun, fast, and funny. Does a really good job at showing how governments (especially big ones) aren't just a group of people who all agree with each other. I feel like a big problem in sci-fi/fantasy world is that oftentimes an organization or government has only one viewpoint on something, i.e. “Country X wants to go to war with Country Y.” But in the real world, any large group of people will have differing camps on any important issue, and this book shows that well. There's also several good uses of revealed information

Cons: has a little bit of the “your princess is in another castle” vibe, with a similar corporate villain as last time

This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader as part of a quick takes post to catch up–emphasizing pithiness, not thoroughness.
—
90% of the reason I'm doing this in a Quick Take post is because if I don't cover it in a paragraph or two, I'll take 15 pages (or the equivalent). I'm kicking myself so hard for not jumping on each installment of this series as soon as it was published (although, if I did, I would be missing out on the audiobooks). I read the first book shortly after publication, but missed the release of this book—so before I realized it I was two novels and over a thousand pages behind, and I just couldn't find the time to catch up.

Anyway, this might not have been the right time to listen to a novel about an unexpected, largely unknown, biological enemy of all humanity and the inexplicable reactions of several governments to it—through the eyes of people living in fairly enclosed spaces. Still, it's gripping, imaginative, wonderfully told and very compelling. I can't wait to see what's next (although, I'm pretty apprehensive of it, too). I loved the new characters and hope they stick around.

An excellent blend of cinematic sequences (action and otherwise) and “hard science” science fiction. There is absolutely some hand-wavy technology and science, but there is respect for the scale of space and the realities of inter-planetary travel and that makes my nerd heart happy.

Great series so far.

Caliban's War is a thrilling continuation of the The Expanse series, delivering a captivating blend of action, science fiction, and character development. The novel successfully expands upon the diverse cast of misfits introduced in the first book, providing them with compelling arcs and motivations.

I was particularly impressed by the inclusion of two strong female leads- Avasarala and Bobbie, each showcasing unique qualities and contributing significantly to the narrative. Their presence adds depth and nuance to the story, making it a more engaging and relatable experience.

While not without its flaws, Caliban's War is a remarkably well-crafted novel that effectively balances action, world-building, and character development. It's a must-read for fans of the genre and a worthy addition to the The Expanse series.

It is very possible that had my schedule allowed, I would have read this book in one sitting. It is just what I wanted from a science fiction story. I'm looking forward to continuing with the series and also the show. Hopefully the show is picked up and continued.

Okay, this was awesome!

At 25% I was considering a DNF and I am soooooo happy I gave it a chance!
The pacing is perfect and the action is sublime. The plot is absolutely amazing and so epic!
I took away a star because I see some unaddressed hypocrisy in the characters, which was a bit frustrating for me (and the reason for me considering to DNF).

Either way, I loved this book and even more excited to continue with this series!

Було важко вникнути на початку, але чим далі, тим більше мені подобалось. Хоча все ще не знаю, чи буду читати цю серію далі. Хоча кінець цієї частини й дуже заінтригував.

“Todo imperio crece hasta que las cosas empiezan a escapar a su control. Empezamos peleándonos por ver quién se quedaba las mejores ramas de los árboles. Luego, bajamos de ellos y luchamos por hacernos con el control de una buena extensión de terreno llena de árboles. Después, alguien empezó a montar a caballo y los imperios se extendieron a lo largo de cientos y miles de kilómetros. Gracias a los barcos cruzamos los océanos. Gracias al motor Epstein, llegamos a los planetas exteriores...”

Luego del Incidente Eros le toca a Ganímedes irse a la mierda. Un monstruo protomolecular kamikaze salido de quién sabe dónde ataca a los soldados de la Tierra y Marte en una de las lunas más importantes de los planetas exteriores. En Venus la protomolécula sigue dando señales de no querer morir de insolación. La tensión política se incrementa mientras los gobiernos luchan por ver quién la tiene más grande.

Tal vez a muchos les haya pasado esto al revés. Para mí ha estado cerca pero no superó la primera parte, tal vez debido a la frescura inicial, esa grata bienvenida a un nuevo universo. Se sintió casi un poco de lo mismo con algunas cosas nuevas aquí y allá, con una protomolécula que va aprendiendo y evolucionando cual IA. El desarrollo sigue siendo ridículamente bueno, tal vez de lo mejor que he podido leer en space opera junto con La Vieja Guardia de Scalzi. Si en El despertar del leviatán me irritaba Holden, ahora ese exasperante lugar se lo ganó Prax. Me gustó lo de Bobbie aunque en esta segunda parte el Oscar va para la abuelita más poderosa del sistema solar: Avasarala. Por favor, que alguien me diga si ya puedo comenzar con la primera temporada de la serie.

¿Se habría quedado todo esto en un libro si Miller hubiera apuntado al Sol? Tal vez. Felizmente, no.

Like hanging out with good old friends. Very solid.

Loving this series. Hope the Syfy series does it credit!

Book 2 of The Expanse series by James S. A. Corey is a fantastic follow-up that pulls off the unusual feat of being a better book than the first book in a series.

This one follows James Holden and his small crew as they find themselves once again in the middle of events swirling around the solar system. On the “other thread” you get to meet U.N. Undersecretary Christen Avasarala and see her fight a political battle against nearly insurmountable odds. The third major character is Bobby Draper, a Martian marine who encounters and survives an early protomolecule monster encounter.

All of this maneuvering occurs under the ominous transformation occurring on Venus after the events of the first book sent the protomolecule there, instead of Earth.

Along the way, you get to know these extremely interesting characters, see them change, and handle some pretty sticky dilemmas in creative ways.

Overall, while the Expanse books fall into the category of “Space Opera,” I'd caution you against thinking of them that way. Space Opera has become synonymous with the concept of cliche space stories. They reuse and recycle old themes, characters, and situations and you end up with very similar stories. Sometimes it's just a re-worked western set in space. They tend to be fun, fast reads, but the common theme is cliche. There is essentially nothing cliche about these books. They are original and gritty. The characters are far outside the norm, and you get to know them and their motivations very well.

Add to that the fairly realistic way in which real physics are dealt with, and you give the story a bit of a hard science-fiction edge.

Some of the “praise” on the back of this book mentions how it's a Hollywood blockbuster in book form. I'm sure that's appealing to a wide audience, but it's just not for someone like me.

The writing tactic that Corey uses most often is unrelenting escalation. Whenever one situation gets resolved, some news comes in, and the crew has to deal with a new crisis. This is probably why it can be considered a Hollywood blockbuster.

The tactic is utterly overused. By the end, I was so sick of this “disaster-after-disaster” style of narrative. I half-expected Venus to awaken as some big space monster and... I was disappointingly close.

Characters? Funny. Ending of the plot? Somewhat heartwarming. Everything else? So very lacking. Go see a Hollywood blockbuster if you want one.

Damn was I entertained with the plot and characters in this book. I could not put it down and needed to know what was going to happen next. And that ending! I think having the world and backstory established really helped with the pacing for me, and not having Miller's POV was a welcome change. Plus the new female POVs was also a nice addition. I agree with people who say this is like a blockbuster movie in book form. It was thoroughly entertaining and a fast read.

It's the writing again, like in the first book, that brings the rating down for me. There are a few bits of repetitiveness (in addition to the writing style) that I couldn't overlook. The authors sure do love to mention that humans still have gestures and motivations and other things that are “primitive” in the future. And primates. They LOVE to mention PRIMATES. I get why, but I really don't need the reminder that humans made it to space but are still humble creatures of Earth. We're two books into this space opera series, we established that a loooong time ago. It's a little irksome sometimes but generally not too hard to gloss over. I still think the writers squash each other's voices/personalities when editing rather than make them better, which is sad. The final downside to the writing is that it's just so obviously written by men. It's very noticeable throughout. But the plot kept me so entertained that the writing ultimately took a backseat and didn't really hinder my enjoyment too much this time around.

One major negative I have to mention though... I'm extremely frustrated by the two male authors' choice to make a female character publicly and falsely accuse a male character of sexual abuse. Though it's fiction, I feel it will feed the fire for people who love to not believe rape victims. It felt exploitative and very pointed, like the authors included it because, to them, it would be believable... because, to them, that's what women do. And that just a gross viewpoint. These are the kinds of stories that silence real life rape victims. Stop implying women cannot be taken at their word. Stop showing perfect men who are victims of women accusers. Just stop. That's not the story that needs to be told.

If it weren't for the false sexual abuse claim, I would rate this book 4 stars. I thought it was more entertaining and had better characters than the first.

This is one of my favorites of the whole series because the two best characters - Bobbie Draper and Chrisjen Avasarala show up. Plus with the Prax/Amos bromance it's just chef's kiss.

Four stars, but with a bit of hesitation. It just doesn't reach the quality of the third book and sadly has some stretches of boredom and cliché talk. Also the characters somehow felt a bit more cliché than in the last book.

Still it is a very enjoyable read from start to finish, especially if you like sci-fi pop-corn style books.

A sequel that's every bit as good as the first book. I like the new characters and I'm looking forward to the next book.

I loved Leviathan Wakes, Book 1 of the Expanse trilogy, and fortunately Caliban's War does not suffer from the typical sophomore slump. It was great returning to the world introduced by the writing tag team of Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck.

It's a blockbuster of a book. The protomolecule isn't content to ferment quietly on Venus and a modified organism has decimated a station on Ganymede forcing a tense standoff between Earth and Mars. It's the literary version of a summer tentpole movie with action beats in every chapter. I even enjoyed the political machinations scattered throughout the book. They've got a seriously diverse cast of characters and some of the most bad ass ladies in sci fi, anchored once again by a search for a missing girl. I'm already clearing the reading calendar for Book 3: Abbadon's Gate.

Even though this second book in the series has a premise very similar to the first book (a girl goes missing and our heroes have to find her), it builds on the world established in the first book. It expands on the political dynamics between Earth and Mars. It introduces badass new characters (Chrisjen "Potty Mouth" Avasarala is my favorite). It continues building the protomolecule mystery. The book gripped me from the very beginning and never let go. I started keeping notes after every couple of chapters just so I could follow the story. When I was done and when I read my notes, I couldn't believe how much was packed into this book. There were only a couple of chapters where I felt my mind wondering. But otherwise it was a thrilling ride. Can't wait to get to the next installment in the series.

Estoy obsesionado con este libro. The Expanse es la primera saga que leo del género space opera y me han sorprendido todos los detalles sobre la vida en el espacio: los cargueros de hielo para transportar agua, las adaptaciones del cuerpo humano a vivir sin gravedad durante generaciones, el cultivo de comida en el espacio, el concepto de naves espaciales generacionales y la comparativa entre las diferentes colonizaciones dentro de la Tierra y las que se plantean en estos libros para el espacio.

Mi parte favorita es el poema de Arjun: “If life transcends death, then I will seek for you there. If not, then there too”.