marytruillo's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
allanvdh's review against another edition
4.0
Still edge of seat stuff.
The story just gets more wild every time. Edge of your seat reading and more enthralling than a screenplay could ever be.
The characters keep evolving that you can now feel their thinking processes as described by the author and the book just pulls you further and further in.
The story just gets more wild every time. Edge of your seat reading and more enthralling than a screenplay could ever be.
The characters keep evolving that you can now feel their thinking processes as described by the author and the book just pulls you further and further in.
reka's review against another edition
4.5
flew through this one, but some of the plot lines are getting a tiny bit repetitive (not a complaint, I will be continuing the series for sure)
rutig3r's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
firedew's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
andystone's review against another edition
2.0
Definitely the low point in the Expanse series for me. The plot, characters, and "twist" all felt like a warm up for a deeper story. Even Miller's involvement could've shortened the entire plot to a ~150 page novella.
kailey_reads's review
adventurous
funny
mysterious
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
4.0
deb_entwistle's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
righteousridel's review
1.0
A Short Story Expanded to 500 Pages
Cibola Burn continues James Corey's experiment with new POV characters every novel, which means there's a chance that the new ones are boring. Additionally, the author decides to take an isolated colony plotline that's been done a thousand times by other science-fiction writers, and stretch out hundred pages of plot into five. The result is a slog through chapters of filler where nothing happens, people monologue and threaten but never act, and you find yourself wondering how you were ever entertained by these novels.
Let's start with the characters: they're shallow and one-dimensional. Prax had two qualities and they've been split into Basia and Elvi. The former is only a husband who is afraid for his children, full-stop. If he's going to say something, it's about saving his children. Similiarly, Elvi is only a scientist so wrapped in their own work that she'd probably forget to breathe. Her internal monologuing compares everything to biomes and resource competition. It's what a non-scientist thinks a scientist acts like. This is combined with a cringe-inducing subplot where most of her character growth comes from a literal climax.
Next: many readers complain that Cibola Burn feels like filler. That's because of the plot. First, it's unimaginative. You could pull up an Age of Sail shipwreck story with the same basic plotline: shipwrecked humans at conflict on an isolated island. Add to that a flat and empty plain as your setting, and then provide our characters with nothing to do.
Our POV characters never take the initiative to resolve any of the problems they're faced with (with the exception of Basia's first chapter). Things just 'happen' and our characters respond to external stimulae. Even Jim Holden arrives at humanity's first extra-solar colony to solve internecine conflict, but has no plan other than "sit down and talk to people in a cafeteria." The real main character is Murtry, whose actions drive much of the plot but is not a POV.
In the past, whatever its faults, I was entertained by the Expanse. This time, I'm skimming pages looking for the plot. There's nothing redeeming here. Read the last chapter as the prologue to Book 5.
Not recommended.
There's some literary techniques being used in this that I really detest, all of which bulk up the page count and make the book feel more like filler. There's a lot of re-explaining things of the Expanse-universe, such as what the protomolecule did, Holden's history with it, and just basic stuff like why Belters gesture with their hands. Slightly more irritating are POVs that go backwards in time. For example, Basia blows up the landing pad and damages the shuttle, and then the next chapter is Elvi getting on the shuttle, meeting a bunch of redshirts, and then the shuttle gets damaged as the pad explodes. As soon as the story gets interesting, the author pumps the brakes. Characters will monologue about the moral hazards of defending themselves with lethal force in the middle of battles, bleeding off the tension and removing what little entertainment is available.
As well, Ilus seems to be the gathering point for a bunch of people who forgot that their countries were at war, that laws require enforcement, and are totally ignorant to the history of colonization. Everyone is simultaneously pessimistic, yet naive in their actions. The colonists don't trust any government, but show up on an extra-solar world with 200 bodies and 12 guns (allegedly). Really? You didn't expect the government to take your shit? And then when the government declared they would do that... your plan was... nothing?
I can't tell if this is a weakness to James Corey's worldbuilding, or just a failure to build realistic characters. A state of (cold) war exists between the major powers of human civilization, and yet we have unarmed colonists being evicted by woefully ill-prepared 'security consultants' of opposing powers. That the two sides didn't start with an exchange of missiles is honestly surprising, and the constant excuse of bad publicity is laughable given the isolation of these extra-solar colonies. Again, is it bad worldbuilding, or a lack of realism?
I guess I don't really care. This book has so little in it that I doubt any of its plot will ever show up again in the future.
Cibola Burn continues James Corey's experiment with new POV characters every novel, which means there's a chance that the new ones are boring. Additionally, the author decides to take an isolated colony plotline that's been done a thousand times by other science-fiction writers, and stretch out hundred pages of plot into five. The result is a slog through chapters of filler where nothing happens, people monologue and threaten but never act, and you find yourself wondering how you were ever entertained by these novels.
Let's start with the characters: they're shallow and one-dimensional. Prax had two qualities and they've been split into Basia and Elvi. The former is only a husband who is afraid for his children, full-stop. If he's going to say something, it's about saving his children. Similiarly, Elvi is only a scientist so wrapped in their own work that she'd probably forget to breathe. Her internal monologuing compares everything to biomes and resource competition. It's what a non-scientist thinks a scientist acts like. This is combined with a cringe-inducing subplot where most of her character growth comes from a literal climax.
Next: many readers complain that Cibola Burn feels like filler. That's because of the plot. First, it's unimaginative. You could pull up an Age of Sail shipwreck story with the same basic plotline: shipwrecked humans at conflict on an isolated island. Add to that a flat and empty plain as your setting, and then provide our characters with nothing to do.
Our POV characters never take the initiative to resolve any of the problems they're faced with (with the exception of Basia's first chapter). Things just 'happen' and our characters respond to external stimulae. Even Jim Holden arrives at humanity's first extra-solar colony to solve internecine conflict, but has no plan other than "sit down and talk to people in a cafeteria." The real main character is Murtry, whose actions drive much of the plot but is not a POV.
In the past, whatever its faults, I was entertained by the Expanse. This time, I'm skimming pages looking for the plot. There's nothing redeeming here. Read the last chapter as the prologue to Book 5.
Not recommended.
Spoiler
The following is in spoiler tags, and I say so since some Goodreads clients may not respect it. You've been warned:There's some literary techniques being used in this that I really detest, all of which bulk up the page count and make the book feel more like filler. There's a lot of re-explaining things of the Expanse-universe, such as what the protomolecule did, Holden's history with it, and just basic stuff like why Belters gesture with their hands. Slightly more irritating are POVs that go backwards in time. For example, Basia blows up the landing pad and damages the shuttle, and then the next chapter is Elvi getting on the shuttle, meeting a bunch of redshirts, and then the shuttle gets damaged as the pad explodes. As soon as the story gets interesting, the author pumps the brakes. Characters will monologue about the moral hazards of defending themselves with lethal force in the middle of battles, bleeding off the tension and removing what little entertainment is available.
As well, Ilus seems to be the gathering point for a bunch of people who forgot that their countries were at war, that laws require enforcement, and are totally ignorant to the history of colonization. Everyone is simultaneously pessimistic, yet naive in their actions. The colonists don't trust any government, but show up on an extra-solar world with 200 bodies and 12 guns (allegedly). Really? You didn't expect the government to take your shit? And then when the government declared they would do that... your plan was... nothing?
I can't tell if this is a weakness to James Corey's worldbuilding, or just a failure to build realistic characters. A state of (cold) war exists between the major powers of human civilization, and yet we have unarmed colonists being evicted by woefully ill-prepared 'security consultants' of opposing powers. That the two sides didn't start with an exchange of missiles is honestly surprising, and the constant excuse of bad publicity is laughable given the isolation of these extra-solar colonies. Again, is it bad worldbuilding, or a lack of realism?
I guess I don't really care. This book has so little in it that I doubt any of its plot will ever show up again in the future.
ommsetu's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0