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| Cover art by Daniel Dociu |
'Tiamat's Wrath' by James SA Corey is another great addition to 'The Expanse' series.
It's great to be back in the world of 'The Expanse'. Over the course of the now eight books (plus handful of short fiction novellas), I've grown to love the crew of the Roci - Jim Holden, Naomi Nagata, Amos Burton, Alex Kamal and Bobbie Draper - and the strong familial bond they have that makes them more than just crew to each other. But after the events of the previous book, 'Persepolis Rising', the crew of the Roci have now scattered; Holden is a prisoner of High Consul of the Laconian empire Winston Duarte, Amos hasn't been heard of since going off on a covert mission, and Naomi, Alex and Bobbie are all fighting for the resistance, pushing back at the authoritarian Laconian empire however they can. Things aren't looking too good, but when something unexpected happens to the ring gate, with its effect reverberating throughout the systems, it sparks the resistance into action and the pace of the story starts to really pick up with the resistance striking back big time!
Returning to the series is Dr Elvi Okoye. Last seen in book 4 'Cibola Burn', she's now part of the scientific research team for Duarte's Laconian Empire, as one the foremost authorities on the infamous protomolecule, and she soon uncovers the history of the protomolecule, a genocide of an alien race that happened before humanity existed and of an alien threat that is beginning to stir. I enjoyed her point of view chapters, as we get a glimpse inside of the empire as well as into the protomolecule and the alien technology through her interactions with the sociopathic scientist Cortázar and the higher ups in the Laconian Empire.
Teresa Duarte is a new character introduced in this book, and her pov chapters give us a different peek behind the curtain of a dictator's empire. Her life has been easy up until now, what with being the High Consul's teenage daughter, but that all changes when something strange happens to her father, who has been experimenting on himself with the protomolecule in an effort to become immortal and extend his legacy. At first she came across as brattish, her only real companions being her dog, Muskrat and a friend called Timothy. But as events take a turn, she decides to step out from her father's shadow and take control of her life, becoming a much stronger person by the end and I grew to like her character over the course of the book, especially towards the end.
As the penultimate book in the series, the stakes are as high as they've ever been, full of tension, action and with a few twists and turns along the way that felt like I'd been gut punched, to come back up for air only to be gut punched again! The perils of becoming emotionally attached to fictional characters in a long running series.
'Tiamat's Wrath' is definitely a recommended read, and a great addition to one of my favourite book (and now TV) series. With the implications for humanity's fate looking very ominous by the end, colour me intrigued and excited to see how it all unfolds in the final book in the series. Bring it on!
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