In the thousand-sun network of humanity’s expansion, new colony worlds are struggling to find their way. Every new planet lives on a knife edge between collapse and wonder, and the crew of the aging gunship Rocinante have their hands more than full keeping the fragile peace.

In the vast space between Earth and Jupiter, the inner planets and belt have formed a tentative and uncertain alliance still haunted by a history of wars and prejudices. On the lost colony world of Laconia, a hidden enemy has a new vision for all of humanity and the power to enforce it.

New technologies clash with old as the history of human conflict returns to its ancient patterns of war and subjugation. But human nature is not the only enemy, and the forces being unleashed have their own price. A price that will change the shape of humanity—and of the Rocinante —unexpectedly and forever… 

Here’s a fun fact: I first heard about The Expanse books via a message board on a website devoted to responsibly made clothing. This was a little over four years ago, shortly before Cibola Burns, the fourth book in James S. A. Corey‘s brilliant series, was released. This series has meant so fucking much to me in the few years that I’ve been reading it, and…sentimental as it sounds, these books just feel like home to me. The Expanse books will always be among my very favorites, and Persepolis Rising is no different!

The struggle of keeping things relatively spoiler-free this far into a series is real, but…I’LL TRY!!! 

There’s a bit of a time jump between Babylon’s Ashes and Persepolis Rising, so we get a slightly different version of all of these great characters we’ve come to know & love. Still, it’s all so familiar…Holden is still looking for that perfect cup of coffee, Naomi continues to be the moral compass for the crew of the Rocinante, Bobbie is just the very definition of badass, and Amos is…well…he’s Amos.

This book very much sets the stage for the final act of this series. We see our heroes pressed harder & harder, forced into the role of rebels in the face of an authoritarian & violent regime. In light of everything happening in the world today, it’s fucking scary, is what it is. 

Persepolis Rising also really shines in terms of character development…there’s some really great scenes between Bobbie & Amos regarding mental health. Overall, I felt like Naomi & Bobbie really stole a lot of scenes in this one. And as with every book in the series, we’re introduced to new & fascinating characters. In Persepolis Rising, we meet Katria Mendez, a leader in the Voltaire Collective. She’s a bomb maker, an overall badass, and I really hope to see more of her in The Expanse books moving forward! 

Just another amazing entry in this epic series!!