On Cibola Burn (Expanse #4) by James SA Corey - REVIEW

Synopisis (per Goodreads) found here.  

Review:

This is #4 of the Expanse novels by James SA Corey (my review for #3 here - blog didn't exist for me to review #'s 1 and 2).  You can read Cibola Burn without having read the predecessors, but I wouldn't recommend it (the series is good stuff - read it). 

Everyone has their own "the mall." Generally it's a localized event and when one person says to another "I'm going to the mall," the other person knows they mean Menlo Park, not Freehold or Woodbridge. We hung out there as kids, shop there as adults, use it as a distraction as parents.  It's comfortable.  Sure maybe the Disney store relocates, but all we need is a sign that says "moved to the upper level near Nordstroms" and we know what it means - no map necessary.  And maybe we stop for an Auntie Ann pretzel on the way.

Now, I am generally not a science fiction guy (for the most part - my Goodreads library shows generally 4:1 in favor of Fantasy). Sure, I'll read the odd Star Wars novel (more based on the author than anything else), and I'll watch the Star Wars and (new) Star Trek movies (was never a Trekkie - nor have I watched Firefly - I probably shouldn't admit to that). But, the Expanse novels have become "the mall" for me; my go-to sci-fi read.  Science Fiction I'm comfortable with. And though each of Corey's novels have some changes - some new characters and a new cross-genre - Holden and the crew of the Rocinante are comfortable now (must be how Trekkies started to get attached to Piccard or who have you - I'm not starting that better Captain debate).

I mentioned "new cross-genre" in terms of a relocation of store (or perhaps what would be more apropos would be connection to a new store. Something within a familiar landscape, but in itself is new and exciting). You see, within each of the Expanse novels, Corey sets the story against some non-traditional sci-fi genre archetypes. Leviathan Wakes touched on horror. Caliban's War was heavy into politics. Abaddon's Gate was more traditional science fiction. Cibola Burn - well, here's our science fiction Western.

Like the other Expanse novels, Cibola Burn is at a break-neck pace, and I maintain that this series is the most movie-ready series out there (though it has been picked up by SyFy to be a television series - perhaps we'll get a blockbuster movie or so out of it anyway).

I'm realizing there is very little "review" in this review. If you're a fan of big-budget action/adventure movies - read these books (even if sci-fi isn't necessarily your thing).

I give it...  Han shot first.

On Honor Among Thieves by James S.A. Corey - REVIEW

Synopsis (per Goodreads):

When the Empire threatens the galaxy's new hope, will Han, Luke, and Leia become its last chance?

When the mission is to extract a high-level rebel spy from the very heart of the Empire, Leia Organa knows the best man for the job is Han Solo - something the Princess and the smuggler can finally agree on.  After all, for a guy who broke into an Imperial cell block and helped destroy the Death Star, the assignment sounds simple enough.

But when Han locates the brash rebel agent, Scarlet Hark, she's determined to stay behind enemy lines.  A pirate plans to steal a cache of stolen secrets that the Empire would destroy entire worlds to protect - including the planet where Leia is currently meeting with rebel sympathizers.  Scarlet wants to track down the thief and steal the bounty herself, and Han has no choice but to go along if he's to keep everyone involved from getting themselves killed.  From teeming city streets to a lethal jungle to a trap-filled alien temple, Han, Chewbacca, Leia, and their daring new comrade confront one ambush, double-cross, and firestorm after another as they try to keep crucial intel out of Imperial hands.  

But even with the crack support of Luke Skywalker's X-Wing squadron, the Alliance heroes may be hopelessly outgunned in their final battle for the highest stakes: the power to liberate the galaxy from the tyranny or ensure the Empire's reign of darkness forever.  

Review:

November 23, 2004.  The date that World of Warcraft was unleashed upon the public.  I purchased my copy that day and immediately created my Nightelf something-or-other (it doesn't really matter, that toon didn't last too long).  The game was new and exciting; a well-polished, well-populated Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game.  Then Blizzcon 2005, Blizzard announces the first expansion - The Burning Crusade.  Excitement and fear flood as the expansion looks to add a ton of new content, new races, blah blah blah.

Expansion.  There's something about expansion that's on one hand, thrilling, exciting, oh-my-god-when-is-this-going-to-be-released-already-I-need-it-now-ing.  But on the other hand can fill a person with dread, anxiety, nerve-wracking-oh-my-god-what-if-they-f-up-my-game-ing.  Maybe the expansion takes what was great about the game and betters it.  Or maybe the expansion adds pandas.

I was never one to delve into the Expanded Universe (EU).  Sure, I picked up the Timothy Zahn series' that take place after Return of the Jedi (I had read enough reviews and gotten recommendations to get me past the fear of expansion ruining my game).  But, when EU novels take place, say, between A New Hope and Empire Strikes Back...  What can the stakes be?  The best part about reading, say, GRRM is that no one is safe.  But if I'm reading a novel staged between two existing bodies of work, what's really the threat for Han, Chewie, and the rest?  Aside from the knowledge that your main cast is safe from death by stormtrooper, when a weapon appears that can destroy the Empire and/or will allow the Empire to crush the rebellion, well, that can't happen, right?  A) the Empire and Rebellion both exist in Empire Strikes Back, and B) said weapon is never mentioned again in the series.  So, EUs were never for me.

However; a Star Wars book by an author I've already read and thoroughly enjoyed? (I'm just sticking with calling James SA Corey an author, it's way too annoying to keep attempting to refer to him as them - James SA Corey is actually two authors if you didn't know - and they write The Expanse series of sci-fi novels (review here)).  Well, that intrigued me enough to jump back into the Star Wars EU.

James SA Corey writes popcorn novels.  Novels that can EASILY be translated into big budget action movies.  Everything is fast paced and action packed and all those other cliché movie phrases; awesome.  Honor Among Thieves is no different, and on top of that, its focus is everyone's favorite cynical smuggler, Han (did you really need me to write "Han" there?).  Corey NAILS the relationship between Han and Chewie, and the dialogue is perfect.  On top of that, he gives Han more depth than we get from him on screen.  We get some reflection on himself, on the rebellion.  And while it's nothing that is in character for him from what we see during the movies, it still makes sense for him.  It flows.  It fits.  It's a perfect expansion.

I give it...  Auri (a character from Patrick Rothfuss' Name of the Wind (Kingkiller Chronicles) books - who, per Pat, was not in his first draft of the novel, but, per me, the novels wouldn't be the same without her - perfect expansion).  That was a convoluted sentence.  Hopefully it made sense.

One Word Wednesday - The Expanse

Rules:  

Every Wednesday one question will be asked based on some recent tidbit of news.  You must answer this question in one word.  To emphasize your point, your one word answer may be accompanied by one picture.  One question, one word, one picture.  We'll call it One Word Wednesday.  

Note: You may explain your one word in a sentence or two (or three - ok, you have free reign to go crazy) at the end of the post.  

If you choose to play along, add the link to your post in the comments, and hop around to see what other words are being added.

One Word Wednesday:
News of another adaptation to the small screen:

Alcon Entertainment announced that the writers of the Iron Man and Children of Men movies will pen the pilot of the adaptation of the James S.A. Corey (Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck) science fiction series "The Expanse" (novels include Leviathan Wakes, Caliban's War, and Abaddon's Gate - with at least three more novels to come).  The announcement describes the show as "an hourlong scifi drama with elements of a detective procedural, centering on a cover-up of the discovery of alien life."

In one word, describe your thoughts on yet another fantasy/sci-fi title being adapted for television.

One Word:  EASY

Even when reading the Expanse novels, it has the feel of something that can be translated into a visual medium (I must admit I thought movie, not television drama).  With the success of the Star Trek reboot and the Star Wars universe now expanding, and with the success of Game of Thrones, True Blood, the optioning of Patrick Rothfuss' novels, it must have been an easy jump for TV execs to make, using Corey's work to hop on the fantasy/sci-fi bandwagon.  The novels seem made for visual reinterpretation.  

Honorable mention to the word "unsurprising."

On Abaddon's Gate by James S.A. Corey - REVIEW

Synopsis (per Goodreads):  

For generations, the solar system – Mars, the Moon, the Asteroid Belt – was humanity’s great frontier. Until now. The alien artefact working through its program under the clouds of Venus has emerged to build a massive structure outside the orbit of Uranus: a gate that leads into a starless dark.

Jim Holden and the crew of the Rocinante are part of a vast flotilla of scientific and military ships going out to examine the artefact. But behind the scenes, a complex plot is unfolding, with the destruction of Holden at its core. As the emissaries of the human race try to find whether the gate is an opportunity or a threat, the greatest danger is the one they brought with them.

Review:

This is book three in James S.A. Corey's The Expanse series.  Book three takes Holden and crew of the Roci out to the edge of the solar system where a mysterious ring has appeared, and it is through this ring where a majority of our story takes place - a starless void, an alien command station, a gateway.  This is a space opera, and as such, the overall plot surrounding the ring is only a small piece of the story.  What is a space opera, you ask?

I am by no means comparing The Expanse novels to Battlestar Galactica.  That would just be unfair.  However, the tone, the reliance on character development to drive the story, the extraterrestrial setting, put this in the same category at some level (this is not "hard sci-fi" where the emphasis is in scientific and/or technical detail).  

This being the third book in the series, it becomes a little easier to pick up on the writers' tendencies (side note: "writers'" is not a typo.  James S.A. Corey is actually two people).  As such, even though the story is unique from books one and two, even though there's character growth and additional characters added, the path of the story feels familiar.  

The blurb on the cover of the novel is something along the lines of "the closest to a Hollywood blockbuster in novel form as you can get" (I may be paraphrasing that).  That is Corey's style.  All three novels could easily be translated into film (should the science fiction scene become mainstream enough to necessitate the use of novels for additional content - and this is a possibility with Star Wars, Star Trek, Guardians of the Galaxy, etc. hitting the screens).  

What I disliked:  Reliance on new characters to drive the story.  Holden and crew, though central to much of the "purpose" of the events taking place, seemed to take a back seat for a majority of the novel.    Book two also added several new characters (most of which do not make more of an appearance than an off-hand mention by the main cast of this tale), but the driving force behind book two remained the development of the Roci's crew, their relationships with each other, and with various political organizations of the solar system.  

That being said, the book is still an excellent read (don't judge my month-long timeframe to get through the novel as an indication of my enjoyment as there were just too many personal reasons for my lack of reading lately).  Is Abaddon's Gate as good as book one (Leviathan Wakes)?  No.  I'd also venture so far as to say it was not quite the level of book two (Calaban's War) either.  But, the authors that are James S.A. Corey know how to entertain, and I will read the continued (mis)adventures of Holden and crew as they deal with the ramifications of the conclusion of Abaddon's Gate (I'll leave this mostly spoiler free).  Though these novels are generally in the 500 page range, they read like candy - like a popcorn flick.