Caliban’s War follows a few months after Leviathan’s Wake and continues our journey with James Holden and his crew vs the protomolecule, but this time the focus shifts more from the belt and the OPA towards Earth vs Mars conflict.

Worldbuilding

The worldbuilding continues the same trend as Leviathan Wakes in picturing how technology will function in the future space-age, without drawing too much attention to it. It’s believeable and subtle and it makes my inner-geek drewl a bit. Apart from the technical part, most of the world building focuses on the political and populistic Earth / Mars dynamic. This as well seems well thought out.

Characters

We continue following James Holden and his small crew, with the addition of a fugitive botanist, Prax. We get a decent glimpse of the political leaders on the Earth faction, with Avasaral taking the forefront and on the Mars side of things, we get Bobbie ‘Gunnie’ Draper, the only marine that survived the Ganymede disaster. Personally I really connected with the dour, cynical Avasarala and her surprisingly sober view of politics.

Writing

As before, the writing is clear cut, not overly lyrical, but with some clever metaphors and a natural flow that keeps you hooked.

Conclusion

Overall this book is 4 stars for me. All the ingredients are there, but somehow it doesn’t surpass the sum of its parts. Despite that, it’s a very enjoyable, thrilling read, in what is apparently becoming an epic race for the survival of the human race. Onwards to part 3!