Cibola Burn
Ratings592
Average rating4.1
For super long time I'm trying to finish this crap to get it off my list, but every time I'm getting back to it, it feels like super freaking waste of time. So sorry for interesting story which is generally contained within this series (not this particular entry), although this series was never about writing style (IMO) - which is over-simplistic.
Excellent continuation of the series. Focuses on conflict on the first planet colonized up after the gate is opened. Holden and his crew is called in to intervene between the OPA refugee settlers from Ganymede who got there first and the UN-approved corporate scientist team that is given a charter to settle and explore.
Interestingly, Miller features a lot more in this one, and you get to understand a bit more of him and how he works. Miller's old partner, Havelock features and is playing for the other team. Amongst other interesting events, there is a direct encounter with the ones
Rating: 4.25/5
Cibola Burn is a bit of a mixed bag. On its own, as a standalone sci-fi novel, it's a solid 5-star read. But as part of The Expanse series, it's definitely the weakest so far. The first part of the book feels a bit slow, but once it picks up pace, it's a non-stop thrill ride. The political intrigue and character development are still top-notch, as always.
I especially loved the new additions to the cast, like Basia and Elvi. And let's not forget the downright chilling Chief Murtry. While it might not quite match the heights of the earlier books, Cibola Burn is still a fun and engaging read. I'm excited to see where the series goes next in Nemesis Games.
Oof, what a tragic dumpster fire of a book, the only plus is that it did not take long to read.
OK read if you're not interested in seeing the main plot progress.
Like if you're coming back from work and want to read something easy.
Just as fun as all the others; the scientific interaction with “the unknown” continues to be an excellent blend of plot and substance, the lady's crush was just a little weird.
There is really nothing like reading “The Expanse”. Fantasy has always been my favorite genre in part because good fantasy makes you feel like you're on a wonderful theme-park ride full of exhilarating moments that allow you to truly immerse yourself in the experience. Prior to reading “The Expanse” series I had never found a sci-fi book that made me feel the same way, but this series is just so much fun. The characters are enjoyable and complex. The setting is well-designed and immersive. And its big setpieces and moments are done just so well. Last year I eagerly devoured the first three books in the series and I was very excited to read the fourth in anticipation of what would come next after Abaddon's Gate left off with a lot of interesting possibilities. I am pleased to say that Cibola Burn manages to not only meet the expectations set by its predecessors, but exceed them. Cibola Burn is like its predecessors in many ways. It has a few holdovers from the previous books in Holden and his crew while introducing new characters that are relevant to the situation they find themselves in. Things go really bad for a while before Holden is able to somehow save the day. Along the way there is a ton of action, some really strong moments, some badass dialogue and a few moral questions are asked of the reader. All of this is pretty simple but this series just makes these tropes WORK. Is some of Holden's plot armor/competence/sheer luck bullshit? Absolutely, but I don't care because I want him and the crew of the Rocinante to succeed time and time again. The book is also just super well-written. It is a big book (almost 600 pages) and yet it paces itself in a way that allows tons of things to happen while also having these things mean something. Some authors fall into the trap of having constant action without any moments where the story just breathes, but the authors behind “The Expanse” know how to make each moment count. It's a genuine skill and I think it's a major reason why these books succeed the way they do. While much of Cibola Burn's quality can be talked about in conjunction with its predecessors, it also has a number of strong attributes on its own. The setting of New Terra is truly fantastic and feels like a new fantasy world. It's the best ‘ground' setting in “The Expanse”. It also features a number of strong characters that didn't exist in the first three books, namely Elvi and Murtry. The reintroduction of Havelock was also a nice surprise. I hope he kind of takes Miller's place now that Miller seems to be totally out of the picture. All in all, Cibola Burn is a very worthy entry into “The Expanse” series. Up next is Nemesis Games. When I first started “The Expanse”, a common thing I heard was that the series didn't get really good until 4-5 books in. Given how much I've liked the first four books, I'm sure Nemesis Games will blow my mind.
Another great entry to the series! Took me about a third of the book to get invested in the new POVs but when they slowly started to click it was brilliant!
The much more zoomed in story was another place where it was different but same as with the new characters it really grew on me!
Not much you can say in a book 4 without giving away spoilers but it shone new light on some of our original characters and made me view them much more favourably!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.25
Another great book in the series. There are some really great characters here, and the dialogue can be so funny and witty. The beginning was slower than I would have liked, but it picked up. Lots of things going on and stakes being raised.
I might be going against the grain here, but this one was my favorite of the series so far. This is surprising to me because I thought the side characters were much more engaging in the previous novels, but the story kept me flipping along at a steady pace. I still wish we knew more about what was happening on a larger scale. It's like a broken record for me. If I just knew a bit more, maybe I could enjoy it that much more. Does the series get better from here on out?
This series continues to be great. The pacing is always on point and the story never slows down making these books a breeze to read. If you like books 1-3 you will absolutely enjoy this one.
After the mediocre third entry into this series, Cibola Burn picks up the pace again. Holden and crew go through the ring into a new solar system with new planets. They're there to help mediate a tense situation between a company and colonists. It turns into a whole rigamarole of fights, possible containments, and all sorts of things. Best part of this book was a villain you actually really, really wanted to punch in the face. Murtury is the largest of assholes. Seriously, the authors did a fantastic job making you absolutely loathe his guts.
I'm really happy the quality of this book picked back up after the third book. Makes me want to keep chugging forward in this series!
Oh, well, this will be a difficult review to write, I guess. I really like this series and its ideas, its wonderful characters, the brilliant writing, etc. etc.Along came “Cibola Burn”: We find ourselves accompanying Holden and his crew through one of the rings into the great unknown - into which a band of settlers from Ganymede made it before him and pretty much started colonising the planet, Ilus, there.Unfortunately for those pioneers, the UN has awarded the “Royal Charter Energy” (RCE), a big Earth corporation, the rights to the afore-mentioned planet - which they refer to as “New Terra”. When RCE tries to get a shuttle down to the planet, it gets blown up by the settlers.Holden is sent to Ilus/New Terra to mediate between the settlers and the RCE guys, only to get caught between both of them.This leads us into a long story about the conflict between the settlers and the RCE people, the “awakening” of the stuff the protomolecule's creators left on the planet, a catastrophic disaster, Miller investigating and, again, leading Holden around. There's sabotage in space and on the planet, a one-dimensional villain whom Amos would have shot on the spot in the previous books and a scientist whom Corey makes fall for Holden - right until she gets laid by someone else and finds out that guy's the real love of her life... Not to mention episodes about “death slugs”, eye-infecting parasites and lots of other “filling materials”.All this just plain made this entire book way too long for its own good. While there was still a lot of suspense, long stretches of describing the atmosphere on the planet after a disaster kept boring me.Last but not least, apart from Holden himself, the entire crew of the Rocinante was somehow not themselves - Alex felt mostly absent, Amos was weirdly subdued, almost completely submissive to Holden and Naomi spends weeks in a brig which we get to witness for far too long.I'm going to take a break from “The Expanse” in favour of another book or two. Blog Facebook Twitter Instagram
Me demoré en terminarlo, ya que el comienzo me pareció súper lento en comparación a los demás libros de la serie. Sin embargo, desde el 2do tercio en adelante es vertiginoso. Ayer en la noche creo haber leído de una sola pasada el último tercio del libro.
¡Quiero saber quienes son los señores misteriosos!
I'm not sure if these are getting less fun to read or if I'm expecting more fast passed and energetic stories. I find it hard to read through the detailed parts of the story. My mind has already constructed the scene and I just skim through the plot beats and get to the dialog. So far to me they have been getting steadily worse. I'll take a break and come back to the rest later.
Great Book
I started reading the book after I finished watching the first 3 seasons of the Expanse. I wish now I read the books from the start
Cibola Burn est le quatrième volume de de la saga de science-fiction The Expanse signée James S.A. Corey, le nom de plume du duo composé des auteurs Daniel Abraham et Ty Franck.
Il s'agit du roman qui sert de base à la quatrième saison, annoncée pour le 13 décembre prochain, de la série TV tirée de cette saga. J'ai donc découvert ce roman sans en connaitre à l'avance l'essentiel de l'intrigue, contrairement aux trois premiers tomes que j'ai lus en ayant déjà vu leur adaptation pour le petit écran.
L'intrigue tourne autour de la colonisation de New Terra, la première planète habitable découverte suite à l'ouverture des anneaux interstellaires à la fin du précédent roman. Une première vague de colons, des réfugiés de Ganymède qui ont erré de longs mois dans le système solaire pour être accueilli, en vain, afin de décider de s'installer sur New Terra quand l'existence de cette planète habitable a été installée. Depuis, une corporation a obtenu une concession des Nations Unies pour coloniser la planète et exploiter ses ressources naturelles.
Comme d'habitude avec The Expanse, ce roman se compose d'une cinquantaine de chapitres d'une dizaine de pages chacun, avec des personnages différents offrant autant de points de vue sur le récit :
- Basia Merton est un réfugié de Ganymède, membre du groupe des premiers colons sur sur New Terra, ou Ilus comme ils l'appellent ; avec son groupe d'amis, il refuse l'arrivée imminente de la corporation
- Elvi Okoye est une scientifique faisant partie de l'équipe envoyée par la corporation sur New Terra pour étudier la faune et la flore locale en vue de coloniser la planète
- Dmitri Havelock est le chef adjoint de la sécurité à bord du vaisseau de la corporation qui arrive en orbite de New Terra
- Evidemment, on retrouve une fois de plus James Holden, cette fois mandaté conjointement par les Nations Unies et l'OPA pour une mission de médiation afin d'éviter que la situation ne dégénère sur New Terra entre les premiers colons et les nouveaux arrivants
- Enfin, quelques chapitres, plus courts, donnent la parole à Joe Miller, ou plutôt l'avatar du défunt détective, tel qu'il a été recréé par la proto-molécule pour dialoguer avec Holden
Ce qui m'a d'abord plu dans ce roman, en plus de son thème qui me semblait prometteur, c'est que certains protagonistes ont des liens avec des personnages rencontrés dans les tomes précédents. Ainsi, Basia était un ami de Prax dans le deuxième tome, nous avions alors eu l'occasion de le rencontrer brièvement, avec la mort de son fils dans la laboratoire secret où était également détenu la fille de Prax. Havelock était quant à lui le partenaire de Joe Miller quand celui-ci travaillait encore pour Star Helix sur Ceres. Ce sont des rappels qui font plaisir quand on suit une saga comme The Expanse avec une multitude de personnages qu'on suit le temps d'un roman mais qu'on abandonne parfois sans les revoir.
Malgré ce point plutôt sympathique, je dois dire que j'ai eu un peu de mal à entrer dans le roman. Alors que j'en étais à la moitié, je me disais que c'était plaisant à lire mais que ça trainait un peu en longueur. J'espérais que la deuxième moitié serait à la hauteur des promesses à la fin du tome précédent.
Malheureusement, la suite ne m'a pas plus enchanté, et le roman m'a globalement déçu.
J'ai notamment trouvé que l'antagoniste principal, dont on devine d'ailleurs très vite qu'il le sera quand on le rencontre, est stéréotypé. C'est le chef de la sécurité de l'expédition lancée par la corporation, il représente le symbole de l'avidité sans fin des multinationales qui négligent volontairement l'impact humain de leurs choix, mais c'est fait sans nuance, le personnage ne semble être présent que pour sa fonction et n'existe pas vraiment en tant qu'être humain.
J'ai également eu l'impression que les auteurs ne savaient pas trop quoi faire de certains personnages secondaires. C'est particulièrement le cas de l'équipage du Roccinante, le vaisseau de James Holden. Si Naomi a droit à une certaine place dans le récit, avec un peu d'action, Amos et surtout Alex, le pilote, font plutôt de la figuration et leur présence n'apporte pas grand chose au récit. Ils m'ont semblé être comme des bagages que les auteurs étaient contraints de faire apparaître sans savoir comment les utiliser.
J'ai tout de même admiré la capacité des auteurs à disperser les personnages à plusieurs endroits pour nous faire vivre l'action depuis différents points de vue, en faisant rebondir le récit d'un chapitre à l'autre et en limitant les angles morts. La gestion du rythme et du suspense est toujours aussi bonne, même si j'imagine que cette construction très américaine du roman peut gêner certains tant elle semble artificielle.
J'ai aussi apprécié les thèmes abordés par les auteurs, même s'ils sont si nombreux qu'on a parfois du mal à comprendre de quoi ils veulent vraiment nous parler. Cela commence comme un roman sur la colonisation, la nouvelle frontière, l'impérialisme, le terrorisme, puis on bascule dans le thriller médical avec des organismes locaux qui menacent les colons, avant de revenir au coeur de la saga : la découverte de la technologie dont la proto-molécule est issue, et ses effets le destin de l'espèce humaine. Tout est plutôt bon, mais l'ensemble manque un peu de cohérence.
Enfin, j'ai beaucoup aimé l'épilogue, qui reprend un peu de recul par rapport au récit sur Ilus / New Terra et permet d'espérer une suite plus palpitante.
Mon impression après avoir refermé ce livre est donc mitigée : cela reste bon, mais à mes yeux ce n'est clairement pas du même niveau que les précédents volumes. Pour moi, c'est sans hésitation le moins bon des quatre premiers tomes de The Expanse. J'espère que le prochain, le cinquième de la série, saura m'émerveiller à nouveau.