This series just gets better and better! I love the way each book is structured, with point of views from some familiar faces and some specific to the book itself and with this installment, we have also had a time-jump. This makes things interesting as we get to see where our characters are after a long period of time, how they have changed and how they have stayed the same. Similarly, the plot in this book was really epic and feels like it is setting up for the end game of the series, which is fascinating to see. Overall, a fabulous entry in a fantastic series.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I was initially interested in reading this book, however my tastes have shifted and I do not think I will be able to get to it now. Many thanks to the publisher for sending me a digital copy!

Persepolis Rising is the seventh in James S.A. Corey’s ‘Expanse’ grand space opera series. The Expanse has always fused hard-hitting action with relatable characters in a sweeping cosmos- and that tradition continues here.

Persepolis Rising is, at least in part, a book about legacy. Don’t get me wrong, it’s also a book about change, about insurgency, about family, about hard fought victories and bitter defeats. But the idea of legacy was one which stuck with me as I turned the pages. Holden and Naomi, two of the central protagonists of the series, are starting to feel the weight of their years. They’ve fought the good fight and saved the world multiple times, but heroism isn’t an especially forgiving gig. They’re tired – even Holden’s relentless idealism has had the sharp edges filed off it over the years. This consideration of what happens to folk heroes after they’ve done their time in the saddle is fascinating. Legacy is also a concern of the antagonist – an individual determined that humanity will be prepared to face the challenges thrust upon it as it enters a wider universe. Where Holden and Naomi have a legacy, this is a more targeted approach to immortality. Here is an individual who wants humanity to survive and throve, and believes that having one leader, with one vision, rather than a multiplicity, is the way to achieve this. It’s slightly terrifying to find that the arguments presented are plausible, the ideology resonant, if also repulsive. Here is a person with a grand, sweeping vision of humanity, one which is a response to the factors driving a new galactic society. That the vision is backed by atrocities, and the society by military force, is almost ancillary.

If Holden and the Rocinante crew are aging heroes, their opposition is energised, vital, and downright plausible. They’re not ravening hordes of unreasoning zealots, but individuals prepared to put themselves on the line for humanity, just as our protagonists are. That lets us see them as sympathetic and human, as part of the whole, rather than as an ‘other’ – and that very humanity is part of what makes them so relentlessly terrifying.

Anyway. Many of my old favourites are here – Holden, Naomi, Amos and the rest of the Rocinante gang. Seeing them react to sea-changes in their relationships, in the way which they interact with each other, is delightful. They’re a family, yes, but one with the familiar level of squabbles and strife. At the same time, they’re also able to back each other to the hilt. Reading about the Rocinante again is like a warm bath – comfortable, relaxing, enjoyable. We also get the point of view of one of their antagonists – which is humane, relatable, charming, and as a consequence, rather worrying. Sitting in the head of a man with ideals isn’t as strange as all that - witness our time with Holden. It’s a nuanced portrayal of a complex individual, on willing to do anything in service of their goal – and it’s a point of view which by its very every-day humanity evoked unease in me as a reader. I’d recommend the book for this nuanced portrayal of an opponent alone; that it mixes with a loving and unflinching gaze on the crew of the Rocinante, and their own slow decline into obscurity, makes it downright wonderful.

Plot-wise, this – well, it’s the Expanse. There’s some marvellously choreographed space-battles, if those are your thing. The tension, the sense of velocity and human cost, kept me on the edge of my seat. The feeling that both words and actions mattered was constant, and as the stakes and effects mounted, the narrative kept me committed to seeing it through. Alongside these are some compelling scenes of struggle on the ground – and the text isn’t shy about exploring themes of collaboration, terrorism, the effects and aftermaths of actions on all sides. It’s sharply observed, bloody-edged work, and it’s certain to keep you wondering what happens next.

As with preceding books, this one comes with some big ideas. There’s galaxy-spanning transport networks, and discussions about how far one can go in service of humanity. There’s grand visions and ideas that surge off the page like a fire in the brain. But they’re backed by quieter, complex moments, where everyone makes their own decisions. Where the ‘bad guys’ are heroes in their own minds, and where even the heroes have to make hard choices and bear the consequences.

Is this worth reading? If you’re new to The Expanse series, you may want to go back to the beginning, and see if its blend of hard sci-fi, human drama and high concept is for you. If you’re all caught up – then yes, you need to read this. It throws open entirely new questions about what’s going on, and what will happen next, and it does so by exploring big ideas through very human experiences, and a willingness to explore both rewards and costs. It’s an absolute cracker, and a must-read for any fan of the series.

Like The Walking Dead, The Expanse is an excellent series about an outside context problem bringing the bleaker potentials of human nature into yet starker relief. It's been brought to a wider audience by a successful TV adaptation that I can't watch because the characters look wrong. And now, they both have the time jump in common too. It's a couple of decades since Babylon's Ashes, which in itself is good news because at that point the long-term survival of humanity was by no means guaranteed. The crew of the Rocinante at least are all still present and correct, which I was already beginning to find faintly suspicious even before you add in the random mischances of that many years' existence...but let's just accept that as a given of the series. Of course, even saying that much is a potential spoiler for those who only know the TV show, which is still adapting the early, funny stuff, so I'd best tread carefully. Let's cautiously say that there's a topical choice of new antagonist in the opening chapters - the sort of Second Amendment, Freemen on the Land assholes who think their own macho conception of liberty trumps everyone else's safety - and that soon everything flips as it becomes painfully clear old enemies have not been idle either. Indeed, there's a level on which the main - what's the word for 'geopolitical' when you're dealing with multiple planets &c? - plot here is analogous to that of The Force Awakens, with the crucial difference that this version doesn't make our heroes look like complete imbeciles for taking their eyes off the ball in the intervening years and thus risking all they've built. Because, as ever, the Expanse books excel at showing people making terrible decisions for plausible reasons, never copping out to mere monsters or random attacks of plot-necessary stupidity. I also notice, perhaps more than in earlier books, a devotion to the dramatic possibilities of physics - the slow transit times, the message delays - which may be a reaction to the TV show's apparent obligation to fudge that sort of thing in service of a more limited conception of drama. But underlying everything else, there remains that same wise and weary understanding of human nature:
"It's not that I don't trust, it's that I don't trust blind. People are people. Fucked up like we all are, it amazes me when we can even make a sandwich."
Or:
"It'd be a better world if there was always at least one right answer instead of a basket of fucked."

(Netgalley ARC)

Persepolis Rising by James S. A. Corey

The Expanse is, with no doubt at all, my favourite current science fiction series. I’m not talking about the TV series but the books. I love them. I have been known to hug them. For years now they’ve been going straight to the top of my reading pile and Persepolis Rising, the seventh, was no different. I daresay you could read Persepolis Rising as a standalone if you really wanted to but you’d miss out on so much. Holden, Naomi, Amos, Alex, Bobbie…. I love these people. This review assumes you do too.

About thirty years have passed since the events of Babylon’s Ashes. The solar system and the hundreds of colonies on the other side of alien ring gates are enjoying an uneasy but much welcomed peace. Survival on the colonies isn’t easy. Many are just one supply vessel away from collapse. Controlling traffic through the gates is key. And so these days the business of government isn’t done by presidents and politicians as much as it is by trade companies – the Transport Union to be precise. It’s the job of Holden and his crew aboard the Rocinante to police their laws. But the past is about to come back to haunt them.

The distant colony of Laconia disappeared from the attention of humanity thirty years ago. It has been forgotten. But now it is back, with the power and technology to support its ambition, which is immense. It comes at a bad time for Holden and Naomi. They were hoping to settle down to a peaceful retirement, on some paradise shore with cocktails. But at times of crisis Holden has always been called upon and now is no different. The stakes though are extraordinarily high. Laconia may not be aware what it has unleashed.

Each of the Expanse novels is different – they have moved along the story of the protomolecule and the ring gates in the most original and varied way. Their perspective shifts from the intimate to the universal. Persepolis Rising is equally original. For the first time in the series we have shifted forwards by decades. Holden and his crew have changed and we have to catch up with each of them. And the novel does that wonderfully. As always with these books, chapters shift between characters – not just between the members of the Roci crew but also between the other influential personalities of the novel, including the intriguing Governor Singh from Laconia. We are shown all sides and opinions. But just when we become comfortable with certain characters, we’re given a shock.

But the big strength of this novel, as with the others, is the portrayal of the Roci crew. The authors treat our heroes with great warmth and care. I love the crews aboard the Enterprise, Voyager and Discovery, and I love the crew of the Rocinante every bit as much. And now they’re all that little bit older. This adds something new. Some other well loved characters also make cameo appearances, I’m very pleased to say!

The plot of these novels has come a long way since the outstanding Leviathan Wakes. The plot here is deliciously complex and deep. There are hints of something ominous. The mystery surrounding the creators of the protomolecule and those other aliens who wiped them out builds. Every time I read one of these novels I’m left intensely anticipating the next book in the series. There are answers out there somewhere. The books are so satisfying to read while they also tantalise. I love this intensity as much as I love the worldbuilding, which is fabulous. Much of the action here is set aboard a space station and we’re left in no doubt as to what it’s like to live on it – cramped, smelly, dangerous, isolated, vibrant, exciting. The action sequences are as thrilling as ever.

Persepolis Rising is a superb addition to this fantastic series. It’s an immersive reading experience, particularly for those with any kind of affection for Holden and his crew. I find it incredible that the two authors who combine to make James S.A. Corey can maintain this momentum and originality year after year but they do. Likewise the quality of the writing is always tremendously high. Persepolis Rising is one of the very best of the series. It marks a new beginning in some ways, due to the years that have passed, but it points clearly ahead and I can’t wait to see what happens next.

Other reviews
Leviathan Wakes (Expanse 1)
Caliban’s War (Expanse 2)
Cibola Burn (Expanse 4)
Nemesis Games (Expanse 5)
Babylon’s Ashes (Expanse 6)