The sixth novel in James S. A. Corey’s New York Times bestselling Expanse series–now a major television series 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 … 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.
The Expanse Leviathan WakesCaliban’s WarAbaddon’s GateCibola BurnNemesis GamesBabylon’s Ashes
The Expanse Short Fiction The Butcher of Anderson StationGods of RiskThe ChurnThe Vital Abyssmore
Babylon’s Ashes
By jamessacorey
This is easily my least favorite of the series. After reading about Naomi and her past in the previous book, I felt that too much time was spent on the Free Navy’s progress or lack thereof whichever the case may be, Marco’s narcissistic leadership, and Philip growing up in his father’s shadow. Only when the new technology developed by studying the protomolecule on the other side of the Larconia gate and the mystery behind the missing/disappearing ships passing through the ring gates, did my interest peak. But this book could not keep my interest for long, because it is mostly back-and-forth battles with no resolution in sight. I did appreciate Holden’s video feeds that showed the humanity within the Earthers, Martians, and Belters. I was afraid that Holden might had lost this part of him, that to me, makes him the perfect choice for Miller’s companion and the key in the slow zone. Ultimately, it’s a fantastic series, I simply did not care for this one book.
I still like the series, but this book is heading to a much more dystopian vibe than I usually like.
I listened to this book in audiobook format. I devoured this one! I put off all podcasts so I could just listen to this. God, I love the Expanse series! It’s definitely it in my top 10 for all scifi books. This one had me enthralled. I loved seeing what happened to the rings, Naomi’s ex, and everyone on The Rocinate. I’m already craving the next book in the series.
BABYLON’S ASHES is the sixth book of the Expanse series and the conclusion of the “Free Navy” arc. I was a huge fan of the Free Navy introduced in NEMESIS GAMES and eager to see the story carried to its conclusion. Unfortunately, I don’t think the story worked out nearly as well as it was supposed to. There’s a lot of flaws and while much of it is set-up for later volumes in the series as well as the “Laconian” arc, this just didn’t feel like a great conclusion to the storyline.
The premise of the Expanse is its two hundred years in the future and humanity has colonized the solar system. Humanity is divided into the Earthers, Martians, and Belters with the latter being hateful of the former due to decades of economic exploitation. SPOILER for Nemesis Games, eventually a pirate fleet of them drops asteroids on Earth and kills roughly half of the planet.
Unfortunately, the handling of the aftermath isn’t really well done. Despite fifteen billion people having been killed, the Free Navy is treated like a guerilla insurgency that killed a few thousand soldiers. Not people who have been active participant in genocide. They’re literally a thousand times worse than the Nazis in terms of body count. In effect, the premise is too large for the story they’re trying to tell and I feel like the authors lost their sense of scale.
This is exemplified by the fact one of the main characters in the books is Michio Pa, who was a minor character in previous books. She’s a member of the Free Navy who gradually comes to believe Marcos Inarios is a poor leader of the organization. Not the fact he’s guilty of unimaginable murder of innocent starving people but the fact he’s not very good to Belters. It makes her a despicable character who doesn’t remotely elicit any sympathy. This is problematic when she gets a good number of chapters devoted to her.
The problem is made worse by the fact we also have the character of Filip Inaros who is Naomi Nagato’s son and similarly unsympathetic. He’s a child soldier raised in the Free Navy so, at least, there’s some sympathy for his situation. Despite this, he’s another person who turns against Marco because he’s a lousy leader versus the fact he’s exterminated whole countries by starvation, rocks, and disease.
The crew is entertaining as always with Naomi getting her chance to shine as she deals with the fact she used to be a child-soldier in Marcos’ army. I never quite liked the relationship between her and Filip but that’s just a function of disliking the lad to begin with. The rest of the crew also get their moments to shine with Amos having the most unexpected romance of them all come to fruition.
Still, our protagonists just don’t seem to be treating the situation with the level of gravity it deserves. As such, my love of the book was hurt. Thankfully, there’s still a lot to recommend this book. Marco Inaros remains an incredibly good protagonist who is simultaneously an egotistical fool as well as the most dangerous man in the galaxy. His ego and casual psychosis are things which make him understandable even as he has a child’s view of war as well as his own limitations. As such, this just isn’t my favorite installment of the series but it’s not bad either.
Book 6: Continuation of the Expanse Series; focus again on greed vs. trying to start a new life. Even when trying to start a new life, there are difficulties & personalities that get in the way.
My least favorite so far. . . .