Leviathan Falls - Outside of a Dog

Paperback, 514 pages

English language

Published Feb. 7, 2023 by Orbit.

ISBN:: 9780316332941
Goodreads:: 61237028

(1 review)

The Laconian Empire has fallen, setting the thirteen hundred solar systems free from the rule of Winston Duarte. But the ancient enemy that killed the gate builders is awake, and the war against our universe has begun again.

In the dead system of Adro, Elvi Okoye leads a desperate scientific mission to understand what the gate builders were and what destroyed them, even if it means compromising herself and the half-alien children who bear the weight of her investigation. Through the wide-flung systems of humanity, Colonel Aliana Tanaka hunts for Duarte’s missing daughter. . . and the shattered emperor himself. And on the Rocinante, James Holden and his crew struggle to build a future for humanity out of the shards and ruins of all that has come before.

As nearly unimaginable forces prepare to annihilate all human life, Holden and a group of unlikely allies discover a last, desperate chance …

The Laconian Empire has fallen, setting the thirteen hundred solar systems free from the rule of Winston Duarte. But the ancient enemy that killed the gate builders is awake, and the war against our universe has begun again.

In the dead system of Adro, Elvi Okoye leads a desperate scientific mission to understand what the gate builders were and what destroyed them, even if it means compromising herself and the half-alien children who bear the weight of her investigation. Through the wide-flung systems of humanity, Colonel Aliana Tanaka hunts for Duarte’s missing daughter. . . and the shattered emperor himself. And on the Rocinante, James Holden and his crew struggle to build a future for humanity out of the shards and ruins of all that has come before.

As nearly unimaginable forces prepare to annihilate all human life, Holden and a group of unlikely allies discover a last, desperate chance to unite all of humanity, with the promise of a vast galactic civilization free from wars, factions, lies, and secrets if they win.

But the price of victory may be worse than the cost of defeat.

2 editions

Holger Seelefand reviewed Leviathan Falls by James S.A. Corey

A decent ending which does not try to be more than just that

3 stars

Every saga has to end, for sure. The saga, as art form, is problematic, because the individual installment will often not convince as novels. That is especially true for thing like "the expanse" when the narrative sets out to follow a set of characters linearly over decades of in-story.

But we, the readers, have little right to complain: It is the sort of story we crave after all, because we crave a deep immersion into the narrative.

"Leviathan Falls" stays true to its predecessors: It shies away from potential narrative arks to focus on its characters and do them justice. Overall, that is the right decision.

The "closing of the gates" ending must have felt too defeatist to authors, so they added an epilogue where humanity is traveling between the stars again. It kind of works.

A decent ending which does not try to be more than just that.

Subjects

Science Fiction
Space
Space Opera
Fiction