-Cibola Burn is the fourth book in “The Expanse” series by James S.A. Corey. (A pen name for a pair of writers, Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck.)
In this fourth chapter of The Expanse, we find that humanity has rushed through the gates (If you have read the book series, you already know that the gate is a giant teleportation device left behind by an extremely ancient and technologically advanced race) to colonize the closest planet.
But the folks who colonized the planet were just private settlers who have taken up mining an incredibly valuable ore.
But the gate was taken over by a corporation and they’ve placed ownership claim on everything on the other side of the ring. Which includes the settled planet.
The settlers think they own the planet, the corporation says they do. But when the corporation sends an envoy to talk the settlers down a very bad accident occurs, killing many people.
This creates tensions amongst many of the different planets and groups and they call in the one man who is more honest than motivated, our reluctant hero, James Holden and his crew.
Through it all, “the whispers of a dead man remind Holden that the great galactic civilization that built the gates and previously inhabited this plenet and once stood on the land is gone. And that something killed them.”
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We have followed the exploits of Holden since the first book, Leviathan Wakes, and through Caliban’s War and Abaddon’s Gate. This fourth chapter is yet another day i the life, the life of humanity on the edge of space and James Holden and his small crew.
I remember meeting this character when he was working on an ice freighter in the first book. His story, his evolution of who he has become at this point in time in this latest book.
And the writers who are known by the pen name of James S. A. Corey have managed to keep this fourth book just as fresh as the first three. Each chapter of the book is written from the perspective of various characters involved as the story progresses.
The first act is where we meet our characters and see the terrible tragedy that starts the story. The second act of the story is when we learn more about everyone involved and what makes them tick, and the third act is a serious page turner that is hard to put down.
It is not often that I suggest purchasing a Kindle novel at the full price of a real book. To me it is a rip off to pay prices akin to hard cover and paperback books, considering that the price of a real book includes not only the work of the author, but the resources necessary to put together an actual book of print, paper and the manual labor of shipping ahd handling. Not to mention the ongoin debates of the established world of publishing versus the world of indie authors who write great stories and barely charage a third of what an established publisher might charge.
But in this case, I do pay the full price for these stories because they are incredibly entertaining and truly help me escape into these alternate worlds. Worlds that this book series has built.
In case my mere recommendation to snag this sci-fi story isn’t enough, or that this is a best-selling book series published in 17 countries, or that Leviathan Wakes, was nominated for a Hugo Award as well as a Locus Award, while Caliban’s War was nominated for a Locus Award, maybe the idea that the Syfy channel has a mini-series based the book series, titled The Expanse, covering events in the first book, is another convincing factor.
“A thriller set two hundred years in the future, The Expanse follows the case of a missing young woman who brings a hardened detective and a rogue ship’s captain together in a race across the solar system to expose the greatest conspiracy in human history.”
Back on point, Cibola Burn is a great read. I dreaded reading through each chapter, knowing that the reading experience would be coming to a close sooner or later.
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On Amazon: Cibola Burn (The Expanse Book 4)
Related posts:
James S.A. Corey’s ‘Abaddon’s Gate’ Review
The Expanse Book Series Review
Syfy Lands Their Detective Miller in THE EXPANSE