Read-Along: Nemesis Games by James S.A. Corery, Part 3

In the second-to-last week of the read-along of James S.A. Corey’s Nemesis Games, the suspense is killing me!  I really want to know how things can possibly be resolved, and I’m afraid things will get worse before they get better.  This week’s discussion covers from chapter 26 to 38, and I provided the questions. Beware of spoilers from here on out!

1. Marco has finally made his declaration. What do you think of it, and how Earth, Mars, and the Belt might respond?

I am glad that we got to see his announcement from Bobbie and Alex’s point of view, just so that they could immediately comment about how megalomaniacal he sounded.  His declaration was pretty horrifying, and also he had a lot of gall to pretend his side were the victims immediately after he probably killed the home planet of humanity.

Obviously, Earth and Mars can’t accede to his irrational demands.  I would also hope that the majority of the Belt would not answer his rallying cry.  It seems to me that the only reasonable response is to root out his terrorist group and eradicate them. They are guilty of murdering over a quarter of a billion people--they have proven that they are too dangerous and violent to be allowed to continue to exist in human society.  That might mean that they send more asteroids toward the Earth, but I bet more would die in the long run, if they continued uncontested.

2. It looks like most of the Rocinante are making their way to Luna! Which of the four stories is most intriguing you at this point? What are your favorite highlights?

Naomi’s story has been really compelling, and I’m really hoping it’s leading up to her breaking into and taking over the ‘trap’ ship, and then flying it to Luna. Right now hers is the most intriguing, because I’m really not sure what she’s going to manage to do next.  In terms of highlights, I really enjoyed seeing her square off against Marco and call him on his lies.  Based on Holden’s section, I’m pretty sure Marco’s plan was always to kill Holden, he just wanted to manipulate events to try and bludgeon Naomi into feeling guilty about it.

3. All the Rocinante crew are being put through a wringer. What do you think of the choices they’ve made? e.g., do you agree with Naomi’s priorities? Are Amos’s post-apocalyptic morals justified? Is it a good thing that Holden is keeping to the mission?

I think Naomi’s doing the best she can with what she has.  There’s no way she could have stopped Marco’s plan in it’s tracks, so she’s trying to mitigate damage to the people she loves--the Rocinante crew and her son. I don’t think there’s much she can do for Filip at this point, but I’ve been impressed so far with what she’s pulled off for the Roci.

Regarding Amos, I feel kind of bad about him killing the survivalist, but I guess the guy was showing signs of planning to murder them for their imaginary water recycler.  I was glad that he managed to avoid violence with the other groups.  I was kind of surprised that he went back to Erich, but it looks like it was the right decision.

I am happy with Holden’s new maturity, not blinding shooting all his information off into space and not running after Naomi.  I hope this saves him when the fake distress call is sent out.  I’m wondering if he’ll suspect it’s a fake.  

4. The protomolecule has yet to rear its ugly head. Do you have any speculation on what Marco might be intending for it?

I was thinking it would be a follow-up threat after the asteroids, but he didn’t mention it in his broadcast.  I’m wondering now if they might have a more complicated plan than just “dump the protomolecule on people”.  Maybe they’re planning to follow up with the super-soldier research and turn themselves into creatures that can live in space without a suit?

5. Seeing how the story is shaping up, which (if any) of the supporting characters do you think would make good additions to the Rocinante crew?

Since that conversation between Holden & Naomi, this has been on my mind.  I think Bobbie would be a good new crew member, and she’s shown signs of wanting to be part of a group again.  Erich would probably take to the life as well as Amos did, and he might like being part of a famous crew.  I guess Clarissa and Filip could only be included if the Roci got permission to keep them there in life-long house arrest or something.  I think it would be an interesting development if any of them ended up joining the Rocinante!