39 replies to this topic

[Maltaran]

I finished this last night, and couldn't find any other threads, so here we are. What do people think? I enjoyed it, although not as much as Leviathan Wakes - I think I preferred Miller to Holden, and was missing his presence (so the epilogue made me happy). Avasarala was fun to read, but I didn't really like Prax - he just seemed passive most of the time.

On the subject of the epilogue, is Miller (or is it simply a protomolecule simulation of Miller?) now an ambassador from Venus? And a question that's more likely to get answered if the authors see this post - was Bobbie deliberately named after Don Draper's son in Mad Men, or is it a coincidence?

[Chataya de Fleury]

You'll probably get more responses after the book is released on 6/22

Did you have an ARC, or has the book been released early in Europe?

[RedEyedGhost]

My tpb copy shipped from amazon.com this morning, but I'll probably wait to read it on my kindle and I doubt they'll release that early

[Werthead]

Chataya de Fleury, on 11 June 2012 - 12:58 PM, said:

You'll probably get more responses after the book is released on 6/22

Did you have an ARC, or has the book been released early in Europe?

The book came out last week in the UK, but I think some bookshops here had copies a week or two before that.

[Maltaran]

Didn't realise it wasn't out in the States yet - that explains the lack of discussion

[Garlan the Gallant]

http://www.oneclicka...&prod_id=DF0027

Is this for real? The audiobook doesn't come until September and its $123?!?!

[DanielAbraham]

Yeah, that don't smell right to me.  I'm not in the loop on the audio production, but I know that sometimes there's an institutional price (like what you'd charge a library with lots of possible users) that's significantly higher than normal.  My guess is that the individual retail price will go back down to sane.  But my guess is literally as good as the next guy you pass on the street.

[Contrarius]

Garlan the Gallant, on 13 June 2012 - 06:09 PM, said:

http://www.oneclicka...&prod_id=DF0027

Is this for real? The audiobook doesn't come until September and its $123?!?!

Are you US or UK, or somewhere else? Audible US will have it when it comes out....

[Garlan the Gallant]

DanielAbraham, on 13 June 2012 - 09:00 PM, said:

Yeah, that don't smell right to me.  I'm not in the loop on the audio production, but I know that sometimes there's an institutional price (like what you'd charge a library with lots of possible users) that's significantly higher than normal.  My guess is that the individual retail price will go back down to sane.  But my guess is literally as good as the next guy you pass on the street.

Thank you!

Contrarius, on 14 June 2012 - 12:29 AM, said:

Are you US or UK, or somewhere else? Audible US will have it when it comes out....

Great news!

-----

On a separate topic, does anyone know which of the POV characters were written by Daniel and which were written by Ty? From my count there are five POV characters (Mei, Bobbie, Holden, Prax, and Avasarala). From a pure guess I'm assuming that Daniel wrote Bobbie and Prax while Ty wrote Holden and Avasarala and that they both wrote the Mei prologue.

[Rex Tyrannus]

I wrote Holden and Bobbie.

I'm flattered that people can't tell who wrote who.

[The Iceman of the North]

Ok, who or what is Caliban in 'Caliban's War'? Unless I missed something, none of the action took place near Uranus (and it's satellite Caliban).

[Maltaran]

Rex Tyrannus, on 14 June 2012 - 02:48 AM, said:

I wrote Holden and Bobbie.

I'm flattered that people can't tell who wrote who.

I'd assumed that Avasarala was written by whichever of you did Miller in Leviathan Wakes, but I'd forgotten which way round you were. I hadn't worked out who wrote Prax and Bobbie.

Frozen Geordie, on 14 June 2012 - 03:22 AM, said:

Ok, who or what is Caliban in 'Caliban's War'? Unless I missed something, none of the action took place near Uranus (and it's satellite Caliban).

Maybe it's a reference to The Tempest? I've not read that particular play, though, so I can't be sure. (Random trivia: all of Uranus's moons are named after characters from Shakespeare).

[Rex Tyrannus]

From the Tempest, Caliban is the monster that you try to control, that winds up destroying you.

[The Iceman of the North]

Bloody literate writers!

[Garlan the Gallant]

This was an amazing, amazing novel. I can't wait of the third novel to come out. How long is the series planned to go on for? I know that there was some deal and I think that I read that there are now seven novels planned. Is that correct?

Also, the ending of this novel was amazing. I never saw that last character popping up again. Also, the preview for the third novel has me craving for more. I hope that it comes out next year! And soon!

I am an avid fan of Daniel Abraham, but I think that Daniel Abraham + Ty Franck/ James S.A. Corey is an even better author. I'm not quite sure how that's possible, but it is IMO.

[Grogsmash]

Just picked this up after switching my Amazon store to the UK. Is there any particular reason they do staggered releases like this for so many books?

[Garlan the Gallant]

Also, I found it pretty amazing that Daniel and Ty wrote POV characters that are at the opposite ends of the story. Bobbie ties in with Avasarala and Holden ties in with Prax; yet, Daniel wrote Ava and Prax and Ty wrote Holden and Bobbie. This speaks to their talent as authors and to the level of teamwork and planning that went into the novel.

[Werthead]

The Expanse #2: Caliban's War by James S.A. Corey (Daniel Abraham & Ty Franck)

Quote

An alien protomolocule has taken root on Venus. Earth and Mars are in a shooting match over an incident on Ganymede. The Solar system is moving towards all-out anarchy and war, and it falls to a well-meaning meddler, a canny politician, a Martian marine and a grief-stricken botanist to try to stop the descent into madness.


Caliban's War is the second novel in The Expanse series, following on from last year's well-received Leviathan Wakes. This is old-school space opera, featuring the crew of a spacecraft as they attempt to save the Solar system from an alien menace. The series features some nods towards serious science - the ships work strictly by Newtonian physics and there is no FTL travel, with the scope of events being limited (so far) to the Solar system alone - but it's certainly not hard SF. The emphasis is being on an entertaining, fast-paced read, and the book pulls this off with aplomb.

The cast of characters has been expanded in this volume, with only Holden returning as a POV character from the first volume. Unlike the first novel, which had a grand total of two POVs, this second volume features four: Holden, UN politician Avasarala, botanist Prax and marine Bonnie. This means that the authors have three major new characters to introduce us to, as well as continuing the storyline from the first novel and evolving the returning cast of characters (Holden and his crew). This results in the pace being marginally slower than in Leviathan Wakes, although certainly not fatally so. Indeed, Abraham and Franck imbue the new characters with interesting backstories, motivations and quirks. It's also quite amusing that the most enjoyable character in an action-packed space opera is a 70-year-old politician with a potty mouth.

There's some major shoot-outs, a few big space battles, a close encounter with a rampaging monster in a zero-gravity cargo hold and other action set pieces that are handled well, but the book falters a little in its handling of politics (which are fairly lightweight) and the characterisation of the bad guys, who never rise above the obvious.

Caliban's War (***½) is not as accomplished as its forebear but is still a page-turning, solidly enjoyable read. The novel is available now in the UK and USA.

[PaulineMRoss]

Just finished this today - great fun, not too hard to keep up with, some really good new characters, plenty of action but nothing that dragged on too long. I thought the ending fell a little flat, somehow. But I knew Miller would be back :-) Biggest complaint - too much plot hinging on the fate of one small child. I know the whole scenario has to be humanised, somehow, but still, it felt over the top. There were some great moments in there, though, and I loved Bobbie the Marine from Mars (just can't call her a Martian).

[shortstark]

Just finished this, a notch below Leviathan Wakes, which was super, it suffered for me with the absence of Miller as he balanced out my irritability with the idealism of Holden, the irascibility and sheer cussedness of Avasarala and a Holden getting some Miller time moments helped.

The cast of the books is expanding and i wonder how much of the new characters will reappear, i am holding out hope for Bobbie, it will also be inteersting to see where the plot takes us next, surely not a next secret lab..

I raced thru this book and cant wait for the next installment...