These books are just a hair too short to really get your mind into the Expanse mode. They’re almost best read rapidly after finishing the novel that directly precedes it, so that you’re already ‘there’ and don’t waste any time. In that sense, I read it in the wrong order, because I didn’t realize that it existed until after I finished Leviathan Falls. That being said, knowing the ending of that book makes the story of Auberon (and every other Ring Gate world) that much more resonant, in […]

A quick story from my childhood: when I was a kid, right after I saw Pokemon: the First Movie, I was super taken with the story of Mewtwo. Now, I think anyone with half a heart can empathize with Mewtwo, who was basically minding his own business with his clone friends before they all DIED and DECOMPOSED and he was woken up to be a sentient weapon. This is relevant because I then wrote a story in a space-y alternate universe in which I was […]

From reading reviews it seems like people went into this a bit more shocked of the Rising part of this novel–which is to say, the main plot point ([the rise of the Laconian Empire]) came as a bit of a shock. So I will continue by pointing out that this was NOT a spoiler for me, having watched the full TV series and coming to the books after the fact. Perhaps you can stop reading if spoilers are a thing that you are seeking to […]

I can absolutely see why the series had to end with this book, and I can see why they adapted things they way they did, and I can see why the next books have a time skip forward. I really do understand, I am a reasonable mature adult. But. But but but. I just wanted more? MORE. Babylon’s Ashes is the culmination of six books that ask a different sort of sci-fi question. Unlike authors like Becky Chambers or series like Star Trek, which ask, “How humanity could be, but […]

And so starts the run of Expanse books after I finished watching the TV show. Having finished the books, I’ll stick to my original premise that the correct order is TV show then books, and I’ll fight anyone who disagrees. For this novella in particular, I’m not sure I’m particularly fond of either the TV adaptation or the novella. The TV adaptation suffers from one of the classic traps–child actors who just don’t do it for me, but on whose shoulders rest the weight of the plot. […]