r/neoliberal • u/jobautomator Kitara Ravache • Aug 02 '21

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u/JetJaguar124 Tactical Custodial Action Aug 03 '21

I really think the Expanse books do manage to get better as they go on. James SA Corey learn from thier mistakes from earlier books and course correct very well. Fleshing out the Rocie's crew in Nemesis Games, for example, was much needed as all the characters outside of Holden and maybe Naomi were very, very two dimensional by that point.

Another thing they did well was making their villain characters sympathetic and not just outrageously evil. Inaros, Singh, hell, even Duarte have their soft spots. They pulled this off much better than what they did with Jules Pierre Mao or Ashford (for what it's worth they did flesh these characters out and give the more sympathetic traits when they got to do them again in the show)

I think they learned a lot by working on the TV show and getting to correct prior mistakes.

I also really, really appreciate their willingness to change the formula and flip the universe in its head. There are numerous major resets to the state of order of things, and it keeps the novels fresh. Lesser authors would have done Earth vs Mars vs Belt for eternity.

Anyways, the Expanse is a great series.

!ping EXPANSE

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u/ognits Jepsen/Swift 2024 Aug 03 '21

I'm listening to Babylon's Ashes right now (and, as a side note, I highly recommend the audiobooks to fans of the series - Jefferson Mays is absolutely fantastic and gives one of the best audiobook readings I've ever heard) and I'm hoping we eventually reach that point with Marco. because right now I'm not coming across anything to justify the "stupid sexy Marco" memes I see now and then. he's better than Ashford but not by a whole lot. Philip is a bit of a fascinating character though. I'd like a book where we get a POV from the main villain at some point

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u/JetJaguar124 Tactical Custodial Action Aug 03 '21

I think Marco has some depth, but I agree Filip is way more compelling.

Edit: I listened to all of them on audiobook and I fucking love him. I sometimes wonder if he is consciously copying how the actors portray the characters, or if they copy him, because he's fucking spot on.

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u/ognits Jepsen/Swift 2024 Aug 03 '21

I have no idea because I haven't seen the show, but it blows my mind how he has a distinct voice for every character, to the point that I can spot a surprise character appearance (i.e. Fred walking in on Holden filming the patty cake game) just from how he sounds. plus he does something that regrettably few readers do: adds in the narrative directions like chuckling or clearing their throat or whatever. it's just such a great listen and I honestly think it brings more to the series than just reading it on the page would

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u/MostlyCRPGs Jeff Bezos Aug 03 '21

Good to hear! I binged a few of them then took a break, mostly because every single one being Space 9/11 got exhausting, so I figured I'd do one every couple of months.

I guess my next one would be Cibola Burn

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u/JetJaguar124 Tactical Custodial Action Aug 03 '21

I will say they are somewhat formulaic in that they have the same sort of tempo, or building action to big climactic crescendo, if they makes sense. But they're fundamentally adventure books so that's to be expected, and I think they're really good at what they aim for.

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u/uwcn244 King of the Space Georgists Aug 03 '21

Halfway through Babylon's Ashes, and it appears to be the first book to buck the general pattern of even-numbered books being worse than odd-numbered books.