Review: Nemesis Games by James S. A. Corey
Blurb:
The fifth book in the NYT bestselling Expanse series, Nemesis Games drives the crew of the Rocinante apart, and as they struggle to survive, the inner planets fall victim to an enemy's catastrophic plan. Now a Prime Original series.
HUGO AWARD WINNER FOR BEST SERIES
A thousand worlds have opened, and the greatest land rush in human history has begun. As wave after wave of colonists leave, the power structures of the old solar system begin to buckle.
Ships are disappearing without a trace. Private armies are being secretly formed. The sole remaining protomolecule sample is stolen. Terrorist attacks previously considered impossible bring the inner planets to their knees. The sins of the past are returning to exact a terrible price.
And as a new human order is struggling to be born in blood and fire, James Holden and the crew of the Rocinante must struggle to survive and get back to the only home they have left.
Nemesis Games is a breakneck science fiction adventure following the bestselling Cibola Burn.
Review:
“This is a coordinated, system-wide attack.”
There is something about this series that always feels like meeting a friend you haven’t seen in forever and sitting down to chat. This series has really nailed the “science” part of space sci-fi. While many series have grav boots and spaceships, The Expanse also puts the risk in space travel. I have been slowly working my way through this series over the last couple of years, and every time I get to start the book, I’m always nostalgic about how much I love it. Its dialogue and plot driven, which I tend to prefer, and I find that the author doesn’t spend too much time explaining the settings.
Masterfully, this book separates all our main crew. In previous books we only hear from James about his whole team, and whatever character we are dealing with for that book get most the other chapters. Here we split the crew, and they each get their own plot, it’s almost like a book 1 in the series that way. You can FEEL how it’s going to come together. It’s not like weird tangents that might connect a tiny, piece, you can feel, that each character is going to bring something to face the final showdown, and without one of them, none of this would work. This is how you successfully separate characters, and I loved it.
I have the next book on my TBR for this month as well, I hope I can get to it! If not, I’ll def circle back in September!
“He kind of wished he had a hat.”
James Holden – Takes on the role of lead investigator. His connection to the protomolecule is broken and he finds himself leading multiple investigations. Finding a kidnapped reporter, investigating missing ships, and coordinating with the face of the OPA.
“Her nightmare had come true, so at least she didn’t have to dread it anymore.”
Naomi Nagata – has to reconcile with her past. We have been given hints for a long time about where she’s really from. Seeing her face her old life was really hard, but I think the authors did a great job giving her strength, but allowing us to see the depth of the pain she was in. She’s so smart, she really saves herself, and everyone else, while trapped in a spaceship. My queen.
“He’s using you as his external, aftermarket conscience.”
Amos Burton – has a thuggish past, and seeing his love for his old caretaker was very sweet. We also get to see Amos emulating Holden and occasionally noting that he just did something that Holden would NOT condone. I loved it. Amos literally takes down a gang so that his new friend doesn’t have to pay their extortion. And tells his friend to spend the money on his daughter… OR ELSE. It was so cute and violent at the same time.
“Alex’s experience of real family—of blood relations—was more like having a lot of people who had all wound up on the same mailing list without knowing quite why they signed up for it.”
Alex Kamal – goes back to Mars to apologize to his ex-wife, but that goes about as well as it sounds. Luckily, he and Bobbie Draper team up, help Holden with his investigation and come to the aid of Naomi. Bobbie’s character also gives us more access to AVASARALA, who is a fabulous character. She literally steals all the scenes, and I want to BE HER.
“We’re little people in big times, yeah?”
The pacing was immaculate. Honestly, I was flipping thru the pages pretty fast! Each storyline was interesting, and when I didn’t think they were at the start, by the end of the chapter, I was invested. Also, the author doesn’t take you away from the story just to switch characters. I really appreciate that as a reader.
For the fifth book in a series to delve into the backstories of our characters is a very interesting choice. But I feel like one of the crew members. It’s not like this knowledge was kept from me, it was hidden from all of us, and we feel the reveal along with the other characters.
I love these characters, and I really enjoyed this book. This series continues to be understandable, interesting, while also carrying a diverse cast list, and an incredibly comprehensive plot, and there are no areas where I’m unsure of why they are included.
“You can tell you’ve found a really interesting question when nobody wants you to answer it.”
If you love found family, this is a series you should check out!
I screamed when they mentioned Drummer, she was one of my favorites in the TV show, well, her and Avasarala! So far this is my favorite or second favorite in the series! (I really loved Avasarala in Caliban’s War!) And it will certainly be one of my top Sci-Fi books for the year!
Would I reread? Yes, I ate this up and enjoyed every minute!
Would I recommend? Yes, this series is such a fun time, I really like how everything is explained, and that the story comes to a clean conclusion in each book, they might introduce the next problem, but much like a tv show, it resolved the problem for today!
Recommended for Fans of found family, Mistborn Era 1, and Red Rising.
