The gates have opened the way to thousands of habitable planets, and the land rush has begun. Settlers stream out from humanity's home planets in a vast, poorly controlled flood, landing on a new world. Among them, the Rocinante, haunted by the vast, posthuman network of the protomolecule as they investigate what destroyed the great intergalactic society that built the gates and the protomolecule.
But Holden and his crew must also contend with the growing tensions between the settlers and the company which owns the official claim to the planet. Both sides will stop at nothing to defend what's theirs, but soon a terrible disease strikes and only Holden - with help from the ghostly Detective Miller - can find the cure.
Title : Cibola Burn
Author : James S. A. Corey
Series : The Expanse (book four)
Format : eBook
Page Count : 581
Genre : sci-fi
Publisher : Orbit
Release Date : June 17, 2014
Reviewer : Hollis
Rating : ★ ★ ★ ★
Hollis' 4 star review
This here is turning into a b i n g e, folks. Oh me oh my. I am not mad at it, either. I've been living my best life with various space-y soundtracks playing in the background as my brain is transported into other worlds with, well, sadly some of the same problems of our own. But also different ones, too.
So much of this book felt true to season four of the adaptation except, what I started noticing in book three and was reinforced by this instalment, too, is what a bigger role they gave Chrisjen in the show vs the books. I love how they give her a bigger presence in the show because she, and the woman who plays her, are a powerhouse. Bobbie, too. Actually, all the women? We do get a lot of page time with a variety of strong female characters but I like that the show makes even more room for them. Plus, y'know, the creation of Drummer; the ultimate.
One day these reviews won't devolve into talk about the show. But today is not that day. Also let's get back to the book itself..
Anyway, I had another great time with this instalment. We see poor Holden and the crew gets pulled into another misadventure where they are the only ones barely holding things together and encountering dozens more close-calls. But a certain investigator, RIP, also plays a large role in this story and.. I think.. maybe that's the last we see of him? I'll be sad if that's the case but I do think this was maybe the turning point on the whole protomolecule storyline that kicked everything off. Hard to believe how much has happened both politically and personally and, well, humanity-wise since this story began. Yes, it's still about the societal clashes and politics but now, with the ability to travel beyond the known solar system, with alien artifacts and technology and dead worlds without explanation, it's all that and more.
One thing, similar to last time, that did weigh this down for me was yet another POV I felt initially ambivalent towards and then quickly annoyed by. And she didn't get more fun once she got rid of her rose-coloured glasses, either. I would be okay putting up with her existence in future books but I really hope we don't get stuck in her head again; crush or no crush.
I have an idea, again based on the show, as to what comes next and I've actually picked up on the bit of foreshadowing that the authors did to lay the tiiiiniest bit of groundwork for it. And I am pumped. Give me the juicy emotional drama. And, of course, more space and aliens and Roci crew time. I am strapped in and ready to go.
No comments:
Post a Comment