The basic formula for the Expanse series doesn't change: the Solar System is on the brink of a Cold War going hot; warmongering fools are working on illegal bioweapons; an alien intelligence is busy transforming Venus; and once again the crew of the Rocinante is right in the middle trying to find a lost little girl who might be the key to the whole interplanetary mystery. But while the formula is the same, the writing and the pacing haven't slipped a bit, and are if anything even tighter. If you liked Leviathan Wakes, you'll like this book.

In particular, the new supporting characters make the book. While Detective Miller in Leviathan Wakes was a drag-well written-but a drag nonetheless, these new characters are pure fun. Chrisjen Avasarala is a Indian grandmother and UN éminence grise who curses her way through scrotum-tightening diplomatic fixes, giving us a much needed look at the seat of power in the Expanse series. Gunnery Sergeant Bobbie Draper deserves a seat among the Space Marine greats (Johnny Rico, the Master Chief, Cpl. Hicks, Doomguy, Felix, William Mandella... I know a lot of space marines), for her unique background as a Samoan-Texan-Martian, dead accurate characterization as the professional, and for the fist punching satisfaction when she finally gets to put her power armor back on and right wrongs a 5000 rounds-per-minute.