Persepolis Rising

Persepolis Rising est le septième volume de la saga de science-fiction The Expanse signée James S.A. Corey, le nom de plume du duo composé des auteurs Daniel Abraham et Ty Franck.

Après un sixième volume sympathique mais un peu moins à mon goût que les précédents, j'attendais que celui-ci relance totalement mon intérêt pour la saga. Malheureusement, je garde un sentiment mitigé après ce septième tome.

Pourtant, cela commençait plutôt bien : après la multitude de narrateurs du précédent volume, j'ai d'abord été rassuré en parcourant la table des matières de voir que le nombre de points de vue était réduit. Hormis quelques rares chapitres isolés, l'action est recentrée sur quatre personnages et donc quatre points de vue :

- Holden, le boy-scout capitaine du Roccinante

- Bobbie, l'ancienne combattante des Marines martiens

- Drummer, désormais présidente de l'Union qui gère les transports entre les Anneaux

- Singh, un nouveau personnage venu de Laconia, le système où les rebelles martiens s'étaient exilés pendant que la Free Navy semait la terreur lors du cinquième tome

L'autre élément qui saute aux yeux dès les premières pages, c'est le bond dans le temps proposé par les auteurs. Alors que les dix premiers tomes se déroulaient l'espace de quelques années, celui-ci reprend le récit 30 ans après la fin du précédent volume. L'équipage du Roccinante a vieilli, Jim et Naomi rêvent de prendre une retraite bien méritée sur Titan quand l'anneau de Laconia, inactif depuis trois décennies, montre des signes d'activité.

Pourtant, je dois dire que j'ai eu un peu de mal à me passionner pour cette histoire. Nous sommes face à une histoire somme toute classique d'invasion par une puissance technologiquement supérieure et de résistance face à l'envahisseur. Cela pourrait être passionnant et bien traité dans un récit de science-fiction, mais je n'ai pas été emballé cette fois-ci. Il y a de bons moments, des passages réussis, mais j'ai aussi eu du mal à avancer parfois, un peu lassé par les actes prévisibles des personnages et par un récit sans grande surprise.

C'est d'autant plus dommage qu'il y a tout pour me plaire dans ce volume : un récit qui se veut épique, l'évocation de la vie dans une cité occupée, la guerre désespérée face à un ennemi nettement supérieur, et un antagoniste fascinante. Malheureusement j'ai été déçu par la façon dont les auteurs développent tous ces aspects prometteurs.

Espérons que le huitième et avant-dernier tome de la saga, Tiamath's Wrath, me réconciliera avec les auteurs de The Expanse, qui m'avaient habitué à bien mieux jusque là.

The authors continue to relentlessly pursue the evolution of the setting and the characters.

The long time jump was a bold move, and it was very useful to avoid a slump where the new status quo would either stay as it is (boring) or change too fast (unrealistic).

Knowing only a couple of books remain in the saga, I'm curious to see where it all will go.

600+ pages absolutely flew by. I couldn't wait to find out what happened next! Scary bad guys, overwhelming odds, unexpected hope, grudging sympathy for the devil, and Chrisjen Avasarala with the best quote I've seen in years!

If you watched the Expanse series and you're jonesing for more, I highly recommend jumping in on this book - you'll be caught up enough by the show to start right in.

I really liked this book, as I have with all the previous ones. The point of view characters did a fantastic job of showing how the different factions felt about each other and really how they misunderstood each other.

I keep expecting these books to be more of a story, like the first few books in the series, and then get disappointed when there isn't a conclusion. I have to remember to think of them as episodes of the larger story. The only problem with that is that I know there's only two more episodes and I want them to keep coming.

After what I considered the most lacklustre entry in The Expanse series (Babylon's Ashes) I was thoroughly surprised and delighted by the 7th book, Persepolis Rising. Jumping ahead in time (significantly) the story begins by dragging the slightly older crew of the Rocinante back into the center of a new conspiracy that has been brewing in secret for a long time. The story takes some unexpected turns, and sets up what feels like a potentially wonderful and ambitious arc to take us toward the end of the series. If books #8 and #9 are anything like #7, we're in for a fine ride.

Every time I start reading one of these books I always feel like I'm meeting old friends.This is book 7. For those of you who don't know: Book 1 [b:Leviathan Wakes 8855321 Leviathan Wakes (The Expanse, #1) James S.A. Corey https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1411013134s/8855321.jpg 13730452] is basically “The A-Team” in space, with a secondary plot that is essentially a private-eye... in space, and the magic is that it is fun, funny, action-packed, hugely thought provoking - but above all has characters you really care about.This series has come a long way.If you are familiar with the series then be aware that this book does not let you down. There are a couple of things that got me worried (minor spoiler from Chapter 2): The book starts 30 years after book 6 - our buddies are all getting old and approaching retirement but breath easy, the authors manage to serve up a heaping helping of the thought-provoking action that has made this such a popular SF series.I am really looking forward to book 8!

I liked this alot better than the 2 prior books for their tone and hints at possible next book storylines. And I want to go back and reread some parts as I don't remember Duarte's history, or if the novella Strange Dogs is or isn't Laconia.

I'm thankful for the epilogue because I was wondering where some of the characters had gotten to.

This is the first book in the series that I didn't finish. Spoilers: I miss the good old days of the Rocinante flying around the universe, new characters being introduced, and Avasarala being a scheming badass. 30 years later, no new characters have shown up, we're stuck on a station hiding like rats, and I can already tell that the book isn't going to wrap everything up in the end. I may give it another try if people tell me that the next book is great, but for now, it goes back on the shelf.

This book stressed me out in the best way. The Expanse is one of my favorite sci-fi series, and each volume keeps ....well, expanding. There is a decades-long time gap between this and Babylon's Ashes, and it's strange to see how the characters have aged and changes. The universe has grown so vast and complex and echoes of previous books are paying off and rippling through our beloved crew. This book has a particularly strong focus on Bobbie, which is a great tact, in my opinion as the world needs more giant lady space marines smashing the establishment. My only complaint is that it needs more Avasarala, but really, what doesn't?

The thirty year time jump threw me for a loop. It was difficult imagining Amos and Holden and Bobbie and Alex and Naomi in their fifties and sixties. Hell, wouldn't Amos be in his seventies? I'm pretty sure he's supposed to be fortyish in the earlier books.

And one of my first thoughts was ‘Oh shit, this means Avasarala is dead.' When she showed up I grinned with delight.

Besides the period of adjustment, I enjoyed the book thoroughly. I love how so many threads from previous books continue on in Persepolis rising, whether people or events. I love getting all the different perspectives, especially one from the enemy. Though, I did not like Singh. He was an indecisive, weak, brainwashed little jerk. Though I suppose everyone in Laconia has sipped the Kool Aid.

Duarte and Laconia are disturbing and I want to see him and it taken down. Why is there always someone who thinks he, and only he, knows what is best for the entire human race and is willing to do anything to achieve his absolute rule?

Anyway, I continue to love the core group of characters, even Clarissa. Her willingness to die for the group and her badass end almost made up for the suffering she endured. I know it was brought on by herself. But she grew and changed and that has to count for something.

The tension, as with the with the whole series, is wonderfully built up. There is a real sense of danger for our heroes.

And the science, the actual space stuff (not that I know anything about any of it) is fascinating and detailed. I've read that the science in the books is actually quite accurate. That makes it even more appealing.

I hope the group gets back together again. I hate seeing them separated. Naomi's pain broke my heart.

Until ‘Tiamat's Wrath' which I pre-ordered today......






















Spoilers below:

The Expanse continues to shine in all that it does well: being smart and being fun at the same time, having real consequences without feeling too arbitrary or too “plot armor-ey,” having villains with some redeeming characteristics and reasonable views. I really liked the arc for Governor Singh; he made a lot of mistakes and did a lot of growing in a hurry, and kept learning right until the end. The ultimate morality level of the Laconians is excellently murky; their brutal foundation, and medical experiments show their true colors, but Duarte and Trejo (and even Singh) have some great arguments in their favor. The book shows their hypocrisy, but also how in the grand scheme they might be right. It takes a big combination of morals and stakes for me to respect them for killing a main character I liked and identified with, and think they maybe did the right thing. The constant juxtaposition of short-term and long-term ethics (killing Singh is worth it to avoid setting off centuries of hatred) works really well.

It's also the first book to have real tension within the crew, and that feels like it was well overdue. The timelapse was fine; the “Empire Strikes Back” ending with Holden captured works well. Sometimes, the “bad” guys have a lot more advanced weapons than you, some good arguments, and you can't really beat them. In most plots, the protagonists find some clever workaround. Here, the bad guys overcame some mistakes, killed a main character, captured the hero, and are looking like the powerhouse they are. I respect it.

I also really liked the display of both of the Martian views on the Laconians: Alex thinks they're all traitors and should die, while Bobby's dismayed sadness and “there but for the grace of God would have been me.” Both have merit and are very understandable. A really good job of showing how The Expanse refuses to have a monolithic view on most complex topics. Would have been really easy for it to be a one-note viewpoint.

Executive Summary: After a slow start it finished really strong but wasn't quite as enjoyable as the last two were for me. 4.5 Stars.

Audiobook: Jefferson Mays once again does a good job. He does a few voices, but mostly he's just a solid narrator who is easy to understand and reads with good volume and inflection.

Full Review
Well I had no idea there was going to be a 30 year time jump. I was initially upset about it, but as the book went on I see why they did it. In order to tell the story they wanted to without dragging things out, it was necessary. I do hope they decide to do some extra books/novellas that covers some of that time.

Bobbie is one of my favorite characters, so I was really happy she was one of the main POVs in this book. I didn't think it was possible to lover her more, but she proved me wrong with this book. I thought Singh made for an interesting antagonist, but was my least favorite POV. Drummer was mostly fine. There is one particular detail that made me enjoy her chapters more than I might have otherwise. Holden is still Holden.

I thought the start of this book was a bit slow. It's possible a lot of it was my shock at the time jump and wondering what might have happened to characters I loved in that time. It might just be that the two new POV characters didn't really pull me into their stories as much. As the book went on however things really picked up.

This book does a lot to set up the final two books. I think that combined with the slower start made this book not quite as good as the last two for me. It was still a really enjoyable book though, and now I have to eagerly wait for the next book to see what happens next.

I wasn't immediately gripped by this one as I have been by all the other books in the series. You immediately find that there has been a time jump between the last book and this one and I thought it would change too much of my beloved characters. I was wrong.

The greater story at this point, the part of the plot with universe shifting elements, was the most intense and surprising aspect. I really really loved the ending of the book and the direction we are left facing. But I felt like I was missing character work. I adore the interactions between the Roci's crew and I didn't get as much time as I'd like watching the new interactions.

Another improvement over the previous entry. The time jump didn't bother me at all like it did for some other reviewers. There is very little that makes the time jump apparent. The author just tells us the crew is older and they ache some and they have grey hair. But beyond that, its still the same crew. More action in this book than previous two and the space fascist bad guys are interesting. I have high hopes for the final two books in the series.