Paperback, 624 pages
English language
Published June 26, 2012 by Orbit Books.
We are not alone. On Ganymede, breadbasket of the outer planets, a Martian marine watches as her platoon is slaughtered by a monstrous supersoldier. On Earth, a high-level politician struggles to prevent interplanetary war from reigniting. And on Venus, an alien protomolecule has overrun the planet, wreaking massive, mysterious changes and threatening to spread out into the solar system.
In the vast wilderness of space, James Holden and the crew of the Rocinante have been keeping the peace for the Outer Planets Alliance. When they agree to help a scientist search war-torn Ganymede for a missing child, the future of humanity rests on whether a single ship can prevent an alien invasion that may have already begun...
The Expanse, by way of "Caliban's War" continues apace. It is Space Opera for the 21st Century, and Chrisjen Avasarala is my new fucking spirit animal!
As you can see by my score, this was a great book. If you've read the first book in the series, you absolutely must read this one. It's better!
The story continues where Leviathan Wakes concluded. Something alien has crashed onto Venus and Earth, Mars and the belt are ready for war among themselves. In this confusing and chaotic time, people are trying to take advantage of the situation and risking the entirety of mankind for monetary gain.
Of course, James Holden and his crew are ready and willing to save us all.
With Miller gone, the book introduces us to a few new characters. The main one being Avasarala, a powerful politician that, as it turns out, doesn't have as much power as she thought she had.
Much improved compared to the first book of the series, simply for the reason that there's finally more PoVs than frigging James Holden, the shining knight of the Expanse so far. I far preferred the new characters, especially Bobbie and Avarasala. The latter is far more interesting than the watered down version in the TV show.
As far as the plot goes, it definitely thickens. However the book feels too long and a bit dull in parts. Though it definitely goes out with a bang of a cliffhanger.
What do I need to do to get less Holden and maybe Amos or even better Naomi as PoV?
enjoyed it.
Dans ce deuxième tome, la première partie qui voit Ganymede dévastée par la fameuse protomolécule est difficilement soutenable part ce qu'elle rappelle de toutes les guerres civiles terrestres avec leurs cortèges de réfugiés, et ce fameux effet de cascade théorisé par l'un des personnages. La seconde, sans être plus joyeuse, apporte toutefois la satisfaction d'une résolution au moins partielle d'une phase de cette guerre extra-terrestre.
Heureusement, ce récit très sombre est soulagé par des personnages parfaitement campés, et une action menée dans temps mort à travers tout le système solaire. Qui plus est, la façon dont est extrapolée cette civilisation interplanétaire depuis notre monde actuel me paraît vraiment bien pensée.
Une bonne lecture donc. Il faut espérer que la suite garde le même niveau, et que l'adaptation visuelle ne dénature pas le récit.
Like the first book, this is very much a fast paced book that seems perfectly written for TV. This book is similar in scope to the last one and should not be read without first reading Leviathan Wakes as you will not understand some aspects of the story without it. In this particular book I did feel like the ending wasn't quite as big of a build up/resolution as the first, but still a good continuation of the story started in book one.
The thing I most appreciate about this book was that it is obviously furthering the story, but it contains an excellent self-contained story as well. You get done feeling satisfied, not upset because all it did was get you prepared for the next book.
