Caliban’s War (Expanse, #2)
by James S.A. Corey (Goodreads Author), Jefferson Mays (Narrator)
My Expanse re-read. I thoroughly enjoyed Avasarala, she is precious. She makes the book for me.
“Well, you’ve got a full load of torpedoes and bullets, three Martian warships trailing you, one angry old lady in tea withdrawal, and a Martian Marine who could probably kill you with your own teeth.“
Plenty of potty-mouth, several laughing-out-loud moments. And then there is Bobbie Draper, our second, great addition. The crew comes together, life on the Rocinante takes shape.
I had forgotten about Holden‘s suggestion of a group marriage as an option for shared ownership of the Roci. I wish the authors had taken the story in that direction, I think that could have added a really interesting angle.
In retrospect this feels like a middle book, adding just a little detail to the overarching plot and leading up to the larger events taking place in the next books.
1st read, audio, September 2017:
The continuation of Leviathan Wakes. Holden and his team work for the OPA and it just doesn’t feel right. They stumble across the proto-molecule again and get themselves a new search-and-rescue mission. And we get to meet three great, new characters. Two of those I hope we’ll meet again in further books: Bobbie Draper, the marine, and Chrisjen Avasarala, the kick-ass UN politician.
The story was entertaining, the world building excellent, the characters mostly well developed. There were some plot points that I found confusing and not clear, but that might have been due to me getting distracted whilst listening to the audiobook.
Good, solid storytelling, not the most inventive plot. Not as great as Leviathan Wakes, which was one of the best reads of my year so far. The cliffhanger at the end wasn’t exactly mind boggling. I had wondered all along, when he would show up again. What caught my attention, but was never mentioned again—Holden’s suggestion that they all get married to own the Rocinante together. I hope we’ll get back to that in the next book. I wouldn’t mind seeing the personal relationships between the Rocinante crew developed more fully.
Cathy's Reading Bonanza 