Caliban's War

By: James S. A. Corey

Narrated by: Jefferson Mays

With over 10 million copies sold, The Expanse has become one of the biggest science fiction phenomenons of the decade.

The second book in the New York Times bestselling Expanse series, Caliban's War shows a solar system on the brink of war, and the only hope of peace rests on James Holden and the crew of the Rocinante's shoulders. Now a Prime Original series.

We are not alone. On Ganymede, breadbasket of the outer planets, a Martian marine watches as her platoon is slaughtered by a monstrous supersoldier. On Earth, a high-level politician struggles to prevent interplanetary war from reigniting. And on Venus, an alien protomolecule has overrun the planet, wreaking massive, mysterious changes and threatening to spread out into the solar system.

In the vast wilderness of space, James Holden and the crew of the Rocinante have been keeping the peace for the Outer Planets Alliance. When they agree to help a scientist search war-torn Ganymede for a missing child, the future of humanity rests on whether a single ship can prevent an alien invasion that may have already begun . . .

Hugo Award Winner for Best Series

The Expanse
Leviathan Wakes
Caliban's War
Abaddon's Gate
Cibola Burn
Nemesis Games
Babylon's Ashes
Persepolis Rising
Tiamat's Wrath ​
Leviathan Falls
Memory's Legion

The Expanse Short Fiction
Drive
The Butcher of Anderson Station
Gods of Risk
The Churn
The Vital Abyss
Strange Dogs
Auberon
The Sins of Our Fathers​

Not my fav in the series, but very strong read

Corey isn't what I'd call an insightful writer. Don't expect to experience epiphanies. What he does really well is create admirable, somewhat complex characters you want to root for, despite their flaws. He does this without a whole lot of "inside their mind" sequences of reflection. It's very deftly done, way more show than tell.
And the settings, scenes, and tech are extremely well imagined. There is pretty much nowhere that you think, "No, it wouldn't be like that" or "That character has no reason to do that."
It's not soulfull writing, but it's smart writing with enough warmth and humanity to strongly engage... and is sometimes truly moving.
I'm pretty sure I'll read them all.
Corey knows his readers are not idiots who have to have everything way over-explained, which I also appreciate.
There are lots of places where I felt here comes a cliche in motivation or dialog, but Corey almost always catches these and breaks from the cliche at the last second. These moments are fun and often humorous, and increase my respect for his work. It's like he thinks, we all know what's supposed to happen at this moment, so I'm just going to have the character do/say this instead--gotcha! The characters seem more human that way, too, since real people are often surprising in lots of small ways.

Even Better Than Leviathan Wakes

If you thought Leviathan Wakes was good, you'll definitely love this book. Is Holden a hero or a villain, in the eyes of the solar system? Similar to Leviathan Wakes, this book opens up with a mystery that spans across the entirety of the book. Unlike the first book, I think that Caliban's War is action pact, several wtf moments and laugh out loud comments by Amos, Alex and Bobbie really made this book worth the buy. As if that wasn't enough, the ending will definitely make you want to purchase book 3.

Better Even than Leviathan Wakes

Expands the world of the Expanse, and gives us much needed connections to the inner planets. In spite of war in the book, I'm sure that it's the calm before the storm.

Great voice acting.

I loved all the quirky voices the reader incorporated to bring the characters to life. The story itself is interesting but drags on a bit to much. Overall an enjoyable experience.

Excited for the next book

The story is not as surprising as the first book but still very engaging and the characters are delightful. Narrator is great and makes each character distinct. Will continue series soon.