Review: Babylon's Ashes by James S.A. Corey

Bablyon’s Ashes by James S.A. Corey

Published: Orbit (2016)

Series: Book 6 of the Expanse

Awards Nominated: Locus SF Award

Beware of spoilers below from earlier books in the series!

The Book:

“A revolution brewing for generations has begun in fire. It will end in blood. The Free Navy - a violent group of Belters in black-market military ships - has crippled the Earth and begun a campaign of piracy and violence among the outer planets. The colony ships heading for the thousand new worlds on the far side of the alien ring gates are easy prey, and no single navy remains strong enough to protect them.

James Holden and his crew know the strengths and weaknesses of this new force better than anyone. Outnumbered and outgunned, the embattled remnants of the old political powers call on the Rocinante for a desperate mission to reach Medina Station at the heart of the gate network. But the new alliances are as flawed as the old, and the struggle for power has only just begun.” ~Amazon

This is the second-to-last book of the Expanse that I read as a community read-along.  You can see our spoiler-filled discussions here: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4.

My Thoughts:

Babylon’s Ashes continued the arc that began in Nemesis Games, concerning the conflict between Free Navy and the rest of the system. Nemesis Games had a tight focus on the crew of the Rocinante and their experiences, while Babylon’s Ashes widened the view to see how the conflict affected people from all over.  It did this by expanding the number of viewpoint characters from the usual four to nearly twenty people, each in very different circumstances.  This helped to show the wide-ranging consequences of Marco Inaros’s grab for power, but I also felt like it kind of diffused the central story.  Many characters only had a couple of chapters, which is not long to develop a character, setting, and story.  These were generally fun when they featured viewpoint characters from previous novels (like Prax) or particularly interesting minor characters (like Fred), but some chapters featured characters I did not have time to come to care about. In these last chapters, I felt impatient to get back to the ‘major’ viewpoint characters, who were driving the central story forward.

Some of the ‘major’ viewpoint characters included the Rocinante crew, Michio Pa, and Filip Inaros.  It’s always fun to see the story from Holden and the others’ perspective, but I was less inclined to enjoy the chapters giving perspective from inside the Free Navy.  I felt like the story was trying to make me sympathize with them, but there are some things you just can’t gloss over. The Free Navy characters either approved of or were actively involved in the murder of 15 billion people on Earth.  Whatever their motives and indoctrination, it was impossible for me to forget that they felt no regret about this massive slaughter of innocent people.  This also affected my ability to sympathize with the cause of the Belters.  It’s undeniable that they had been mistreated by the inner planets for many years, and something should have been done about it.  However, a good portion of the Belt agreed that that “something” was murdering 15 billion people, and that’s really not something I can get over.

On the other hand, I really enjoyed following the crew of the Rocinante in their part of the fight against the Free Navy. Marco’s narcissism elevated the Rocinante’s importance in the wider conflict, since he had personal ties to them through his previous abusive relationship with Naomi. This led to some exciting battles, which involved some creative quick-thinking on the part of our protagonists. For his part, Marco Inaros made for a infuriating villain.  His charisma granted him considerable followers and power to cause widespread harm, but it was clear from early on that he didn’t have a realistic idea of how to fulfill the promises he had made to the Belt. He reminds me of some very frustrating people in reality. I should also note that this is yet another book focused almost entirely on human conflict, as the protomolecule is still largely absent.  I thought this one brought the Free Navy arc to a good conclusion, and I finished the novel looking forward to seeing what would happen next.

My Rating: 4/5

Babylon’s Ashes continued the arc of Nemesis Games, featuring the conflict between the Free Navy and the rest of the solar system.  This time, the chapters followed a large number of people, showing how each of their lives were affected by the actions of Marco and others.  I felt this was useful for showing the wider effects of the central story, but it also seemed to somewhat dilute the central plot. I most enjoyed following the crew of the Rocinante, who were, as usual, right in the thick of things.  Marco and the Free Navy were infuriating villains, and it was very satisfying to see how this arc came to an end.  I’m looking forward to seeing what happens in the rest of the series!