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Posted July 18, 2017:
The latest novella does not give a clue as to where the next novel might go, and as far as I recall there is only one character we've seen in the books before, but it is one I haven't mentioned, and I won't identify them now. It is set on another planet accessible through one of the alien ring portals. After the experience Holden and crew had on Ilus in the fourth book, they returned to our solar system for other events in books five and six. In the meantime, several other trans-portal expeditions had taken place. This story is about one of them. It is again written in third person, the perspective being that of ten year old Cara, so the style is different than any of the others, more lyrical, almost dream-like, perhaps how a child experiences the world. Cara has lived on Laconia with her parents, members of the original survey team, for eight years. Her younger brother, Xan, was born on Laconia. The survey mission was supposed to have only been a five year assignment, and Cara's parents are anxious to go home. Cara only knows Earth from her story books and things learned at school and from her parents. A rogue faction from the Mars Navy has aligned with the Belter Free Navy and has come to Laconia, essentially occupying it under martial law, but doing so as diplomatically as possible to avoid panic. They control communications, and have not revealed any of the tragic events that have occurred back in Sol system.

A lot of that detail isn't given here, I only know it because I've read all the books and remember a particular character from before. This could be read as a stand-alone story without confusion, even without that prior knowledge, which I can't say about any other part of this series except the short story "Drive", and the first novel. Cara is an intelligent, inquisitive child. Her parents realize this and do not restrict her explorations around their home. She frequents a nearby pond and forest, observing the sunbirds and other creatures native to Laconia. They aren't really birds, just the closest equivalent Earthers recognize. There are also insect-like and fish-like creatures, as well as plants similar to Earth grasses and trees. Cara is familiar with the area and its flora and fauna, but is surprised one day by something she hasn't seen before, animals she calls dogs for lack of a better description. I won't relate the events that give Cara a notion of the strange dogs' capabilities, nor what later happens that compels her to seek their help with a problem. I also won't go into the "stick moons" that orbit Laconia, mainly because I'm still a bit puzzled by that myself. I think they are part of the Navy presence, but if they are they may also be connected to another phenomenon, and they may also be connected to the strange dogs. In fact, the only other thing I'll say is I hope we visit Laconia again, and I hope Cara is featured.

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Posted December 7, 2017:
The seventh novel in the sequence was released three days ago and I finished it late last night. There are two more novels under contract, which the authors have said will conclude the series, and the last three can be considered a closely connected trilogy. There have been a few ups and downs throughout the series, some very strong stories, but also a couple not as satisfying. I'm happy to say this one is definitely in the former category, with only two plot points I'd bother to nit-pick if I cared to.

The tradition of alternating chapters from different character perspectives continues here. The prologue is set on Laconia, the setting of the preceding novella, with the viewpoint character one we met in the novella before that. Paolo Cortázar was a scientist working on the proto-molecule for Protagen. He has already appeared on the TV series in a slightly revised story arc. He is obsessed with the proto-molecule. At this point it is his only reason for being, to study it and adapt it for many uses. Human subjects have been infected with it, and blood drawn from them is used to develop a serum to be administered to (as far as I know) one individual. Winston Duarte had been an officer of the Martian Navy who had convinced many of his fellow officers to defect, commandeering several Naval vessels. They aligned themselves with the Belter Free Navy, but in actuality the Belters were pawns in Duarte's scheme to steal the only known remaining sample of the proto-molecule, at that time in the possession of Fred Johnson on Tycho Station. They then escaped the solar system through the Laconia ring portal. Duarte is convinced the serum will make him immortal. Cortázar doesn't care if that is the case, he is content to experiment with the proto-molecule for his own intellectual curiosity.

More than twenty years have passed since the events in Babylon's Ashes, close to thirty since the beginning events in the first book. The dire prediction of humanity having as little as three years for survival in Sol system was premature. Earth is slowly recovering from the bombardment it suffered in Nemesis Games, and a lot of pressure was removed when millions took advantage of the ring portals to start colonies on more than thirteen hundred alien worlds. Tycho Station has been moved from its former orbit in the belt to be attached to the asteroid Pallas, and an intense project of rebuilding ships and other stations had commenced, now that Earth, Mars, and the Belt had joined forces. Camina Drummer left her position as head of security on Tycho Station and is now President of the Transport Union, which controls nearly all shipping within the system as well as to the colony worlds. The crew of Rocinante have worked with the Transport Union and other entities, carrying freight and passengers, and in a few instances prisoners, all across Sol system, and to and from many alien worlds. One exception to that being Laconia, which had forbidden any movement through their portal. However, they never said they wouldn't ever come back through that portal themselves. When they do, it is with a huge and radically different new ship design, along with mystifying new weapon systems, courtesy of the proto-molecule.

Holden and crew had recently completed a mission to another colony world, Freehold, and are on Medina at the time of this incident. They are separated for a time, but then gather together again, along with several Belter insurgent groups. I'll mention the two points I can criticize now and get them out of the way. A character first introduced in the third book, who then surprisingly reappeared in the fifth, is still on the Rocinante. Without going into spoilers about either of those appearances, she suffers from a medical condition that I thought would have resulted in her death in just a few years, that is if Holden or someone else hadn't killed her before then. Yet she's still around more than twenty years later? Perhaps it is a testament to advanced drugs and therapies available to her, but still, it's puzzling. It did offer a poignant, but harrowing, story arc for Amos Burton, so I guess she served her purpose. There were a few other things about character interactions that I didn't expect, one is a close friendship that I had assumed would have developed into a romantic one based on previous events. Holden and Nagata are still a couple, but the rest of the crew are simply a close-knit family of convenience.

The other thing I could nit-pick is how the insurgent groups are able to avoid detection by the Laconian troops for so long, but without that factor the book would have been much shorter. I suppose the authors felt the time jump was necessary to account for both the solar system's recovery, as well as Laconia's development of so much new tech, but I would like to have seen more of those events, more adventures from the Rocinante crew. What we do get are several intense action sequences as they endeavor to fight back against the Laconian occupation, as well as space battle scenes as the Laconian battleship ventures toward the inner planets. Without going into details, I'll just say things don't go so well for Sol system, but the Rocinante and about twenty other ships are able to escape Medina and make it through various ring portals. Will they be able to fight back against the seemingly indestructable Laconian forces, or will they have to settle for hiding from Duarte's empire? This is the first book in which the ending has a Rocinante crew member separated from the rest, and there's no guarantee they'll be reunited in the next book, but surely by the final one. We can hope at least, but I won't be surprised if we lose another character or two along the way.

If the TV show doesn't alter complete story arcs, and if it lasts long enough to reach this arc, I am sure they will condense, minimize, or otherwise get around the huge time jump. [EDIT: Latest news is it won't get this far, since Syfy has announced they're done after Season 3, but there's hope someone else will revive it.] [UPDATE: Amazon to the rescue!] The next book, Tiamat's Wrath, has been announced for Dec. 4, 2018, and I have already pre-ordered it. [CRAP! It's been delayed till March 26, 2019.] It is also possible another novella or short story could come sooner than that. The only other thing I'll say for now is that I'm still a big fan of this series, on board for however long the ride lasts.

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Posted March 27, 2019:
The first paragraph of the eighth novel is very short. One sentence. Four words. Four devastating words. A virtual gut-punch for someone who has read all the books and cares for the characters. And it's not the only one, the hits keep coming throughout the book. When I first reviewed the TV show I avoided spoilers about cast members who wouldn't be around long, saying that space and war was a dangerous business, and lives would be lost. I've tried to be vague about that in reviewing the books too. For the most part, the lives lost were unknown, unnamed people, the typical casualties of war, but there were also two or three who would be considered main (or at least important) characters. Now I have to wonder how many will be left standing by the end of the next book, which is supposed to be the conclusion. Even those still alive then won't necessarily be the same people they were when their adventures began.

Jim Holden is on Laconia, a prisoner of Winston Duarte, but by this time he has a bit of freedom to roam about the State Building and its grounds, not locked in a cell. Apparently Duarte realizes he either doesn't have the information he is seeking or won't give it up, so Holden is now what he terms a 'dancing bear,' little more than Duarte's pet. Everyone knows who he is and what he did to come to Duarte's attention, but he's left alone for the most part, even though he's under constant surveillance. Bobbie Draper and Alex Kamal are on a ship stolen from the Laconian fleet, flying under the radar but also trying to coordinate with other insurgents in Sol system. Naomi Nagata was offered a berth on that ship but instead chose to work on her own, but under the supervision of the insurgency's leader, Saba, still in hiding on Medina Station. The whereabouts and status of Amos Burton is unknown, ever since he went on a covert op into Laconian space, an attempt to extract Holden. Paolo Cortázar is still studying and manipulating the proto-molecule, as much for his own designs as it is to support Duarte's agenda. He now has a couple of other subjects to experiment on, courtesy of the strange dogs from the last novella, which are actually proto-molecule powered repair drones.

A favorite character from book four, Elvi Okoye, is back in the picture. Technically a major in the Laconian Navy, and in the military chain of command, but primarily utilized for her scientific expertise. She and the rest of the crew are tasked with studying various dead systems, those having no habitable planets or moons. One of the systems has a single structure that she is convinced was made by the same race that created the proto-molecule. Essentially a giant diamond, she thinks it may be a database for all of their science, but unfortunately she's not the commanding officer of the mission, so is overruled. Instead of being allowed to study it further, they are ordered to move to another system. It is devoid of any material at all other than its sun, which is a rapidly spinning neutron star, very near to collapsing into a black hole. Elvi is appalled when she learns what Duarte's plans are for that system. The desired effect is produced, but it's more devastating than anticipated. Several crew are dead, Elvi and others are seriously injured, and the ship is barely able to make it back to Laconia. Something I've just briefly mentioned before is that the race that produced the proto-molecule was apparently wiped out by another far superior race, never seen yet, but their presence had been felt when they reacted to particular actions produced through use of the proto-molecule. Why Duarte would choose to provoke another response from them is puzzling, other than assuming he is insane.

There is as much action in this book as any of the others, space battles galore, some won, but with heavy losses. The overall war is still raging, but Laconia is crippled somewhat, but anything can happen when you have the proto-molecule on your side. Even with all that, there are still smaller, more personal moments, as the characters deal with their individual demons, and their desire to reunite with former comrades. The bright spot is the Rocinante is flying again, and Elvi might be in a position to go back to that 'diamond' system to see if her speculation was correct. The other mysterious entity is still out there, so the focus has to be on understanding them, hopefully to appease them if at all possible, maybe even cooperation? The only other option would seem to be going back to Sol system and forgetting about the ring gates and the proto-molecule altogether, but that seems unlikely. It's hard to believe they'll be able to wrap up the story in just one more book, but I'm ready for it, no matter how long the wait. I'm sure it will be just as exciting as the rest of the journey, perhaps even more anxiety-inducing..

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Posted November 13, 2019:
At the time I wrote the previous section I knew there would be one more novel, but wasn't sure about another novella or shorter work, and the authors and publisher kept that a secret for quite a while. I pre-ordered Auberon as soon as it was announced, which was early October. At that time the release day was said to be December 3, but they later moved it up to November 12. I did my best to avoid any mention of what it would be about. They say it's a novella, although I'm thinking just barely. Both Amazon and Goodreads say it's just 66 pages, which would be difficult for me to confirm since I have my Kindle set at a fairly large font size for easier reading. Equal to a long chapter, maybe two, in one of the novels.

First off I'll say, as with most of the other shorts, it is not essential reading, but anyone who has been keeping up with the books will want to add this to their collection. None of the main characters are featured, but there is a minor one from a previous novella. The focus is on a Laconian official who has been appointed the new governor of the Auberon colony. It is implied Auberon is one of the richest of the colony worlds, in both minerals as well as its agricultural potential. The governor's wife is also a biolgist who hopes to oversee several promising projects. As with most of the other colonies, Auberon had been settled before Winston Duarte's political and military actions, so many of the systems were set up by independent colonists, although some may have later chosen to support Laconian policies. This was published out of internal chronological order. Naomi spent a short time on Auberon during the previous novel, but this is clearly set before that, but after Persepolis Rising. Still no word on the title of the ninth novel, or its release date, but I'll be sure to know about it as soon as it's announced.

I've already started my official rewatch of the TV show's first three seasons, gearing up for new episodes of The Expanse on Prime Video on December 13. It's about the fourth or fifth time overall, and even more for the first season, and I can assure you I am still in love with everything about it. I can say the same for the books, and even though I'm looking forward to the conclusion, I'm also not sure I want it to end.

EDIT: The title of the final novel mirrors the first. Leviathan Falls will be published November 30, 2021, although it's technically not the end. Another novella, serving as an epilogue, will be out March 15, 2022.

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Posted December 3, 2021:
There is an epilogue to this novel, set many years later, so I'm not sure what to expect in the novella that will be released next March. Will it follow up on that revelation, or will it be a prequel, maybe a summation of the entire series? This is not an easy review to write since I don't want to spoil anything, and even hinting might give too much away. Bottom line here is…even though I have a few nits to pick, I am satisfied with the conclusion. Up until the very end I was puzzled about how everything would be resolved, but in retrospect it is exactly what I should have expected. On the other hand, I really wish they hadn't [REDACTED]. Others who have read it know that might refer to three or four different things.

It's a shame we'll probably never see the later stories on screen, either on TV or in a movie, because the last three novels are as good, if not better, than the rest. We've met characters beyond those on the show, traveled to many other worlds, seen many more battles, most of them defeats for out heroes. The race that created the proto-molecule, and the race that wiped them out, must have thought they were the ultimate arbiters of how the universe should be run. Enter Winston Duarte, who says, "Hold my beer." Duarte, a rogue Martian officer who thought he could control the proto-molecute, stole the sample Fred Johnson got from the Rocinante crew, fled our solar system and set up his fledgeling empire on Laconia. He thought he could become immortal, but barring that would groom his daughter Teresa to succeed him. She has other plans, and so does Jim Holden. While Holden was Duarte's prisoner on Laconia, Naomi Nagata became the leader of the insurgency, the admiral of the rebel fleet, as well as the new captain of the Rocinante. That led to a few awkward moments after Holden rejoined his crew.

Elvi Okoye is still in the picture, having succeeded Cortázar as head of Laconia's Science Directorate. She knows as much about the proto-molecule as anyone, and her experiences on Ilus in the fourth book gave her insight into the race that devastated the proto-molecule builders. She was correct about the 'diamond' in the dead system, it is a repository of the builder's science. Slowly but surely she is unraveling the clues, but of course things rarely go smooth. I won't go into details about what's happening with Duarte, but he has left Laconia on a search of his own, with a loyal Laconian marine on his trail, as well as on the trail of Teresa. The mysterious entities from beyond the gates, perhaps even from an alternate dimension, are having more difficulty destroying humanity than they did the builders. But their attempts are being felt more frequently. Holden claimed he could sense them while transitioning through a gate. Elvi had been touched by them while in the alien structure on Ilus. Other examples of their work include lost consciousness and hallucinations, a sense that the fabric of reality is breaking down. Which it is.

I'll refrain from any other details about plot. The entire series has been about those who would manipulate their wealth and influence to gain even more power, regardless of how that affected others. James Holden was sometimes a lone warrior against those forces, and even though he did gain supporters, many others felt he did it for his own aggrandizement. Teresa Duarte loved her father, but was also afraid of him, and of what he might make of her. In so many things, even though it is a fantastical story, it is also relevant to current events, and historical ones. I'm going to end this with two passages that speak to these issues. The first is not in quotes because it is not something Naomi said, it's just from her thoughts as she was trying to coordinate insurgent forces.

The colony worlds were acting like their safety could exist separate from the well-being of all the other systems and ships. It couldn't be so hard to see how accepting a little restriction and regulation benefited everyone. But inner-worlds culture didn't measure it that way. For them, being better meant being better than the person next to you, not both of you sharing the same increase.

Toward the end, Holden had this to say: "History is soaked in blood. The future probably will be too. But for every atrocity, there's a thousand small kindnesses that no one noticed. A hundred people who spent their lives loving and caring for each other. A few moments of real grace. Maybe it's only a little more good than bad in us, but…" — then the person he's talking to says, "And yet we're about to consign millions of people to slow deaths.… Are you sure this thing you're about to do is the right one?" — "I don't have a fucking clue," Holden said, and then did it anyway.

Holden had always endeavored to do the right thing, even when it was never easy to be sure what that was. What he did at the end saved more than it hurt, and the alternative might have been the total annihilation of humanity. Only the future can judge heroes and villains, but for us now we can judge those who bring us great stories of heroes and villains. Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck, collectively as James S. A. Corey, have done the right thing. I will forever treasure these stories and these characters. And I will miss them. This book, and the entires series, is highly recommended. [EDIT: That now also applies to the concluding novella.]

The Sins of Our Fathers is now available on its own for Kindle from Amazon, as well as being on all other e-book formats. It is also collected with the other shorter stories in the new hardcover release, Memory's Legion, which I'll mention below. Purchases through our links may earn us a commission.

Posted March 17, 2022:
My comments will be brief. Even though Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck have said they will not be writing any more stories in this universe, that doesn't mean readers won't be imagining what comes next, or what might have occurred in side stories we never witnessed. I don't read fanfic, but I'll bet quite a bit has already been written. That includes what could happen after the end of this novella. It is set shortly after the main action of Leviathan Falls, but long before that novel's epilogue. Much has occurred beyond where the show was allowed to go, so almost anything I say could be a spoiler for those who haven't read too far into the books, even if they've watched all of the show. I will not identify the main character, although astute readers should be able to guess. The title doesn't have to refer to any specific father, it could be considered a metaphor for what everyone has to experience—a world built for them by their ancestors. Some might be complicit in part of how the world has developed, while others fight against it every day of their life. Do you embrace the previous sins, even emulate them, or do you reject them? Neither path is easy, and the only judge is your own conscience.

I reiterate what I said at the end of the previous section. The entirety of The Expanse, books and TV, is highly recommended. I have rated a few of the stories lower than others, but that only means that the best of them are exceptional, while the rest are only entertaining, necessary to get us to the next dramatic revelation. I still hold out hope the later books will eventually be adapted to screen, whether that be TV or movie. If not, I can always re-read and re-watch what we have been extremely lucky to get. If you have yet to experience this grand adventure I have to ask, what are you waiting for?

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LATEST (final?) UPDATE: Even though I had read all the shorter stories on Kindle, the collection Memory's Legion has the authors' notes after each story. I lucked into finding an inexpensive used copy, and while I was disappointed in the brevity of those notes, I still recommend it for others who may not have an e-reader, or who didn't get all the stories along the way. First in the collection is "Drive," which is the first in the chronology too, even though it was the third published. It originally appeared in an unrelated anthology edited by John Joseph Adams, then for a time was available to read free online at syfy.com, but it was dropped after they cancelled the show. It tells about Solomon Epstein creating the revolutionary space drive that opened up the solar system for exploration, and of course exploitation. Next up is "The Butcher of Anderson Station," concerning how Fred Johnson became an ally of Anderson Dawes, but it also has flashbacks to the reason he left the Earth military. Not all of the stories fit within the chronology of the novels, but they are close enough in reference to the novel that preceded them.

Recommendations about how and when to read certain stories depends on if you've seen the show, or only parts of it, or if you haven't but are only interested in reading the novels and stories. If just reading, save the third story, "Gods of Risk," until after the second novel, Caliban's War. "The Churn" is a prequel concerning Amos Burton's life in Baltimore before he emigrated off Earth. Hints of his history were given in Season One, then a bit more in Season Three when Monica Stuart was interviewing the Rocinante crew, but more details are revealed in the second episode of Season Five. Even if you've only seen the first two seasons of the show, "The Vital Abyss" could be read earlier than its publication sequence, which didn't come until after the fifth novel. It is the only Expanse story to be written in first person, the narrator being Paolo Cortázar, the scientist who had been working for Antony Dresden at Protagen. His story was slightly altered for the show, but in relation to that I would say the story takes place after he was taken off Tycho Station by Anderson Dawes. If only reading, save the last two stories until you've read the later novels, and that applies even if you've seen all of the show, which only covered the first six novels, and the shorter stories up to "Strange Dogs." For show watchers, you shouldn't read "Strange Dogs" unless you've at least started Season Six. The notes are barely a page each, and with just a couple of exceptions, didn't give me any new information. They will be more meaningful for those just starting reading the series.

I'll end this the same way I did the previous section. If you haven't experienced The Expanse yet, books or show, what are you waiting for?

Related Links:
Reviews of the first five novels, Leviathan Wakes - Nemesis Games (plus five shorter stories).
Review of Syfy's The Expanse TV show.
New page for The Expanse on Prime.
The Expanse Wiki - concerning both the books and the TV series.
And now the new Graphic Story, The Expanse: Dragon Tooth, set in between books 6 and 7.