Leviathan Falls by James S.A. Corey



Blurb:

The Laconian Empire has fallen, setting the thirteen hundred solar systems free from the rule of Winston Duarte. But the ancient enemy that killed the gate builders is awake, and the war against our universe has begun again.

In the dead system of Adro, Elvi Okoye leads a desperate scientific mission to understand what the gate builders were and what destroyed them, even if it means compromising herself and the half-alien children who bear the weight of her investigation. Through the wide-flung systems of humanity, Colonel Aliana Tanaka hunts for Duarte’s missing daughter. . . and the shattered emperor himself. And on the Rocinante, James Holden and his crew struggle to build a future for humanity out of the shards and ruins of all that has come before.

As nearly unimaginable forces prepare to annihilate all human life, Holden and a group of unlikely allies discover a last, desperate chance to unite all of humanity, with the promise of a vast galactic civilization free from wars, factions, lies, and secrets if they win.

But the price of victory may be worse than the cost of defeat.

I feel like this blurb misstates the situation, but whatevs.

I have finished all NINE of these books, it took me 10 months all together (there was a gap between the second and third) - it's occupied most of my life this past year. Each of them are over 500 pages. These books are a big commitment and I nearly didn't finish them, but I'm glad I did. The reward and the payoff by the last books were so worth it. Highly, highly recommend. What a story!

These authors were mentored by G.R.R. Martin, but I'm glad one lesson they didn't take from him was, "never finish your series." Seriously, if you enjoyed what there is of A Song of Ice and Fire, read all of The Expanse! You have your multiple POVs, political maneuvering, existential and incomprehensible threat to all of humanity, polyamory, a horrible and monstrous warrior who protects little girls, and so much more beyond what is in ASOIF because the places humans live aren't meant for them, so it's a struggle just to live sometimes.

I am not okay. I'm never going to get over the crew of the Rocinante. This ship should be spoken of with the same reverence as other sci-fi ships like Enterprise and Millennium Falcon.

I need more of this universe. I wasn't planning to read the short-stories and novellas, but I think I am now. I can't let this story go. And, I suppose I'll have to get Prime and watch the series. It astounds me that there are less than 500 fics on AO3. I might try to fix that but I have to recover first. Prepare for incoming hyperfixation, I think.

Babylon's Ashes, the sixth book in the Expanse series. This is a 9-book series, so now I'm 2/3 of the way through. These books are heart-pounding, engaging, and a pretty quick read. This one slowed me down a little bit because it was *so* many different POVs that I lost track of who was where, doing what, and on which side.



Blurb:

A revolution brewing for generations has begun in fire. It will end in blood.

The Free Navy - a violent group of Belters in black-market military ships - has crippled the Earth and begun a campaign of piracy and violence among the outer planets. The colony ships heading for the thousand new worlds on the far side of the alien ring gates are easy prey, and no single navy remains strong enough to protect them.

James Holden and his crew know the strengths and weaknesses of this new force better than anyone. Outnumbered and outgunned, the embattled remnants of the old political powers call on the Rocinante for a desperate mission to reach Medina Station at the heart of the gate network.

But the new alliances are as flawed as the old, and the struggle for power has only just begun. As the chaos grows, an alien mystery deepens. Pirate fleets, mutiny and betrayal may be the least of the Rocinante's problems. And in the uncanny spaces past the ring gates, the choices of a few damaged and desperate people may determine the fate of more than just humanity.

James Holden continues to make up names for things. When I finish this series, I'm going to make a chart of all the things he's made up names for that everyone else adopted, while complaining, 'why does he get to decide the name?'