Over the last two weeks I've been reading James S.A. Corey's The Expanse series consisting of Leviathan Wakes and Caliban's War. The series is a colaboration between Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck and describes the period of time just after humanity has expanded to Mars and the outer planets of the Solar Systme. The impetus behind the plot is an alien protomolecule that repurposes biological matter for it's own pre-programmed objextives.
The story is told from multiple perspectives and does so well. The author's each took a perpspective character and wrote those chapters, then edited each other's writing. The result is a smoothed out story told in one voice.
The Expanse is a terrifically fun story, it pulls together several types of stories including political thriller, space opera and detective story and does it quite well. It also shows an understanding of human nature through its portrayal of empires and their treatment of their colonies. The social commentary in The Expanse is subtle and fits the story, rather than being plastered on top or preached throughout. Society has an impact on characters and how they behave. Their treatment by that society has an impact on who the characters are and how they make decisions.
Character development is stong in these books. The authors reel out a little information at a time on each character, giving deeper and deeper insight into who they are, what motivates them, and why they matter to the story.
The only thing that gives me pause when recommending these books is that it is an incomplete series. Waiting for the next book to be released always drives me crazy. If you are more patient than I, then by all means dig in. If you are not, I recommend that you wait until the final instalment, Abaddon's Gate, is released.
Andrew
Reading:
Caliban's War, James S.A. Corey. Page 624/624
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