James S. A. Corey

The more I read this, the less I enjoyed it. It started off very well — humanity expanded into the solar system; reasonable sci-fi elements; politics; mystery, horror, tension... But, boy it goes on too long, and the characters are just badly written. There's some eye-rollingly forced dialogue, particularly when the two protagonists meet and start doing a weird buddy-cop thing. Inconsistent characterisations; characters defined by people describing them. The vaguely realistic science gets abandoned at some point. The ending seems entirely implausible. It's not _awful_ but I can't imagine ever reading the next two books, whenever they come out. Ultimately, not ridiculously disappointing, but disappointingly ridiculous.… (mer)

James Holden, one out of the two main characters of the book, is an Earther and the second in command of the ship the Canterbury. The second main character is Miller, a belter detective given a case to find the missing Julie. Holden and Miller are opposites but play off each other so well. Holden a righteous do-gooder who accidentally starts a war and Miller the reluctant anti-hero. In the beginning I very much like Holden, he seemed like he cared for his crew and was just trying to do what was right, but then along the way, his self-righteousness took away his ability to sit down and think what the best plan of action was. There were times that I wanted to jump into the book grab him and shake him and just yell ‘Stop and Think!’ Of course, I would probably get shot by his crew with how loyal they are.

Miller, on the other hand, was my type of guy, although he was pretty much losing it at the end of the book. Miller didn’t have the naive thoughts that Holden did, being a detective he had the ability to take a step and think about the situation. Although some of this was done in an almost clinical detachment sort of way, that one would probably say he is a loose cannon. Both Abraham and Franck do an amazing job of setting up their galaxy without taking away from the story or characters. I will be reading the second book ‘Caliban’s War’, I am just not sure if I will be reading it right away or read another book in between.

If you like are looking for a good Sci-Fi series to start, look no further.… (mer)

The Expanse series is astonishingly good science fiction. Corey paints a future that depicts humanity having ventured out deep into our solar system, but it's a fractured future, where the inhabitants of Earth, Mars, and the Asteroid Belt ("Belters") find themselves having less and less in common. Ships and stations are cramped, dark, unfriendly places, and these are where much of the book is set.

This story is written primarily from the perspective of Belters, who feel forgotten and abused by the inner planets. It's here that the hunt for missing heiress Juliette Andromeda Mao begins, initiating a series of events that bring together a Ceres detective and a small crew of ice miners. Characters are flawed, and rough edged, but they find a way to come together against an unlikely and terribly mysterious antagonist and display the best of their humanity.

I like the way Corey writes dialogue, and how he illustrates mood through body gestures. Technology is treated very nonchalantly, and feels not entirely unfamiliar. Drama is used sparingly, and punctuates the story at well timed moments. The story is complex, and layered, but I'm excited to continue it.… (mer)