Books: Tiamat's Wrath by James S. A. Corey (2019)

As mentioned last time, there was a thirty year time jump between 2016’s Babylon Ashes and 2017’s Persepolis Rising, which was designed as a kick-off for the endgame of this series. With Tiamat’s Wrath, the penultimate installment of The Expanse, authors Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck (collectively known as James S.A. Corey) put the crew of the Rocinante into more danger as they face challenges from old enemies and new threats that lie within ring-gates themselves.

Good or bad (as Doctor Who has made this part of its formula), for this eighth volume, the crew of the Rocinante are separated, with Holden still on Laconia as he was at the end of the previous novel. Naomi Nagata is hiding in shipping containers trying to coordinate a resistance; former Martian Marine Bobbie Draper and pilot Alex Kamal are plotting strikes against Laconian forces; mechanic Amos Burton is missing in action, somewhere deep within enemy territory. And Chrisjen Avasarala has died (which is literally the first sentence of the book), which may be the saddest thing to read. Then there is Laconia’s leader, Winston Duarte, who has made himself immortal by some of technological advances discovered by ring-gate aliens. He has some lofty goals for humanity, after proclaiming himself to be the High Consul of the Laconian Empire. He and his forces took control of the home solar system, and established a new regime to oversee the colonized systems.  But one thing has become clear: he is convinced that the aliens who killed off the aliens who made the ring-gates are now trying to shut off the whole Sol system, and in typical military response, launches a few first strikes at them. But things don’t go as plan, and things happen that will probably take full measure in book nine.

Still, Tiamat’s Wrath has a lot to set up before the last book comes out (but I’m also thinking that while there will be a ninth and final book in The Expanse series, I think the authors will continue it in some form). In doing so, there is not much that actually really goes on, beyond a lot of introspective thoughts and feelings about leadership and whatnot. In many ways, this makes the book less of a compelling read, as the action is a bit wildly spaced and the reunion of the main characters takes us well over 500 pages to happen. And then it ends.

Also, as much as I continue to roll my eyes at authors approach to making the villains so over-the-top, this is still a wonderful series and look forward to see how it all ends.

Books: Persepolis Rising by James S. A. Corey (2017)

“In the thousand-sun network of humanity's expansion, new colony worlds are struggling to find their way. Every new planet lives on a knife edge between collapse and wonder, and the crew of the aging gunship Rocinante have their hands more than full keeping the fragile peace. In the vast space between Earth and Jupiter, the inner planets and belt have formed a tentative and uncertain alliance still haunted by a history of wars and prejudices. On the lost colony world of Laconia, a hidden enemy has a new vision for all of humanity and the power to enforce it. New technologies clash with old as the history of human conflict returns to its ancient patterns of war and subjugation. But human nature is not the only enemy, and the forces being unleashed have their own price. A price that will change the shape of humanity -and of the Rocinante- unexpectedly and forever.”

With Persepolis Rising, author James S. A. Corey (Ty Franck and Daniel Abraham) begins The Expanse endgame. There is a significant time jump from the last book, Babylon Ashes, and now it’s been thirty years since the events of the first book, Leviathan Wakes. While the six previous books formed an overreaching arc through two sets of trilogies, the issues that began the series –the battle between Earth, Mars, and the ‘Belters- have come to a somewhat of an equilibrium here. OPA, the Belter’s dominant political faction, has transformed into the legitimate Transportation Union, which helps supply 1,300 human-colonized planets across the galaxy. Earth and Mars have put aside their adversarial relationship to form the Earth-Mars Coalition, and protagonist James Holden and the crew of the Rocinante is still doing the odd jobs required of them.

The final trilogy begins with return of an empire called Laconia, originally formed by a group of Martians who abandoned the solar system mentioned in earlier books. Laconia has thrived in the three decades hence, under the leadership of the immortal High Counsel Duarte and has become brutal and has acquired some technology advanced ships and weapons. Duarte’s goal is pretty simple: dispatch a fleet back through gate system and take over Medina Station that controls those gates, which will plunge the Sol system into another conflict that they may not be able to recover from.

This is perhaps the most fast-paced book of the current seven book series, moving swiftly between events and introducing new characters. I was taken back, at first, with the narrative time-jump, but a lot makes sense considering that the authors are moving towards a conclusion. We see Holden and his crew aging (with James and Naomi beginning the process of retirement), and seeing that there can be a tenuous relationship between all the factions that once kind of hated each other. 

We also get a deeper understanding of the protomolecule, which for long stretches of this series, was never truly explained. The villains, Duarte and Santiago Singh, are less cartoonish this time around and the authors make it clear that Singh is very conflicted –he believes that everyone can live under Laconia rule, even if some must die. It’ll be interesting to see what direction Duarte goes in with the next two books.

Books: Star Wars: Honor Among Thieves by James S. A. Corey (2014)

“When the mission is to extract a high-level rebel spy from the very heart of the Empire, Leia Organa knows the best man for the job is Han Solo—something the princess and the smuggler can finally agree on. After all, for a guy who broke into an Imperial cell block and helped destroy the Death Star, the assignment sounds simple enough. But when Han locates the brash rebel agent, Scarlet Hark, she’s determined to stay behind enemy lines. A pirate plans to sell a cache of stolen secrets that the Empire would destroy entire worlds to protect—including the planet where Leia is currently meeting with rebel sympathizers. Scarlet wants to track down the thief and steal the bounty herself, and Han has no choice but to go along if he’s to keep everyone involved from getting themselves killed. From teeming city streets to a lethal jungle to a trap-filled alien temple, Han, Chewbacca, Leia, and their daring new comrade confront one ambush, double cross, and firestorm after another as they try to keep crucial intel out of Imperial hands.”

Like most all other novels in any long running franchise, some are good, some are weak. Some have strong stories, while others just seem to cruise by on just the familiarity of the characters -which seems designed to cover some the tales inherent weaknesses. For me, Honor Among Thieves -a Han Solo focused tale- gives us a simple, yet interesting story, set just a short time after the events of A New Hope, but author James S. A. Corey (The Expanse writers Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck) is able to capture the characters so well, you can forgive him for such a silly premise. 

The book is witty and well paced, but here Han Solo gets more depth and complexity than the even the first film in the franchise could provide. He’s still a rogue, still unsure he wants to be involved with the rebellion, but he can see that his old life, that free-wheeling, smuggler’s blues world of shadows and tenuous freedom, is over. 

I would also say this book is a great one to read if you don’t read Star Wars novels all the time –or at all. Another words, even as this book falls out the new canonicity (it was approved just around the time the deal was struck for Lucasfilm to be sold to Disney) and is stuck with the “LEGENDS” moniker, it still feels like it could easily fit into the New Expanded Universe. Plus, I super enjoy The Expanse series and it becomes even more clear that James Holden –the hero of that series- is inspired by Han Solo.

Books: Babylon's Ashes By James S.A. Corey (2016)

“The Free Navy – a violent group of Belters in black-market military ships – has crippled the Earth and begun a campaign of piracy and violence among the outer planets. The colony ships heading for the thousand new worlds on the far side of the alien ring gates are easy prey, and no single navy remains strong enough to protect them. James Holden and his crew know the strengths and weaknesses of this new force better than anyone. Outnumbered and outgunned, the embattled remnants of the old political powers call on the Rocinante for a desperate mission to reach Medina Station at the heart of the gate network. But the new alliances are as flawed as the old, and the struggle for power has only just begun. As the chaos grows, an alien mystery deepens. Pirate fleets, mutiny, and betrayal may be the least of the Rocinante’s problems. And in the uncanny spaces past the ring gates, the choices of a few damaged and desperate people may determine the fate of more than just humanity.”

I generally enjoy this series of books by James S.A. Corey (Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck), because it’s pure escapism and, at times, fun. The real science of space travel (and the magical realities created by the Star Trek and Star Wars franchise and other space operas become more evident) sometimes is difficult to slog through, but I enjoy the characters of the Rocinante because they’re three-dimensional. But the problem this book series has had is the villains are generally weak, mostly one-dimensional mustache twirlers. That includes Marcos Inaros, who appears to be a surrogate for a certain presidential-elect and comes across as a narcissistic sociopath who gained his power by convincing a lot of people that all their problems can be blamed on others. True, some with in his inner circle come to the conclusion that while the ‘Belters need representation between Earth, Mars, and the gates created by the protomolecule, Inaros is not the leader to make this happen, and break away, but it’s surprising (though maybe not) that many still follow him. Of course, like any good self-important leader, controlling the narrative is paramount. But maybe the point that the authors are trying to make is that not all bad guys are evil –they just do horrible things in pursuant of their goals. 

Meanwhile, as a general rule, what this series does well is having a self-contained story that concentrates on the human element rather than the alien. So while the last book went very dark with Inaros’ near destruction of Earth, with Babylon’s Ashes deals with the fallout –though indirectly. Most of the book delves much into what it is best at: political intrigue, military strategy, and the fight for survival in space –though it could also be an allegory for those struggling on Earth.

Also, this sixth volume in The Expanse series sort of feels like a conclusion to an arc and there is some obvious foreshadowing for future volumes. And while the protomolecule continues to be the series McGuffin, I do wonder if we’ll get any explanation of whom or what sent it to the sol system. While I’m sure the writers can come up a number of storylines that are analogies, metaphors, and parables to our modern life that can fill numerous other volumes, I wonder if we’ll still be here to read them once America’s new thinned skinned, self-important president is installed on January 20^th?