Caliban's War

The first book in the Expanse series, Leviathan wakes, introduced a not too distant future in our own solar system where an alien life form has been discovered. It probably wouldn't have caused much trouble, but an evil company is trying to understand the potential of the molecule and also start a war between Mars and Earth to cover up their nefarious activities until it is too late. In so doing, they start a chain reaction of events that could wind up wiping out humanity altogether.After the disastrous conclusion to the first novel, this one picks up 18 months later with James Holden and three new characters. This book advances the story in every way imaginable, showing the increasingly ominous signs of the alien molecule which has made Venus its home and the political machinations that these events engender. We get a good look at Earth politics and more evil plots that are afoot.This book is better than the first in nearly every way. The action is more engaging, and the characters more fleshed out. While I didn't like Holden's character all that much in the first novel, and his crew felt completely one dimensional, everyone's personality really shines in this one. The new characters are all spot on, each point of view consistent and realistic throughout the novel.Plus the plot is way cooler than the first. I don't think the story slowed down at all from the original. I would argue that it is actually much more fluid and fast paced because of the increased character POVs, you can pretty much expect something interesting to happen in each chapter as events unfold. There was a fair amount of introspection, especially with Holden, but it didn't get too bogged down because even the character development had to take place quickly in between all the crazy stuff happening. Also, I love politics and this is something the first novel didn't have nearly enough of.This book could have easily sucked given all the cliches it deals with, but instead it is one of the best books I have read all year. I can judge that because I read it really fast right after finishing second book in the Dagger and Coin series (awesome book as well). What's interesting to me is that even though I have traditionally liked fantasy more than SF, and even though both books were excellent, I really enjoyed reading Caliban's War more.Get this book NOW!

*** This is the SECOND book in this series ***As was the case with "Leviathan Wakes" (the first book in this series), the author manages to weave a narrative that is captivating for its mystery, frankness, and interesting characters, but also suffers some signficant, though not fatal, shortcomings in the actual writing of that story.PROS: The author's narrative style, as before, evokes a sort of dirty, well-lived-in, working-man's space drama not unlike "Firefly" or "Star Wars"; there's no window-dressing, no near-magic technologies, no shiny glass-and-polished-metal architecture. In that sense, it's a nice spin on the "new frontier" genre. Things are relatively simple, straightforward, and easy to understand and grasp. Everything feels realistic.The story continues with the same characters as before, only now their social group has been solidified far more; now it's less "people thrown together through circumstance" and more "people pursuing a common goal out of common friendship". To this end, things seem a little clearer and more jovial between the crew members of the Rocinante. And now it's less about a "borrowed without permission" Marian ship, and more about how the Rocinante IS their ship, no question. Again, think of "Firefly" here.And as before with "Leviathan Wakes", the author creates a thoroughly mysterious string of events that are not completely resolved until almost the very end. This keeps the reader wanting to read, even when some scenes slow down or get a bit bogged down with too many details or such.CONS: Some of the same narrative problems from the first book are present here. As before, the author repeatedly offers too little description of certain things, events, or environments. For example, later in the book the characters arrive at a secret base for a final showdown, so you'd expect some scene setting ... instead, it's mostly portrayed as: "Characters exit ship, characters run across landscape, characters go into airlock." We're not given a description of whether this secret base is above or below ground, what it looks like, how big it is, number of people, etc. And this kind of thing is not a one off; this happens on a fairly regular basis throughout the novel. And it's not that the author doesn't know how to be descriptive; there are many scenes where there are no questions as to what's happening, and others where the author actually breaks down the tech or physics involved to make it easier to imagine things. This doesn't happen often enough to break the narrative as a whole, but it does happen often enough to be frustrating.Also as before, the author does a great job of mystery and story building, but when it comes down to the final moments, things just kind of ... end. Not in a "Sopranos", ends in the middle of a scene thing, but "just ends" in the sense that there's no dramatic standoffs or large-scale final shootouts. All the threads are tied-up, and final questions are answered (and a new threat emerges right at the end), but things just happen too fast. The author could do a better job of building situational drama.All in all, this is a good book. Despite various shortcomings and mild frustrations, the author has a captivating narrative style that just kind of pulls you in. The characters are unique and interesting, there are various truly comedic moments to lighten the oppressive atmosphere, and things just feel relatable.

There are more than enough differences from the t.v. series to keep it interesting. It gets better as you go on.

Boa estória. Algumas partes além da série de tv. Gostei bastante

It's very easy to read. Quick and exciting and with a lot of details that actually have some scientific background. I highly recommend this book.

The book continues the epic saga begun in the first book. It expands to more character POV.The delivered book was of high quality and matched with book nr.1.

When I started this book , there is a lot of scientific content in it and dark matter . But once I was done with around 50 pages I was fully engrossed in it and it’s truly a masterpiece . Loved it completely.