eBook, 591 pages
English language
Published June 17, 2014 by Orbit.
Enter a new frontier. "An empty apartment, a missing family, that's creepy. But this is like finding a military base with no one on it. Fighters and tanks idling on the runway with no drivers. This is bad juju. Something wrong happened here. What you should do is tell everyone to leave."
The gates have opened the way to a thousand new worlds and the rush to colonize has begun. Settlers looking for a new life stream out from humanity's home planets. Ilus, the first human colony on this vast new frontier, is being born in blood and fire.
Independent settlers stand against the overwhelming power of a corporate colony ship with only their determination, courage, and the skills learned in the long wars of home. Innocent scientists are slaughtered as they try to survey a new and alien world. The struggle on Ilus threatens to spread …
Enter a new frontier. "An empty apartment, a missing family, that's creepy. But this is like finding a military base with no one on it. Fighters and tanks idling on the runway with no drivers. This is bad juju. Something wrong happened here. What you should do is tell everyone to leave."
The gates have opened the way to a thousand new worlds and the rush to colonize has begun. Settlers looking for a new life stream out from humanity's home planets. Ilus, the first human colony on this vast new frontier, is being born in blood and fire.
Independent settlers stand against the overwhelming power of a corporate colony ship with only their determination, courage, and the skills learned in the long wars of home. Innocent scientists are slaughtered as they try to survey a new and alien world. The struggle on Ilus threatens to spread all the way back to Earth.
James Holden and the crew of his one small ship are sent to make peace in the midst of war and sense in the midst of chaos. But the more he looks at it, the more Holden thinks the mission was meant to fail.
And the whispers of a dead man remind him that the great galactic civilization that once stood on this land is gone. And that something killed it.
The characterization and dialog continues unabashed. This really is turning out to be the space opera story I've wanted since childhood.
The characterization and dialog continues unabashed. This really is turning out to be the space opera story I've wanted since childhood.
As with every book from The Expanse that I have read before this one, the authors do a great job of imagining a possible future for humanity and to take those premises to places that feel extremely plausible.
Also, murder mystery on a galactic scale, which is always nice. Looking forward to the next one!
To tell the truth, I was saddened to see the Expanse universe expanded beyond our minuscule solar system. I really loved the limited scope of the first books, where you had people trying to fight a vast incomprehensible menace when they could hardly manage their own system.
But this book has pacified me a bit. The colonists in this story are limited as well; in fact, this one's even more limited than the first books were. I like that. It gives me hope that this series won't end up with humanity being a huge advanced civilization akin to the very one they're trying to find/investigate.
(spoiler for 2001: a Space Odyssey) That's possibly the only thing I didn't like about the 2001 book (the movie was terrible in regards to explaining things to the viewer, so I'll pretend it didn't exist): the transcendence of humanity. I get that the whole …
To tell the truth, I was saddened to see the Expanse universe expanded beyond our minuscule solar system. I really loved the limited scope of the first books, where you had people trying to fight a vast incomprehensible menace when they could hardly manage their own system.
But this book has pacified me a bit. The colonists in this story are limited as well; in fact, this one's even more limited than the first books were. I like that. It gives me hope that this series won't end up with humanity being a huge advanced civilization akin to the very one they're trying to find/investigate.
(spoiler for 2001: a Space Odyssey) That's possibly the only thing I didn't like about the 2001 book (the movie was terrible in regards to explaining things to the viewer, so I'll pretend it didn't exist): the transcendence of humanity. I get that the whole point was showing the development of humans from apes into extremely wise seemingly omniscient beings, but it didn't work for me. I would much rather have had humanity see these other beings and decide that they could handle things on their own. I always doubt it when an entire civilization, or even a tiny subset, can somehow put aside everything that's wrong with them.
Dans ce roman, james Holden et ses potes sont envoyés à travers "la porte des étoiles" pour désamorcer une situation qui vire à l'eau de boudin sur la première planète extra-terrestre que tente de conquérir l'humanité.
Je trouvais cette série remplie de défauts, au premier lieu duquel le côté page turner construit à l'américaine, suivi immédiatement par des personnages et des situations parfois téléphonées.
Dans ce tome, je dois bien reconnaître que ces défauts s'atténuent, alors que le propos n'est globalement pas moins noir. On trouve en effet ici du terrorisme DES LE DEBUT, mêlé à une inquiétante réinterprétation du mythe américain de la frontière, où la loi du plus fort peut s'exprimer. Tout ça n'est pas vraiment porteur d'espoir (voir pas du tout en fait). Mais je dois bien reconnaître l'habileté de la mise en situation, associée à un choix des voix dans ce roman choral particulièrement bien trouvé.
…
Dans ce roman, james Holden et ses potes sont envoyés à travers "la porte des étoiles" pour désamorcer une situation qui vire à l'eau de boudin sur la première planète extra-terrestre que tente de conquérir l'humanité.
Je trouvais cette série remplie de défauts, au premier lieu duquel le côté page turner construit à l'américaine, suivi immédiatement par des personnages et des situations parfois téléphonées.
Dans ce tome, je dois bien reconnaître que ces défauts s'atténuent, alors que le propos n'est globalement pas moins noir. On trouve en effet ici du terrorisme DES LE DEBUT, mêlé à une inquiétante réinterprétation du mythe américain de la frontière, où la loi du plus fort peut s'exprimer. Tout ça n'est pas vraiment porteur d'espoir (voir pas du tout en fait). Mais je dois bien reconnaître l'habileté de la mise en situation, associée à un choix des voix dans ce roman choral particulièrement bien trouvé.
C'est d'ailleurs tout l'intérêt de cette construction : permettre à de nouvelles voix de s'exprimer quand les personnages sont en train de pivoter. Parce qu'à part Holden, qui est un peu la boussole morale du bazar, les différents narrateurs évoluent tous énormément dans ce roman, et dans l'ensemble vont vers le bien. Et ça, ça me plaît !
Ca en fait un tome un peu meilleur que ses prédécesseurs, je trouve. Et une lecture très agréable, à défaut de plus ...
not bad. i should have paused after every book of "the expanse" series.
not bad. i should have paused after every book of "the expanse" series.
I should be used to the glacial pacing of The Expanse. The author team is very consistent in this, as displayed in the fourth book of the series, Cibola Burn. If Abbadon Gates was like an airplane crash disaster movie from the 70s, Cibola Burn moves into post-apocalyptic disasters in a way.
The Expanse so far is dealing with two different storylines. There's the protomolecule that was created by a mysterious race that turns out to be extinct now, and which has left various technological wonders like the Ring behind. Then there's the conflict of the three factions in the solar system: Earth, Mars and the Outer Planets Alliance. This conflict reaches for the stars, as a bunch of squatters from the OPA colonize the first ever planet outside of the solar system through the ring, Illus. But at the same time, an Earth energy company chooses this planet to …
I should be used to the glacial pacing of The Expanse. The author team is very consistent in this, as displayed in the fourth book of the series, Cibola Burn. If Abbadon Gates was like an airplane crash disaster movie from the 70s, Cibola Burn moves into post-apocalyptic disasters in a way.
The Expanse so far is dealing with two different storylines. There's the protomolecule that was created by a mysterious race that turns out to be extinct now, and which has left various technological wonders like the Ring behind. Then there's the conflict of the three factions in the solar system: Earth, Mars and the Outer Planets Alliance. This conflict reaches for the stars, as a bunch of squatters from the OPA colonize the first ever planet outside of the solar system through the ring, Illus. But at the same time, an Earth energy company chooses this planet to claim it, and conflict abounds between those two factions throughout the novel.
James Holden of all people is sent to mediate between the two parties, and doesn't really succeed at first, until natural disaster strikes, and he starts investigating the defense grid of the ancestor race of the protomolecule to save them all.
The last 20% of the book had the usual frantic pacing and excitement that I am used to, and again it made me wish that everything that came before was cut down by quite a bit.
But alas, this is why the Expanse books are great, but not absolutely outstanding, IMHO.
I'm a fan of the Expanse series. The books typically have a sweeping, high-stakes story arc with memorable characters and epic, movie-ready scenes. The realistic details of space travel (inertia, false gravity, etc.) alone give this series a special place on my shelf. And I have to admit, the fantastic TV adaptation now in its second season on SyFy causes me to view past reading experiences of the series with rose colored glasses (they couldn't have cast the show better).
But now for a break from our regularly scheduled programming. The crew of the Rocinante enter our story for very contrived reasons and are essentially the only good thing about the book. While Captain Holden and co have some great moments amidst the drudgery of the main plot line, it doesn't entirely make up for the uninteresting new POV characters, mundane little bites of crisis and boring obstacle, and generally …
I'm a fan of the Expanse series. The books typically have a sweeping, high-stakes story arc with memorable characters and epic, movie-ready scenes. The realistic details of space travel (inertia, false gravity, etc.) alone give this series a special place on my shelf. And I have to admit, the fantastic TV adaptation now in its second season on SyFy causes me to view past reading experiences of the series with rose colored glasses (they couldn't have cast the show better).
But now for a break from our regularly scheduled programming. The crew of the Rocinante enter our story for very contrived reasons and are essentially the only good thing about the book. While Captain Holden and co have some great moments amidst the drudgery of the main plot line, it doesn't entirely make up for the uninteresting new POV characters, mundane little bites of crisis and boring obstacle, and generally forgettable events. I wonder if the authors regret doing huge, intense story lines before that have apparently become tough acts to follow. I'm personally glad this book came after more solid entries in the series, as it makes it easier to forgive and move on to (or wait for) the next.
In addition to our main characters from the previous books being wonderful as always, large swaths of redemption flow from the interludes and afterword. They remind the reader there's more to the Expanse universe than this strange bad luck, low stakes side tour.
3.5 stars under a normal rating system (it was a fine book with some high points here and there) but 2.5 under Goodreads' inflated system. Rounding that 2.5 to a 3 because of an old character who got to make some big appearances.
Good continuation of the series. Nothing special, you deal with someone pining over Holden for a large part of the book, but still pretty good. Not sure, but might think they are running out of ideas and ways to resolve the conflict. We'll see.
Good continuation of the series. Nothing special, you deal with someone pining over Holden for a large part of the book, but still pretty good. Not sure, but might think they are running out of ideas and ways to resolve the conflict. We'll see.
