This review will be one of the more spoiler-y reviews out there. It’s about book seven in a series so it’s hard not to talk about things that have happened. That said, here we go:
One of my favorite aspects of the Expanse series is the wonderful titles of each novel and trying to figure out how it relates to the book. You see, each book is title something very grandiose and magnificent from somewhere in myth, legend, literature, or religion.
Book one is Leviathan Wakes, a book about an alien substance that shows up and threatens humanity.
Book two is Caliban’s War and I had to look up the reference if I’m honest. Caliban is the deformed half-human son of Sycorax from Shakespeare’s The Tempest; another spot on title thanks to the protomolecule.
Book three is Abbadon’s Gate, Abbadon is both the Destroyer and the Angel of the Abyss, guarding a version of Hell and if book seven is any indication (not to mention hints throughout the series), humanity is about to experience something terrible. What an outstanding name for a book about a portal opening to new worlds.
Book four is Cibola Burn. This was another reference I had to learn. Cibola is a lost city of gold, similar to the better known El Dorado. Now, if I’d been paying better attention to National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets, I’d have already known that. Another fun take on a myth for the Expanse as Cibola Burn follows the Rocinante on a quest to a new world.
Book five is Nemesis Games. Named for “the goddess of indignation against and retribution for” Nemesis Games may be the best book of the series thus far. It brought us back to our solar system and we watched as the series Nemesis took retribution for past discretions. It turned everything upside down in the best possible way; not an easy feat for a middle of the series book.
Books six is Babylon’s Ashes. We watch as mankind’s original home struggles to survive, let alone rebuild.
Now we are here, Persepolis Rising, the creation of a magnificent empire, the largest known to mankind. An empire that assimilates rather than conquering and subjugation. This book also reintroduces the bigger picture to the series. The alien civilization that sent the protomolecule and built the rings was destroyed by something else and it may be here in Sol. This is supposed to be a nine book series so with just two left and I can’t wait. Given the fun we’ve had with titles, I’m not confident that Persepolis will leave the enduring mark on humanity it intends.
I didn’t read the review because Book 7, but just wanted to comment on the title – it still completely throws me that the guy from Mindhunter and the original King George III from the Hamilton cast are the same actor. I saw Mindhunter, then Hamilton, and then when looking something up online about the show discovered his connection and my mind was blown. It’s probably the most comedic role in the play so it seems like a huge leap to go from that to serial killer obsessed FBI agent.
I haven’t watched Mindhunter yet but I know him most as the voice of Kristoff from Frozen. I have young children so we watch it a lot. It’s also why I haven’t seen Mindhunter. Someday…
I tried to use Hamilton lyrics in the title of my review for this book, but I couldn’t make it work. You win :)
Also, I LITERALLY had all the title references typed up in my review also! In a verrry similar way to yours. But I was spending way too much review space on it so I ended up deleting all of it except the one for this book. GREAT MINDS, MAN.
Ha! Internet points! It was the first thing about empires that popped in to my head.
I wanted to keep prattling on about the title references but had to cut myself off. It’s one of the most fascinating parts of the whole series so I’m glad that someone else loves it too!