Tiamat's Wrath

I came to The Expanse fairly late - jumping in when five books were already published. That meant I got to binge-read those five, and by the time I was done, the sixth had been published as well. That worked out nicely, because Books 1-3 and 4-6 kind of form little “chapters” in the intended 9 part Expanse saga. With Book #7 and #8, I'm now feel like I'm reading them “real time”, alongside everyone else - which is kind of exhilarating. This is especially true because so far, Books #7 and #8 have been my favourite of the series. The arc from Book #1 to Book #7 is impressive. Looking back through the series feels like someone who has travelled the world reminiscing about their hometown. The Expanse has gone from a cozy three faction solar system to exploring literally thousands of habitable worlds. Book #7 introduced us to an older Rocinante crew, living in a new universe filled with people who are trying their best to adapt. This culminated in Laconia, one of those 1,300 systems, making a play for Empire... with the aid of protomolecular science.

(some mild spoilers ahead)

Book #8, the penultimate in the series, continues after what feels like a few years beyond the events of Book #7. Chrisjen Aversarala is dead. James Holden is captured and living on Laconia. Naomi Nagata is spending her days in a self imposed exile within a shipping container, doing her best to help aid a resistance movement. Amos is missing. Bobby and Alex spearhead a crew on a captured Laconian warship. Elvi Okoye is working with the Laconians to study the 1,300 systems. Between all their stories is Theresa, the daughter of Laconian High Consul Winston Duarte, who is being groomed for leadership, and perhaps something more sinister.

I loved the architecture of the story. Though every character is running within their own narrative, they all felt very connected, and the story of the protomolecule (and the “Romans”) seems to be culminating into something large for the next book. I'm excited to see where the crew of the Rocinante end up, even if I'm a bit sad that the end of their voyage is near.