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timmytunter's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
bergha1998's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
This series has the most interesting plot concept I’ve read in awhile. And I’m slowly falling more and more in love with the characters. The best part is that I have no idea where it’s going.
Sci-Fi, Found Family
Sci-Fi, Found Family
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Xenophobia, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Murder, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Child abuse and Rape
ippoteq's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Not as good as the first one, but still an enjoyable read. It felt like there was a rush in the last 100 pages to wrap everything neatly together - they left concluding the action to so late in the book that I assumed Abbadon's Gate was going to be a "part 2" to Caliban's War. But they found a way to cram all that climax in a very small amount of pages. Doesn't hold a candle to Leviathan Wakes in my eyes, but Bobbie and Avasarala make up for the ambling plot brought about by the time dedicated to their introduction. Looking forward to seeing how Abbadon's shapes up against this one!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror and Violence
Minor: Child abuse and Sexual content
alisonvh's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I loved this book so much! I loved getting to hang out with the characters from Leviathan’s Wake, and I loved the new characters they introduced. I appreciated how adept they were at world building, action sequences, political power play, and relationship drama. Most writers can only do one really well, sometimes two. I suspect these books benefit from having two writers working really well together as one author.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Gun violence, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Murder, and War
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Incest, and Sexual violence
bickleyhouse's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
This is the second book in the series of The Expanse, written by Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck, under the pseudonym James S.A. Corey. Just like its predecessor, this 600 page book doesn't feel that long. Granted, there is a blank page between most of the chapters but that only accounts for just over fifty of the pages. What I'm saying is that this book reads fast. It holds my interest and it, for the most part, doesn't dawdle.
I love this series, so far. I've seen several seasons of the TV show, so I'm still playing catch-up with the books, but they seem to have followed the story fairly closely in the show. I will say that I like Amos a lot more in the books than I do in the TV show.
In this book, we are introduced to Sargeant Roberta Draper, who likes to be called "Bobbi" or "Gunny." She is a Martian soldier, and she is huge, compared to Earthers. At the beginning of the story, she and her squad mates are faced with a monster that is composed of the protomolecule that James Holden and company faced on Eros in the first book. Bobbie Draper is the only survivor. She winds up meeting the assistant to the undersecretary of executive administration of the UN, Chrisjen Avasarala. I absolutely love this character. I liked her in the TV show (I think she was perfectly cast), and I like her even more in the books.
We are also dealing with a situation on Ganymede, where a doctor's child (Mei) has been kidnapped because of an immunity disorder that she has. A number of other children were kidnapped, as well. Her father, Praxidike (we just call him Prax), is looking for her, and hires Holden and company to help him.
That's as far into the plot as I will go, here. But the writing continues to be engaging, and, as I said, it doesn't feel like a 600 page book at all. These guys have done a marvelous job of crafting a great science fiction story. I look forward to reading more.
There is some great humor in this story, as well. The interactions between the characters makes me laugh frequently, especially when we are focused on James Holden, Naomi, Alex (the pilot) and Amos. The banter between them is reminiscent of the banter that flows between the Soobs on Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
There is one thing I may have missed, though. I don't get the reference to the title. Who, or what, is Caliban?? It's very possible I just glossed over it, while reading.
I recommend this book, this series, to any lover of planetary science fiction.
I love this series, so far. I've seen several seasons of the TV show, so I'm still playing catch-up with the books, but they seem to have followed the story fairly closely in the show. I will say that I like Amos a lot more in the books than I do in the TV show.
In this book, we are introduced to Sargeant Roberta Draper, who likes to be called "Bobbi" or "Gunny." She is a Martian soldier, and she is huge, compared to Earthers. At the beginning of the story, she and her squad mates are faced with a monster that is composed of the protomolecule that James Holden and company faced on Eros in the first book. Bobbie Draper is the only survivor. She winds up meeting the assistant to the undersecretary of executive administration of the UN, Chrisjen Avasarala. I absolutely love this character. I liked her in the TV show (I think she was perfectly cast), and I like her even more in the books.
We are also dealing with a situation on Ganymede, where a doctor's child (Mei) has been kidnapped because of an immunity disorder that she has. A number of other children were kidnapped, as well. Her father, Praxidike (we just call him Prax), is looking for her, and hires Holden and company to help him.
That's as far into the plot as I will go, here. But the writing continues to be engaging, and, as I said, it doesn't feel like a 600 page book at all. These guys have done a marvelous job of crafting a great science fiction story. I look forward to reading more.
There is some great humor in this story, as well. The interactions between the characters makes me laugh frequently, especially when we are focused on James Holden, Naomi, Alex (the pilot) and Amos. The banter between them is reminiscent of the banter that flows between the Soobs on Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
There is one thing I may have missed, though. I don't get the reference to the title. Who, or what, is Caliban?? It's very possible I just glossed over it, while reading.
I recommend this book, this series, to any lover of planetary science fiction.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Cursing and Sexual content
arkane's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and War
cursed10fold's review
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence and War
Minor: Body horror
anntharai's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Okay so hear me out - book 1 is a *better book* than book 2, but I *enjoyed* book 2 more. That fckn cliffhanger tho.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic
geekmom's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
4.0
A well-paced and engaging read! These guys don’t have a clue how to write women but this is easy to just laugh at and ignore because the story is so interesting (and kudos to them for including so many women at all and for giving them meaningful roles in the story!)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Gun violence, Violence, Kidnapping, and War
cosmopsis's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Violence, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Ableism