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bibliocat's review
- 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
Besides the grand sweep of the space opera over far flung distances in the galaxy, connected by the Ring Gate system , we have the found family of the independent ship Rocinante finally all back together again. This was the good part of the book. Happiness is never meant to last, though...We've got a war going on against vengeful non-corporeal aliens who hate us for some unclear reason, and they are slowing figuring out how to intrude into our normal space to destroy everyone.
One human has a plan to stop this. The man who would be God Emperor of Humanity, Winston Duarte, the former High Consul of Laconia, seems to have come back to himself after spending most of Book 8 catatonic and transforming due to experiments of grafting the Protomolocule into himself to reach this God-like status. So, what does he do? He disappears.
We now have our main antagonist, Laconian Colonel Aliana Tanaka charged to find him, and we spend most of the book with her hunting Duarte's daughter, Teresa as the best bet to get to him. Tanaka is a dangerous woman. She's sharp, determined, and very ruthless. We are not meant to like her much at all.
Teresa has been apprenticed on the Rocinante as a mechanic for a year or so now, which was the only way she was going to get off Laconia and not be used as a pawn or figurehead in keeping the Empire together.
So here's one of the weird parts: Duarte's plan to beat the non-corporeal aliens that have already destroyed the Builders of the protomolecule is to
Where it tripped up for me, is that The God Emperor never really did much of anything in the last 2 books, but is still supposed to be the most powerful man alive. We never really get his thoughts or point of view. I felt so bad for Teresa at the end of the books, seeing what happened to the father she loved, and she was not going to be able to reach him emotionally or physically.
The other weird part that bothered me is the voices of the Roci crew just didn't seem to be the same. Naomi especially. As a peaceful person, she had to be the "admiral" of the resistance navy. Her relationship with Jim Holden after getting him back from Laconia just wasn't the same, either.
The exception to this was Amos Burton, the mechanic. I think the authors LOVE writing him, because he still seemed to be so similar to what he was in the earlier books, despite the profound changes that happened to him over the last 2 books. And Amos fans will be happy with the end of the story.
And Holden, well....he does something so Holden-like to resolve the plot. He's the one that had to go pressing all the buttons to set everything in motion back in, I think it was Book 2. When he got the vision of what happened to the Protomolecule Builders. He did something similar now, and I just knew what was going to happen
I haven't read all the reviews, but I got a feeling there was a lot of disappointment from fans in how it ended. I need to see if the Tightbeam Podcast did an episode on this.
It was definitely an entertaining ride going through these nine books. I would have liked a somewhat happier ending, though.
Graphic: Violence, Death of parent, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body horror
Minor: Child abuse
ktkeps's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, Grief, War, and Injury/Injury detail
hobbithopeful's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Wow. Just wow. It's really hard to describe the feeling when you finally finish a 9 book series that you've read over the years. I can't believe the stories of these characters are over.
I really wish this book hadn't ended, I feel like I had so many questions, or I just wanted to spend more time with characters that I had grown to know and love. When the next page was the epilogue I was like "Wait what?" I wanted to see more of what happened after
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Blood, Grief, War, and Injury/Injury detail
iono's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Graphic: Gore, Gun violence, Violence, and Death of parent
Moderate: Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Drug use, Physical abuse, Sexual content, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Confinement and Kidnapping
kerttuli's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, and Violence
Moderate: Body horror, Death of parent, and War
Minor: Confinement, Drug abuse, and Sexual content
laurajeangrace's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Gore, Gun violence, Violence, Medical content, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Child death, Death, Death of parent, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Confinement, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Torture
wonderworm's review
- 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
5.0
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders and Violence
ominousevent's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body horror, Mental illness, and War
Minor: Drug use and Sexual content
alanaefarrell's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Violence
Minor: Sexual violence
elzbethmrgn's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, and Violence