Persepolis Rising (The Expanse)

At first when I realized the story was set decades ahead of the last book I got worried. My concern was that they were going to have a changing of the guard, or that there'd be heavy use of the "I'm getting too old for this" trope. It was mitigated with sci-fi handwaving, but it's still sexagenarians at best getting into stacked odds brawls and winning.
The story starts to find our protagonists dealing with Sovereign Citizens In Space, with the Trade Union somehow thinking sending they guy who is known for impromptu press releases because of his gut feeling to deliver a death sentence for a traffic violation wasn't going to go horribly wrong. Hijinks ensue and the real story began. The pacing and the action played well, if some parts got a little predictable. Despite this, it kept me glued to my kindle and I'm already chomping at the bit for the next one.

Persepolis Rising does not disappoint the Expanse fans.

While it is sad to see our heroes aging, the story is just as captivating here as it was at the very beginning of the series. The characters are just as interesting (and multi-dimensional) as they always have been, and you care what happens, wondering how they are going to get out of this scrape.

I am on board for the next book. Count me in!!!

I have to admit that the SyFy channels' actors have changed how these characters look in my mind's eye... :) I love that series as well. Even if it is a bit different, to accommodate the medium.

Persepolis Rising does not disappoint the Expanse fans.

While it is sad to see our heroes aging, the story is just as captivating here as it was at the very beginning of the series. The characters are just as interesting (and multi-dimensional) as they always have been, and you care what happens, wondering how they are going to get out of this scrape.

I am on board for the next book. Count me in!!!

I have to admit that the SyFy channels' actors have changed how these characters look in my mind's eye... :) I love that series as well. Even if it is a bit different, to accommodate the medium.

An awesome series, a delightful re-read then going on to the two I did not have and I loved it all the way through. My only, and no, it's not a complaint, but a sort of low level disappointment, was the ending of Persepolis Rising. There needs to be at least one more book, too many plot lines left waving in the breeze and I'll not throw a spoiler but one is left a prisoner, another grieves at the bottom of a gravity well while a couple more try to figure out what to do with a hijacked star-ship. And yes, the Duarte/Holden tension screams for release through some sort of epic encounter and then, and only then, can one couple slip into a comfortable retirement, Bobby can have a baby and name it Clarissa while Amos gets a real girlfriend. Real life never has closure as life tends to just go on, but a story needs some sort of ending, an ending that Persepolis Rising fails to deliver.

Best syfy I've read in a couple of years. I've enjoyed all of the Expanse Series, but in Persepolis Rising, Corey has constructed the foundation for an entirely new story arc/series (even though it is still called the Expanse). The manner in which the Laconians invade the SOL system is a different take on how an invasion might play out--interesting and believable. I'm looking forward to more action on strange new worlds in the colonies and learning more about the creators of the proto-molecule. My only criticism is the wait for the next installment.

After the previous book Babylon's Ashes, I was a little concerned for the Expanse series. Focusing more The the conflict between Earth, a renagade group of Belter's committed to destroying the Earth, I was afraid the series might become a soap opera focusing on the conflicts within our solar system. With their new book Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck get the series back on track with a story that focuses on the conflict between humanity over the Protomolecule subjecting in cents once again to its effects, those who have settled the planets through the gate and James Holden and the crew of the Rocinante trying to stop humanity from destroying itself.

The Expanse series is at its best when the crew of the Rocinante are at the center of the story (although some of the side novellas are excellent including some that focus in the colonists of the new worlds through the gate). I understand why Babylon's Ashes was written but the story would have worked better as a novella rather than the epic novel that we ended up with. It's an interesting link the series but not an essential one (and I'm sure that, given the success of the TV show and the novels, they've been encouraged to expand on their original planned novels. That's not a knock on either one of them but, as a result, some of the novels are goi g to be essential, some not).

That said, Persepolis Rising compares favorably to the first three novels in the series and proves just as essential as the first five novels. I completely enjoyed this addition t the series and look forward to future installments.

I found it hard to finish this book. I almost put it down several times but ultimately got through it. Basically, very few authors can keep the creative energy going through three books and what is this, the 8th? Enough said, wrap up The Expanse and live off your success as it is all down hill from here.

Another hit in the expanse series. Now, when’s the next book out?

Seriously though, the only nit I can pick is that it’s taking way too long to do the reveal on the protomolecule aliens and their killers. I get that humans are the focus but playing footsie with this mystery for 7 whole books is getting up to parody levels. Also, we need Miller (ghost Miller?) back.

Set some thirty years ahead in the characters timeline each character has aged, grown and developed. The writing is very tight, although there are places (like the inside of some small rooms in the vast structure of certain Starcraft or the Villain's so-called "heightened perceptions ") where the visualization sometimes misses a little metaphorical clarity; particularly given that some passages are written as if the characters are seeing with four sets of eyes (which, given two authors and who knows how many editors, is true). In truth this installment of the expanse leaves one feeling that many threads have yet to be tied off. I look forward to the next installment!

Interesting speculation of one man's vision and utilization of protomolecule technology to become an unbeatable force for a new style of galaxy-wide governing. Invasion is not welcome. Implimentation suffers from the usual human responses and a by the book Laconian Governor mishandling the transition. Same excellent storytelling as the rest of the Expanse books. And the story's not done yet.

Another great addition to the series. I'm conflicted in that I am so anxious to see how this story series will end, but on the other hand, then it will be over. Ah well, can't have your cake and eat it too I guess.

The big time jump was a little startling; honestly I think they could have had a much shorter jump, like 10 years, but its fine I suppose.

My favorite series to date. Seemed to take a long time for this part of the series to come out. I was a little thrown off by the time lapse. But the twists and turns!!!! Holden a prisoner?! Power shift? The battles! Wow. Pre-ordering asap.

I love The Expanse series (and TV show!) but this book for me is the weakest entry in the series. It suffers heavily from 'middle book syndrome', where the book feels like a setup for the next few and the climax hits with a dull thud. I understand the reasons for the time skip but felt the execution was subpar. Not one of the point of view plotlines really caught my attention in the way the previous books had, and the resolution to each in this book leave a bad taste in the mouth. Bobbie's character direction feels a bit out of place for me but that's just a minor gripe compared to the huge power level discrepancy between the various factions, which serve to take away the tension from any of the action scenes.

Overall I would like to forget I read this one, and if you were to skip it and read the next novel in the series (when it comes out) I'm not sure you'd be missing much.

If this the last book in the Expanse series, it is a strange ending - one of separation, abandonment and loneliness. The book is quite good and keeps ones attention. Character development is strong. Ending leaves one without any sense of the characters you grow attached to, having any future at all. Psychological dystopia

I really liked this book. I thought the efforts to push the gender identity agenda with the non-gender identified people in the book felt really forced and out of place; this detracted from the quality of the book in those places. In spite of that it was a great read.

Am through first few chapters, just got it yesterday. So far I am intrigued! I love this series, and have read some of them 3 times, they’re all good but I do have favorites. I’ve got a feeling this one will be my favorite so far. They are exploiting much of the world building done in the past, and it’s really cool! New bad guy, one in my opinion, that is way more interesting than any in the past. Just buy it folks.

Don't let the endorsement by George R. R. Martin on the cover throw you. There are no dragons or palace intrigue or petulant blond princesses or teenage girls. Persepolis Rising continues to deliver the riveting and realistic near-future SCIENCE Fiction SPACE Adventure that has earned the series its sterling reputation for non-fantasy-based SCIENCE Fiction. If you loved "The Martian", you'll probably love this series. If not, you might want to stick with GoT.

Got the kindle version a couple days ago. I tried to read it slowly, but it just kept my attention so much that i am already done. Now I have months and months to wait for the next books in the Expanse series. This book was very good, and an easy read. The Expanse series is now like a favorite chair, the main characters are like old friends and are ageing nicely.

Wonderful continuation of the series, likely informed by the totalitarian creep of current events. The time jump forward is a little hard to adjust to at first, but middle age suits the main characters well. More please!

The Expanse is space opera at it's best and Persepolis Rising is the latest installment in this fantastic science fiction series. This book contains all the aspects that fans have come to love. From the return of beloved characters to the ever-growing world-building, this sequel delivers it all.

After a year away from the series, it was so easy to fall back into this engrossing story. Returning to this universe felt incredibly nostalgic. The elements of sexual and ethnic diversity were seamlessly woven into narrative of this inclusive story. The world building continued to be easy to understand, yet epic in scope. As always, this space opera story was immersive and highly entertaining.

One of the biggest reasons I keep coming back to the series is to spend more time with these characters. All the characters in this book were well fleshed out, complex, and completely compelling. This book is told primarily from four distinct character viewpoints, which each providing a unique perspective into the larger story. Two of the viewpoints were familiar characters, while the other two were new perspectives. All the major beloved characters made appearances within the course of this novel. While I am always biased towards reading about established characters, I also enjoyed reading from both the new characters, which provided must needed viewpoints in the story.

This book is set a fair ways after the events in Babylon's Ashes and, therefore, plays heavily on the themes of change and aging. At this point in time, we see how not only the ship, but also the crew of the Rocinante, are growing older. They are no longer naive and impulsive. Instead, through the passage of time, we see how the characters have grown and matured

As the seventh book in a nine book series, Persepolis Rising faced the challenges of being a mid-series book. The authors needed to balance writing an exciting self-contained plot while continuing to build towards the final larger climax. This story had to bridge the gap between the previous book and also setup the sequence of events that will lead to the ending of the series. These factor made this book feel more like a transitional book in places. Compared to previous books, the plotting of this book felt a bit slower. The politics between the planets, and other organizations played a larger role in this novel. Toward the second half of the book, the narrative did pick up with more action. The ending of this book had some particularly exciting events that certainly pulled me into the story.

Upon finishing this novel, I am now highly anticipating the final two books in the series. The authors have confirmed that they already know the ending to this series, which gives me great confidence in the larger story arc. Persepolis Rising laid the groundwork for an incredible finale.

I highly recommend that any fan of The Expanse book series (or TV show) hurry up and catch up on this series as soon as possible. I just know that James S.A. Corey will deliver an epic end to this grand space opera.

I requested this one from Orbit Books.

I really liked this book. I thought the efforts to push the gender identity agenda with the non-gender identified people in the book felt really forced and out of place; this detracted from the quality of the book in those places. In spite of that it was a great read.

Am through first few chapters, just got it yesterday. So far I am intrigued! I love this series, and have read some of them 3 times, they’re all good but I do have favorites. I’ve got a feeling this one will be my favorite so far. They are exploiting much of the world building done in the past, and it’s really cool! New bad guy, one in my opinion, that is way more interesting than any in the past. Just buy it folks.

Don't let the endorsement by George R. R. Martin on the cover throw you. There are no dragons or palace intrigue or petulant blond princesses or teenage girls. Persepolis Rising continues to deliver the riveting and realistic near-future SCIENCE Fiction SPACE Adventure that has earned the series its sterling reputation for non-fantasy-based SCIENCE Fiction. If you loved "The Martian", you'll probably love this series. If not, you might want to stick with GoT.

Got the kindle version a couple days ago. I tried to read it slowly, but it just kept my attention so much that i am already done. Now I have months and months to wait for the next books in the Expanse series. This book was very good, and an easy read. The Expanse series is now like a favorite chair, the main characters are like old friends and are ageing nicely.

Wonderful continuation of the series, likely informed by the totalitarian creep of current events. The time jump forward is a little hard to adjust to at first, but middle age suits the main characters well. More please!

The Expanse is space opera at it's best and Persepolis Rising is the latest installment in this fantastic science fiction series. This book contains all the aspects that fans have come to love. From the return of beloved characters to the ever-growing world-building, this sequel delivers it all.

After a year away from the series, it was so easy to fall back into this engrossing story. Returning to this universe felt incredibly nostalgic. The elements of sexual and ethnic diversity were seamlessly woven into narrative of this inclusive story. The world building continued to be easy to understand, yet epic in scope. As always, this space opera story was immersive and highly entertaining.

One of the biggest reasons I keep coming back to the series is to spend more time with these characters. All the characters in this book were well fleshed out, complex, and completely compelling. This book is told primarily from four distinct character viewpoints, which each providing a unique perspective into the larger story. Two of the viewpoints were familiar characters, while the other two were new perspectives. All the major beloved characters made appearances within the course of this novel. While I am always biased towards reading about established characters, I also enjoyed reading from both the new characters, which provided must needed viewpoints in the story.

This book is set a fair ways after the events in Babylon's Ashes and, therefore, plays heavily on the themes of change and aging. At this point in time, we see how not only the ship, but also the crew of the Rocinante, are growing older. They are no longer naive and impulsive. Instead, through the passage of time, we see how the characters have grown and matured

As the seventh book in a nine book series, Persepolis Rising faced the challenges of being a mid-series book. The authors needed to balance writing an exciting self-contained plot while continuing to build towards the final larger climax. This story had to bridge the gap between the previous book and also setup the sequence of events that will lead to the ending of the series. These factor made this book feel more like a transitional book in places. Compared to previous books, the plotting of this book felt a bit slower. The politics between the planets, and other organizations played a larger role in this novel. Toward the second half of the book, the narrative did pick up with more action. The ending of this book had some particularly exciting events that certainly pulled me into the story.

Upon finishing this novel, I am now highly anticipating the final two books in the series. The authors have confirmed that they already know the ending to this series, which gives me great confidence in the larger story arc. Persepolis Rising laid the groundwork for an incredible finale.

I highly recommend that any fan of The Expanse book series (or TV show) hurry up and catch up on this series as soon as possible. I just know that James S.A. Corey will deliver an epic end to this grand space opera.

I requested this one from Orbit Books.

I have LOVED this series, that is until now. I am three-quarters of a the way through this book and am finding it hard to finish. It's really rather boring and depressing. Everyone just seems old, or older, and tired. There's none of the wit or snappy discourse I so enjoyed and appreciated from the preceding books. Hoping it gets better by the time this installment of the story arc wraps up, but I am not optimistic and rather disappointed. It seems another series I thoroughly enjoyed is grinding down to a long suffering end (Thanks Robin Hobb and Assassin's Fate! - Grrr!).

I waited anxiously for this book but I am somewhat disappointed. I did not like the 30 years jump ahead without a decent transition from the previous book. A by-product of this lack of transition is that Chrisjen Avasarala, one of the primary characters of all the previous books did not appear until approximately the 7:30 mark of chapter 14 and then had a minor role in the rest of the book. A good transition would have put her late appearance in perspective and made her minor role more palatable. The same can also be said of all the main characters and the new main protagonist.

As usual when the action heats up the writing and storytelling is as good as the previous books

I do hope that the transition to the next book is much better.

Another well-written and edited novel, although I think the author could have tightened up the story line. I expected this one to be the finale to the series, with all the main characters much older and creakier. Instead of the final act, it becomes an extension of the story line, and the expected final conclusion never happens. There were Medina expanses where not much happened, and Drummer expanses that didn’t add much to the story. So it just goes on and on. However, it is a class act, and I will certainly buy the next installment.

Worst book in the series. Corey has gone from covering all of his bases to being seriously lazy.

This novel skips ahead 30 years, what has happened in the meantime, nothing. Oh Alex got married and divorced, but nothing else. No new crew, no one is married, no children. Alex was also mentioned as being in his mid-40s in an earlier book, but apparently now that his nearly 80, he can still fly and withstand high g despite being elderly and living in low gravity which would obviously deteriorate his bones. Not to mention, ambient radiation. So that’s ridiculous. The old Indian lady, Avasarala is also back and puttering around doling c-words and whatnot despite being 100 years old.

The whole premise is far fetched. Laconians take over the Medina Station, impound the Rosi, and ground her crew who quickly move into a resistance. Despite their reputation and even one of them being caught near the scene, they are not suspected of being involved in the bombings and whatnot. Ridiculous. Further, I can’t imagine the station has no cameras. How hard would it be in the future to track people’s movements via facial recognition and put two and two together?

Finally, his characters have devolved into self-righteous and smug always-right, one-dimensional good guys, and the bad guys are bad, so bad that Corey has to start the book by showing us how they’re basically vampiring people so their leader can be immortal or something. Really stupid.

I liked this series originally. Characters were interesting and.conflicted, had competing loyalties, but now they are boring. Corey never kills any main character off, only peripheral characters. He hasn’t introduced a new crew character since the second book. What a wasted opportunity, he could have given us a few new crew members and implied a lot of backstory while we uniquely get to know them through the eyes of the crew we know who already had a long history with these theoretical new characters. And this would have let him come back and tel more stories about this interlude when his current series is complete.

But I’ll tel you now, good guys win, bad guy loses, no crew member who isn’t already knocking on death’s door will die either. Corey, you can do way better than this brother.

Still working my way through it. But my initial impression is that you can almost hear the Star Wars theme music in this book as well as Darth Vader declaring "you are a rebel and a traitor to the empire!". Why? Because in this book the Laconian "Empire" has re-emerged with massive ships and high-tech Marines (e.g., imperial storm troopers) led by Winston Duarte (Darth Vader, Emperor Palantine) to overthrow the rebel alliance (Earth, Mars, and everyone else). Winston Duarte (or Darth Vader) demands total obedience to the Empire and destroys anyone who will not give it. Against their plans stands a crew of plucky rebels on a single small warship known as the Millennium Falcon (e.g., Rocinate).

I really liked this very well written series when it started out. Now it seems to have degenerated into boilerplated G. R. R. Martin never ending wandering around nonsense with no end in sight. It's not an accident that praise from Martin (who clearly has no idea how to finish Game of Thrones) is splashed across every book of the series.

Are you reading the Expanse series? Yes? Good. No? Well, maybe you should reconsider.

Seven books in, and the Expanse is still going strong. A lot of times series start to loose their way or collapse under their own weight. But the Expanse clearly has an end goal in mind, and somehow it always manages to convincingly up the stakes. Oh, and be forewarned — there’ll potentially be spoilers for earlier books from here on out.

Before I can talk about literally anything else, I need to address the most obvious thing about Persepolis Rising: the time jump. It skips thirty years in between books! What the heck! I had soooo many feelings about this. I tend to have a hard time adjusting to time jumps, both in books and TV shows. All the characters have changed and everything’s so different! But in the case of Persepolis Rising, I can see why James S.A. Corey made the decision. Thirty years gives enough time for the galaxy (and beyond) to recover from the war and for a new status quo to emerge. Of course, it also gives time for the break-away Martian military on Laconia to prepare to wreck that status quo. Remember those people? The ones everyone was sort of content to forget about? Yeah, well they’re back and aiming to conquer all of humanity.

If Persepolis Rising doesn’t quite rise to the heights of Nemesis Games, that might just be a testament to how good Nemesis Games was (plus it’s hard to beat the gut-shock of the asteroid hitting Earth). If possible, the situation in Persepolis Rising might be even worse. The Laconians have new technology fueled by the proto-molecule, things no one has ever seen before. With all the books in the Expanse series, I’ve been sure that the crew of the Rocinante will somehow save the day, that the villains will be defeated, and that the galaxy will be better for it. I haven’t given up hope that our heroes will win out, but Persepolis Rising makes me question it. If Nemesis Games and Bablyon’s Ashes were the stories of a war for survival, Persepolis Rising is the story of resistance. What do you do when the bad guys win?

Of course, the heart of the Expanse is the characters, and I’ll always be happy to spend time with the crew of the Rocinante. Thirty-years have brought some changes. Most heart-breaking is that Clarissa has become ill from those implants she installed so many years before. She’s not much longer for the world, and Amos is loosing his cool. With Amos, that’s really not a good thing. But there’s other changes too. Holden and Naomi are (gasp!) thinking of retiring and leaving the ship to Bobbie. I know, things really must have changed! It’s hard to imagine Holden having a quiet life of leisure. However, this does mean that we end up with one of my favorite tropes: one last job before retirement.

While Persepolis Rising follows in Bablyon’s Ashes footsteps by having a looser hand with POV structure, there are a few main perspectives. Holden, as usual, but also Bobbie, whom I’ll forever love. She might be aging and slowing down, but she’s still a badass. Persepolis Rising also moves a minor character from previous books into center stage: Drummer, the woman I mainly remember as Fred Johnson’s assistant. She’s head of the transportation union and one of the most powerful people in the universe. Her life’s looking pretty great, until, all of a sudden, it really doesn’t. It took me a while to warm up to Drummer, but by the end, I’d come to like her. I hope we see more of her going forward. Otherwise, we’ve got an entirely new character as one of our central POVs. Singh is a Laconian who completely believes in their plan to conquer the galaxy and rigidly adheres to the rules, even when it involves killing people. The question hanging over Singh’s chapters is whether he’ll have some self-realizations about what he’s doing. Will he continue down the path he’s started on, or will he turn to the light? He’s not a character I like, but I did find his perspective interesting.

Persepolis Rising is a new stage for the series. The scale has really shifted since the first book. Things have gotten so much more intense, so much more vast, so much more (dare I say it) expansive. This new plotline is a thrilling addition to the series, even if it does occasionally hit me right in the feels. Seven books in, and I still desperately want the next installment. What ever will I do when this series is over?

This review is for the audiobook version of "Persepolis Rising." Up to now, I've really enjoyed listening to this series, but I'm not finding this installment particularly enjoyable. Part of it is the narration -- Jefferson Mays is a good reader, and the way he creates distinctive voices for the characters is unsurpassed, but his measured, precise, almost prissy diction in the narrative portions unfortunately points up the verbal tics, repetitiveness, and other occasional authorial sloppiness that I would probably skim over if I were reading a dead tree or e-book. The pacing is slow -- practically glacial, in fact -- which is surprising given that our heroes find themselves in possibly their worst situation yet, one that could doom the entire human species to life in an eternal tyranny. But the worst problem has to do with the points of view from which the story is told. All of the "Expanse" novels have been told from the points of view of multiple characters, and for the most part it's been an engaging storytelling technique. But in this book, there are only four major POV characters -- two longtime members of our heroic crew, Holden and Bobbie, and two newer characters. Of these two, one -- a middle-aged woman in a position of great power, someone I'd ordinarily be delighted to be reading about -- is just not all that interesting. And the other is basically a poster child for the banality of evil. He's evil, and he's BORING. When I'm in one of his chapters, I just WANT IT TO BE OVER. I usually listen to audiobooks while I'm working out, but yesterday at the gym, I got so fed up that I actually turned this one off and switched to music instead. I've had it for a month and I'm only halfway through, which has NEVER happened before with a book in this series. I may be forced to spring for the Kindle book just so I can more easily skim through the bad parts and still find out what happens! More money for the two guys who have teamed up as "James S. A. Corey" to write this series -- which is fine, I want them to keep exploring this universe, but I think maybe for the next book, they need a better editor.

Frankly I have my own real life gray hair, sore joints, and atrophied muscles, and spend entirely too much time in the study of bowel movements as it is. I would prefer it if these topics were not visited in the hard sci-fi space opera novel I paid good money for. I will probably not be pre-ordering the next installment. Good day sirs.

This is book 7 of the Expanse that apparently takes place some thirty years after the previous volume. It is built around the return of exiles that defected from the Marian Fleet with then Admiral Duarte from beyond the interstellar gate, and now self-styled High Consul and head of a rather frightening totalitarian regime on Laconia, one of the thirteen hundred colonies opened up to Humans once the gate was reactivated. Except that the former exiles come back with an imperialist agenda: no less than the conquest of the Solar system and its uneasy alliance between “inners” from Earth and Mars and “Belters” (from space stations scattered across the system) and the integration of all human colonies into a vast and unique Human Empire. Except also that they come back with new and seemingly irresistible alien technology from a mysterious, extremely advanced and apparently extinct alien race.

Holden and his crew have aged and get caught up in the conflict that disrupts their plans. Some of the book’s features, such as the resistance on the station of Medina occupied by the invading Laconians or the space battle opposing a single Laconian battleship against the Solar system’s united fleet are both good and exciting. Also good is the psychological mind set and emotions of some of the main characters, in particular the despairing Drummer – the Belter woman now President of the Transport Union or Bobbie, the ex-Martian Marine who has become part of Captain Holden’s crew and aspires to replace him. Another interesting character is that of Captain Singh, his ambitions, feelings and failures as Laconian Governor of Medina.

One limitation, however, is that, once again, the five hundred plus page novel ends abruptly with a cliff hanger and, once again, it reads at the latest episode of a series of books that cannot really be taken up independently. A less important point is that the book’s title never gets explained and does not seem to correspond to any of the book’s features.

Four stars.

I've been reading science fiction a fairly long time. I can't remember for sure which was the very first sf novel I read, but I can remember vividly reading the novelization of 2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke not long after the movie was released. I was 9 years old when that movie came out, and I saw it three times in the theaters at that age. And because I've been reading sf a long time, I've read a *lot* of sf. But there was one thing I never understood. I would hear or read from many people that they couldn't wait for the next book in a particular series, that they were in love with characters who jumped off the page at them, and that they couldn't stand the long wait for the next book. I flat out never understood that attitude. A book is a book. The characters aren't real. There is nothing *that* engrossing about a book that a person can't wait for the next one in the series - assuming there is a next book (ask readers of A Song of Ice and Fire; but I digress). To state for the third time, I never understood it.

Until now. Until The Expanse. Until James Holden and the crew of the Rocinante. Until Chrisjen Avasarala. Until Fred Johnson. Until. Until. Until.

PERSEPOLIS RISING is the 7th book in The Expanse series, and is the first book in the last trilogy of the series. With each book, the series gets better, the characters get deeper, the stories get stronger, the stakes get higher. The Expanse is an apt title for the series. It's big and keeps getting bigger all the time.

There's that word. Time. It passes for all of us. But not for our favorite characters. They don't age, or if they do, it's not substantially. Our favorite characters are the same 10 books into a series as they were in the first book of the series. Well yes, Harry Potter grew up, but he was going to school. He aged seven years. Miles Vorkosigan got older too. As did Hari Seldon. But some aging hits us harder than others. And it is that which makes this book the most touching and poignant (to swipe a word from the other half of the Duel Fish Codices) novel in the series to date, even with all the action, political intrigue, and espionage.

You see, PERSEPOLIS RISING takes place 30 years after the events of BABYLON'S ASHES. Things have settled down in the Solar System. We have a semblance of organization, what with the Earth-Mars Coalition and the Transport Union. Humanity has spread out past the Gates into the universe beyond. There are more than 1000 colony worlds out there, gaining their footing. Humanity is reaching for the stars. And James Holden and the crew of the Rocinante are essentially hired hands, taking jobs for pay and flying the aging - yes space ships age too - Rocinante all over the place at the behest of the EMC and the Transport Union. There is....peace and contentment. No, not all is good and right. There are still problems. But for the first time in decades, there are no major calamities or catastrophes that need to be handled. There is no need for.....James "effing" Holden (if you will) to come forward, do some grandstanding, and save the day and the Solar System.

And he's feeling his age. He's tired. He doesn't want to do the Rocinante thing any more. He and the crew will take one last run to the Freehold system to try and deal with that colony's violation of Transport Union's rules and guidelines. And then he and Naomi Nagata will retire somewhere. They arrange to sell their shares of the Rocinante so that when the Freehold run is over, they're done. They can retire and relax.

Oh, come on, you really didn't think it would be *that* easy, did you?

Out beyond the gate, on the colony of Laconia, Winston Duarte has slowly built an empire, an empire he intends on spreading to the rest of humanity. You see, Duarte's vision for humanity is peace and prosperity for all, and it is *his* empire that will provide it for mankind. And he thinks he will win. He has been having his body modified with protomolecule technology, and he's been building ships with protomolecule technology.

You remember the protomolecule, don't you? Yeah, that intelligent alien organism that would essentially trash anything it came in contact with, or transform it into something else. Yeah, *that* protomolecule. We haven't seen much of the protomolecule in the last few books, as Corey was busy setting everything else up for the final showdown that I absolutely, positively guarantee is going to come in book nine. Because, where there's a protomolecule, there's a race trying to destroy the users of it. But never mind that.

Duarte's army invades the colonies and the solar system via a ship that is made of and by protomolecule technology. It's unstoppable. There are other ships in the fleet, and Duarte installs Captain Santiago Singh as governor of Medina Station. Poor Captain Singh is way out of his depth. You see, he has to deal with the crew of the Rocinante and other rebels on Medina Station who are trying to take it back from him. And of course they're good. They're very good.

I don't want to give away much more of the story. I think that's for the reader to discover and savor. But I do want to talk about Holden just a bit. Holden has been our hero for the entirety of the series. Every time something goes wrong, Holden jumps in, does something Holden-esque, and saves the day. This book is not about James Holden. Yes, he plays a part in this book. Yes, he does something Holden-esque to help his friends in their quest to stop Singh and the Laconians. But it's not about him. It's about our heroes aging, and doing things one more time because they can, even if after all those years of doing that thing they know better and that they shouldn't do that thing. They can't help who they are. They just do it. It makes Holden genuine, even as every bone in his body creaks and makes noise. Heck, it makes everyone genuine. Bobbie Draper has a thought early on in the book: you know you're old when you stop doing things to prove that you're not. I don't know, does that mean Holden isn't old, because he does, one more time, something to prove he is not?

Oh yeah, speaking of old. Any Avasarala fans out there? Yeah, I can see your hands in the air all the way to the back of the room. And you can squee just as loud as I did when she shows up the first time in PERSEPOLIS RISING. I said it in an earlier Expanse review, and I'll say it again. I will probably miss her more than any other character in the series once it's over.

This book hit me in a different way than I was expecting. Holden wants to retire. So do I. I've got a few years to go yet, but still, it made me think of my life and the things I've done over the nearly 37 years since I joined the adult workforce, and it made me realize that, like Holden, I still want to do things that matter. This book hit home. And I loved every minute of it. And I'm pretty sure I'm going to love the remaining two books in the series as well.

So, my goodness. What more can I say about narrator Jefferson Mays? His reading, tone, inflection, characters, *everything* are all outstanding. I will say that he does the best Avasarala in the world, even better than the actress that plays her on the TV show. And yes, I nearly drove off the road the first time her voice popped up in the reading. Come to think of it, not only will I miss Chrisjen Avasarala, I'm going to miss Jefferson Mays reading her.

I don't know what happened. I loved the first two books of this series SO MUCH. Since then, each book has gotten progressively less interesting. I have read Daniel Abraham's two fantasy series, and they are excellent all the way through. I don't know if it's the other author dragging it down, or if they just can't handle science fiction. Either way, I'm done.

Compared to nearly every other science fiction novel Persepolis Rising earns five stars. The writing is excellent, with complex, well developed characters, a compelling plot and the usual seamless presentation of future tech. However, I found it a less satisfying read than the previous books in the series.

The story takes place thirty years after the last book. This time interval is critical to the plot, but it takes a toll on the characters. The amiable camaraderie of the crew has become somewhat strained, with one dispute leading to actual violence. It also makes the combat scenes somewhat less credible. We are supposed to believe that middle-aged characters can still endure exhausting missions and sometimes physically dominate younger, trained opponents. Maybe, but it’s a stretch.

The authors have always avoided one dimensional, black and white characters. But here this depth takes an unusual, and possibly unintended, turn. The bad guys seem more likable than the good guys. On one side are the belters, now controlling ring access. They present as surly, bitter and given to casual violence. Allied with them is the Earth/Mars alliance, rife with the usual cynicism and corruption. They and the Roci crew both oppose the Laconians, a former colony now turned military power through the use of alien tech. I suppose we are intended to see the good manners and idealism of the Laconians as merely the velvet glove over the fascistic iron fist. Or perhaps it’s a literary device to add moral complexity – good characters in a bad cause and vice versa. Whatever the case, it succeeds too well and several times I actually found myself rooting for the wrong team.

My last reservation concerns the aliens, or rather the lack thereof. I anticipated that after three decades and the colonization of 1,300 worlds someone would encounter a real live alien. But apart from the brief appearance of a menacing presence on a Laconian ship, the only non-human elements remain the proto molecule infrastructure and ancient artifacts. Anything else is apparently being reserved for volumes 8 and 9.

This is a very good book and I will certainly read the next installments, but perhaps with reduced expectations and somewhat less enthusiasm.

Pretty disappointing. Hundreds of pages, with not much happening. I don’t particularly enjoy the 30 year time jump-glossing over this major of a time period is necessary for dealing with the wider consequences of the last book, but leaves the crew of the Roci feeling one dimensional. They’re exactly the same as we left them, just old. That makes the fact that nothing major happens in this book particularly galling. The major action sequences feel like they were stretched out across the entire book, instead of delivering an action packed first act of the story. A previous major POV character is tragically underused, in favor of introducing a boring “young” character (somewhat necessitated by that inappropriate time jump).

Overall, this feels like a book that could have been skipped over in the series. A blurb stretched to the length of a novel isn’t worth buying or reading.

Set 30 years from the last book, there was a lot of mention on how old their bodies were, specially from Bobbie. Granted, she and Amos were the most physical of the bunch, but as an older person, I get it, my body doesn't heal as fast as it used to, get on with it or adjust. It just didn't seem like these characters actually matured in the 30 years. The new characters felt more flat than in previous books. I couldn't even sympathize with Drummer. Too bad Avasarala is too old now.
Had a hard time getting into this book though I still love the series and will probably finish the trilogy. Unlike the first six books, this is a little more reminiscent of "Star Wars", which was disappointing: All powerful great one with an army of drone like people vs a small group of rebellious humans. James Holden is still James Holden though, and that was great.
Hoping the next two books aren't Laconia Strikes Back, and Return of James Holden.

The bad guys win, and everything interesting is left dangling for the next installment. Cynical commercial writing. I'm sorry to have spent the hours reading tihis disappointing rehash. I wish I could have back those wasted hours.

I thought this one was OK. I don't think it added much to the series, and I think that the earlier books were more interesting to read. After the first 2-3 books the series gets repetitive (same characters and behaviors in marginally different situations). I assume that the goal was to make the situation interesting enough to not really need new characters, but that (to a large extent) didn't happen.

It isn't badly written and there is nothing particularly wrong with it. Also nothing to make it stand out from the previous books in the series or to make me want to get the next one. For somebody starting today I would recommend reading the first three and then leaving the rest (unless the next one turns out to be spectacular, in which case you may want to read the rest of them to get the backstory).

It seems like this series of books started out great and has gradually gone downhill since. It is still a good series, and this is a decent read, despite the increasing SJW nonsense they put into each new book.

Time passes.

At the end of book 6 (Babylon's Ashes) in the Expanse series, I had honestly thought we were done. That the series had come to its end. (Later, I was pleasantly surprised to hear that more books were planned.)

And then that happens.

I don't want to give away more of the plot (for book 7 Persepolis Rising) than I have to (because personally I despise spoilers).

So, yes, book seven is different but clearly there is more story ahead.

Huzzah for the return of the Expanse, one of the best-written space opera series EVER!!!

The Expanse series returned at the end of 2017 with this, its 7th novel (not counting the novellas), with the threat of a new order of dictatorship set on ruling the world, and pissed off aliens with god-like skills probably preparing to take all of humanity down. The usual set of disturbingly lovable-and lovingly disturbed-characters, go about their usual business of planning and executing rebellious, ass-kicking while falling prey to a number of glitches in their system.

Loved everything about The Expanse until this monotonous and frustrating book. I enjoy character development and reading what they're thinking and feeling as much as anyone but chapter after chapter after chapter after chapter of it had me hoping against hope that somebody would finally get out of their head and off their ass to do something. My husband tells me they do near the end but I'm not sure I can make it that far.

The Expanse has stagnated. There's too much fighting among the humans, too much destruction, and practically no new insight into the protomolecule and the alien races.

Are the authors drawing out the story to make more shows/books?

I'm hoping the next book will get back on track, and we will find out more about the protomolecule and the alien races.

This is space opera at it's finest, a kaleidoscope of humanity shunted through experiences nobody can be prepared for and coming out the other side questioning life, family and loyalty. And that's just for the reader. The characters themselves represent the best of us and the worst and it is Holden and his crew that take us along. I was prepared for changes, this went there and beyond. The next book can't come fast enough.

Library copy. What a book I read it in three days, well over 500 pages. And I am crying out for book 8. Where do they come up with all the ideas for this series. All I know if I saw James Holden show up I would run like hell. I love the crew, every character has a roll to play. As a former marine (thumbs up 3rd battalion, 1st Marines) combat veteran I especially like the mind set of Bobbie. Nearly perfect combination of action, character study, study of humanity, and description of the physical world. This is the best book yet in the series. Science Fiction at its best.

Keeping it vague to avoid spoilers: This book picks up The Expanse with yet another world-changing twist, and more truly weird stuff. There is plenty of action, and a good setup for the remaining two books in the series. I really enjoyed reading this book, and I can hardly wait to see where the story goes from here.

Regarding the complaint I have heard about the 30 year jump in time from the previous book, I don’t get what the problem is. The gap opened up some possibilities to tell a story that otherwise would not have been possible. Despite the amount of time that had passed, the familiar cast of characters is still there, just a lot older. I felt like that was a great move by the authors.

Somehow, it felt like this book ended on a cliff-hanger, and I hate cliff-hangers. The characters are all well established, and this book in the series carries that forward. Same with the story arc. But the way it ended felt a little

The books in the serie is getting less and less exiting. I got the strong feeling that Persepolis Rising is written more for Netflix than for the reader, with new heroes that will make god TV characters. This was probably the last one I read, Anyhow, thanks for the first 4-5 that were really good!

This installment has got me excited for the series again. The authors managed to raised the stakes once again and it looks like it is going to be one hell of a ride in the next few books. Wish the next one will come sooner than a year. Cant wait to read what happens next.

I enjoyed this series at first, but then it started to stretch and in a bad way. I thought this one would never end so I committed the cardinal sin of skipping to the end. I'm glad I did and didn't waste my time wading through the whole thing.
I'm through with this series. It's evolving into another never-ending story. If there ever is a "last" book in my lifetime I might read it.

Time passes.

At the end of book 6 (Babylon's Ashes) in the Expanse series, I had honestly thought we were done. That the series had come to its end. (Later, I was pleasantly surprised to hear that more books were planned.)

And then that happens.

I don't want to give away more of the plot (for book 7 Persepolis Rising) than I have to (because personally I despise spoilers).

So, yes, book seven is different but clearly there is more story ahead.

Huzzah for the return of the Expanse, one of the best-written space opera series EVER!!!

It felt like the authors are losing steam in this series. There was a distinct lack of really imaginative concepts, and parts of the book were bordering on boring. The earlier books were nearly standalone but this one seemed more like a filler. I would prefer that the authors put effort into coming up with a really good conclusion rather than dragging it out simply to sell more books. I still very much enjoy the writing style, but character development simply wasn’t there. Hoping for better in the future, or a dynamite conclusion.

Am excited to see where season four goes with the series. But after reading this am just as excited to see what happens with the protomolecule and the old nemesis of that ancient civilization. Secretly hoping even Miller shows up again. A great read and continuation of the expanse.

I'm a die hard sci fi fan and I'm always searching for great sci fi stories. The Expanse series doesn't disappoint! And Persepolis Rising was packed with unexpected twists and turns - couldn't put it down! I can't wait to see where Mr. Corey takes me next!