Persepolis Rising

The Geriatric Expanse didn't quite work for me. It was still a fun adventure, but one throw away line about “anti-aging pills” didn't make the 30 year gap go away.

I loved a lot of things about this book. The switching between so many characters toward the end was very effective. The suspense of the last 100 pages was so taut and so perfect.

Another great entry in this amazing saga. It was a little off putting at the beginning the whole 30 year jump, but I got used to it.

Every time I start reading one of these books I always feel like I'm meeting old friends.This is book 7. For those of you who don't know: Book 1 [b:Leviathan Wakes 8855321 Leviathan Wakes (The Expanse, #1) James S.A. Corey https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1411013134s/8855321.jpg 13730452] is basically “The A-Team” in space, with a secondary plot that is essentially a private-eye... in space, and the magic is that it is fun, funny, action-packed, hugely thought provoking - but above all has characters you really care about.This series has come a long way.If you are familiar with the series then be aware that this book does not let you down. There are a couple of things that got me worried (minor spoiler from Chapter 2): The book starts 30 years after book 6 - our buddies are all getting old and approaching retirement but breath easy, the authors manage to serve up a heaping helping of the thought-provoking action that has made this such a popular SF series.I am really looking forward to book 8!

This book stressed me out in the best way. The Expanse is one of my favorite sci-fi series, and each volume keeps ....well, expanding. There is a decades-long time gap between this and Babylon's Ashes, and it's strange to see how the characters have aged and changes. The universe has grown so vast and complex and echoes of previous books are paying off and rippling through our beloved crew. This book has a particularly strong focus on Bobbie, which is a great tact, in my opinion as the world needs more giant lady space marines smashing the establishment. My only complaint is that it needs more Avasarala, but really, what doesn't?

After what I considered the most lacklustre entry in The Expanse series (Babylon's Ashes) I was thoroughly surprised and delighted by the 7th book, Persepolis Rising. Jumping ahead in time (significantly) the story begins by dragging the slightly older crew of the Rocinante back into the center of a new conspiracy that has been brewing in secret for a long time. The story takes some unexpected turns, and sets up what feels like a potentially wonderful and ambitious arc to take us toward the end of the series. If books #8 and #9 are anything like #7, we're in for a fine ride.

At this point I'm running out of superlatives for this series. The drama, character moments, and presentation of themes all remain top notch. The temporal jump, while necessary for plot reasons, felt weirdly inconsequential, but aside from that everything was great.

This one was better than the previous one. What a bold statement.

While the last one (#6) was more or less a conclusion to the previous one (#5) with not much happening and a bit of sudden conclusion to the whole affair, this one puts everything in a new light.

I truly enjoyed that there is an actual gap between those books and that the characters are getting older, etc. The whole story arch also moves forward and I am really looking forward to the next installment.

I really liked this book, as I have with all the previous ones. The point of view characters did a fantastic job of showing how the different factions felt about each other and really how they misunderstood each other.

I keep expecting these books to be more of a story, like the first few books in the series, and then get disappointed when there isn't a conclusion. I have to remember to think of them as episodes of the larger story. The only problem with that is that I know there's only two more episodes and I want them to keep coming.

The previous book, Babylon's Ashes, was a big step down in quality. It focused too much on ancillary characters away from the Rocinante's crew. But Persepolis Rising is a return to form for the series. The focus is again back on the core characters and the politics of space conflict, without nearly as much focus on the establishment of new trade organizations. The problem I have with this novel is the timeline of things. This takes place years after the events of the earlier novels, but there's rarely attention paid to the effects of years of heroic space adventures on bodies that must be pushing forty, at least. In a series that devotes so much attention to how the human body isn't built to live in space and the physical difficulties and dangers of trying to make a life in the vacuum of space, I would have like to see more focus on the Old Man Holden aspect of things.

The previous book, Babylon's Ashes, was a big step down in quality. It focused too much on ancillary characters away from the Rocinante's crew. But Persepolis Rising is a return to form for the series. The focus is again back on the core characters and the politics of space conflict, without nearly as much focus on the establishment of new trade organizations. The problem I have with this novel is the timeline of things. This takes place years after the events of the earlier novels, but there's rarely attention paid to the effects of years of heroic space adventures on bodies that must be pushing forty, at least. In a series that devotes so much attention to how the human body isn't built to live in space and the physical difficulties and dangers of trying to make a life in the vacuum of space, I would have like to see more focus on the Old Man Holden aspect of things.

James Holden isn't the star of this book. In a strange way, Santiago Singh might fill that role.

Hats of to Corey, it's hard to be 7 novels into a series yet still find ways to make it engaging and fresh.

Executive Summary: After a slow start it finished really strong but wasn't quite as enjoyable as the last two were for me. 4.5 Stars.

Audiobook: Jefferson Mays once again does a good job. He does a few voices, but mostly he's just a solid narrator who is easy to understand and reads with good volume and inflection.

Full Review
Well I had no idea there was going to be a 30 year time jump. I was initially upset about it, but as the book went on I see why they did it. In order to tell the story they wanted to without dragging things out, it was necessary. I do hope they decide to do some extra books/novellas that covers some of that time.

Bobbie is one of my favorite characters, so I was really happy she was one of the main POVs in this book. I didn't think it was possible to lover her more, but she proved me wrong with this book. I thought Singh made for an interesting antagonist, but was my least favorite POV. Drummer was mostly fine. There is one particular detail that made me enjoy her chapters more than I might have otherwise. Holden is still Holden.

I thought the start of this book was a bit slow. It's possible a lot of it was my shock at the time jump and wondering what might have happened to characters I loved in that time. It might just be that the two new POV characters didn't really pull me into their stories as much. As the book went on however things really picked up.

This book does a lot to set up the final two books. I think that combined with the slower start made this book not quite as good as the last two for me. It was still a really enjoyable book though, and now I have to eagerly wait for the next book to see what happens next.

The Empire Strikes Back / Force Awakens of The Expanse.