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A review by yevolem
Persepolis Rising by James S.A. Corey
5.0
Persepolis Rising is the first book of The Expanse's third act and the first that I've read that wasn't covered by the TV series. I'm quite impressed by it and tentatively like it more than the first book. So, for those wondering whether they can skip the first six books and start at the seventh because they've watched the TV series and don't want to read through them, I say that you can. I wouldn't advise it, but that's only because I almost never would for anything with a continuous story. Someone who did so would still know the the most important parts of the plot and the characters are mostly as they were. If it's a choice between starting here or not reading at all, you should start here.
The narrative begins with a considerable time skip, which is mostly to allow for the events of the previous book to take their course. This makes the crew of the Rocinante much older, but they don't act all that different aside from the occasional complaint that they're getting too old for this. Multiple centenarians are mentioned and one has a role in the story. There's a line about how they all take anti-aging drugs and life expectancy is much higher, so I just accepted it. There's also the question of what happened for everyone during this time, and a few things are mentioned, but surely not enough for those whom it'd bother. I decided not to dwell on it.
These are eleven viewpoints, four of which are primary. This is the first time I've enjoyed all the primary viewpoints when there's been more than two of them. James Holden has the fourth most chapters, which is his lowest ordinal position thus far. A character tells him, "You don't get to make the universe be what you want just by saying it" and he admits to himself that "something terrible is happening, and I don't know how not to be in the middle of it", so he's the same as ever. Bobbie Draper returns and is the only character aside from Holden to be a primary viewpoint twice. She's much the same as well. Camina Drummer isn't as enjoyable as her TV counterpart, but she's close enough. Santiago Jilie Singh, the captor, has the most interesting role. It's been a long time since I've read a character so pitiable in their naïve idealism that crumbles into cruelty. He's a tragic character in a way.
As for the story, the prologue is more meaningful if The Vital Abyss has been read. It's incredible how much progress the breakaway group has made, but I'm willing to believe. They have the protomolecule, artifacts, an absence of research ethics, a highly focused society, and a potential God Emperor. Once again it's to be war. Most of the viewpoints are those of the captives and the captor. I was surprised by how well it worked for me. Even if the next two books don't go over that well, this was a highly enjoyable way to start off again. This alone has made it worth reading the first six for me.
Rating: 4.5/5
The narrative begins with a considerable time skip, which is mostly to allow for the events of the previous book to take their course. This makes the crew of the Rocinante much older, but they don't act all that different aside from the occasional complaint that they're getting too old for this. Multiple centenarians are mentioned and one has a role in the story. There's a line about how they all take anti-aging drugs and life expectancy is much higher, so I just accepted it. There's also the question of what happened for everyone during this time, and a few things are mentioned, but surely not enough for those whom it'd bother. I decided not to dwell on it.
These are eleven viewpoints, four of which are primary. This is the first time I've enjoyed all the primary viewpoints when there's been more than two of them. James Holden has the fourth most chapters, which is his lowest ordinal position thus far. A character tells him, "You don't get to make the universe be what you want just by saying it" and he admits to himself that "something terrible is happening, and I don't know how not to be in the middle of it", so he's the same as ever. Bobbie Draper returns and is the only character aside from Holden to be a primary viewpoint twice. She's much the same as well. Camina Drummer isn't as enjoyable as her TV counterpart, but she's close enough. Santiago Jilie Singh, the captor, has the most interesting role. It's been a long time since I've read a character so pitiable in their naïve idealism that crumbles into cruelty. He's a tragic character in a way.
As for the story, the prologue is more meaningful if The Vital Abyss has been read. It's incredible how much progress the breakaway group has made, but I'm willing to believe. They have the protomolecule, artifacts, an absence of research ethics, a highly focused society, and a potential God Emperor. Once again it's to be war. Most of the viewpoints are those of the captives and the captor. I was surprised by how well it worked for me. Even if the next two books don't go over that well, this was a highly enjoyable way to start off again. This alone has made it worth reading the first six for me.
Rating: 4.5/5