Cibola Burn by James S.A. Corey

Cibola Burn by James S.A. Corey, 581 pages

From GoodReads: "The gates have opened the way to a thousand new worlds and the rush to colonise has begun. Settlers looking for a new life stream out from humanity's home planets. Illus, the first human colony on this vast new frontier, is being born in blood and fire. Independent settlers stand against the overwhelming power of a corporate colony ship with only their determination, courage and the skills learned in the long wars of home. Innocent scientists are slaughtered as they try to survey a new and alien world.

James Holden and the crew of his one small ship are sent to make peace in the midst of war and sense in the heart of chaos. But the more he looks at it, the more Holden thinks the mission was meant to fail. And the whispers of a dead man remind him that the great galactic civilisation which once stood on this land is gone. And that something killed them."

This book started out pretty slowly for me. The first couple narratives are callback characters that took some time to get used to. The scope of this book and the focus on what killed the protomolecule creators created a weird headspace. Not bad, just simultaneously chilling and wonderous. The "Miller" chapters made me feel as though my head was unspooling into atavistic abyss. 

 

Abaddon's Gate by James S.A. Corey

Abaddon's Gate by James S.A. Corey, 566 pages

From GoodReads: "For generations, the solar system - Mars, the Moon, the Asteroid Belt - was humanity's great frontier. Until now. The alien artefact working through its program under the clouds of Venus has emerged to build a massive structure outside the orbit of Uranus: a gate that leads into a starless dark.

Jim Holden and the crew of the Rocinante are part of a vast flotilla of scientific and military ships going out to examine the artefact. But behind the scenes, a complex plot is unfolding, with the destruction of Holden at its core. As the emissaries of the human race try to find whether the gate is an opportunity or a threat, the greatest danger is the one they brought with them."

This book was so intense. The corresponding season of The Expanse was also intense, but being in people's heads made it feel much more raw. I got to know Anna much better, and I really enjoyed the glimpses into Melba's psyche.  Observing the protomolecule threat grow and warp and twist and change has been engaging. 

 

Caliban's War by James S.A. Corey

Caliban's War by James S.A. Corey, 611 pages

From GoodReads: "On Ganymede, the station that represents the main food source for exoplanets, a Martian marine sergeant watches her entire platoon being slaughtered before her eyes by a supernatural monster. On Earth, a high-ranking politician struggles to defuse an interplanetary war. Meanwhile, an alien protomolecule sweeps across Venus, causing profound and mysterious changes and threatening to spread and sweep across the solar system.

In the vastness of space, James Holden and the crew of the Rocinante maintain the stability of the exoplanetary alliance. When he and his crew agree to help a scientist search for his missing daughter on war-torn Ganymede, the fate of humanity hinges on whether one craft can prevent an alien invasion that may already be underway." 

I read this book so quickly that had it been fried food, I'd've been chugging Tums. It was a quick, wild ride. We got to meet Bobbie in this book, and as much as I loved her on the show, I love her textual counterpart even more. 

 

Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey

Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey, 582 pages

From The Expanse, "Dulcinea": "In the 23rd century, humans have colonized the Solar System. The UN controls Earth. Mars is an independent military power. The inner planets depend on the resources of the asteroid belt. Belters live and work in space. In the Belt, air and water are more precious than gold. For decades, tensions have been rising - Earth, Mars and the Belt are now on the brink of war. All it will take is a single spark…"

This is my first time reading this book series and it is fascinating. Generally the futuristic scifi I consume is more like Star Trek, where humanity's future is mostly positive even if still fraught with the problems imperfect beings are plagued with.  Leviathan Wakes is not like that: the future is grimy and grim. The best AND the worst of humanity has been flung into the solar system, creating vast canyons of moral grayness, raw hope, and desperate actions.

To Sleep in a Sea of Stars by Christopher Paolini

To Sleep in a Sea of Stars by Christopher Paolini, 880 p.

"Kira Navárez dreamed of life on new worlds. Now she's awakened a nightmare. During a routine survey mission on an uncolonized planet, Kira finds an alien relic. At first she's delighted, but elation turns to terror when the ancient dust around her begins to move.

As war erupts among the stars, Kira is launched into a galaxy-spanning odyssey of discovery and transformation. First contact isn't at all what she imagined, and events push her to the very limits of what it means to be human.

While Kira faces her own horrors, Earth and its colonies stand upon the brink of annihilation. Now, Kira might be humanity's greatest and final hope..."--Goodreads blurb

In true Paolini fashion, this was a hefty, hefty book. Paolini is known for his epic fantasy, but I just had a feeling he would be able to handle scifi as well, and I was right. I don't read scifi often, but when it comes highly recommended, which this did, I will give it a go. Great character, fun space system and world-building, and some humor and emotion as well. Blobs and space pigs and AIs, oh my!

 

The Rise of Endymion by Dan Simmons

The Rise of Endymion by Dan Simmons - 709 pages

Book 4 of the Hyperion Cantos

The Pax is still controlling as many populations as possible with their promise of reincarnation found within their cruciform parasites.  They announce a new Crusade to destroy more worlds with the election of their newest Pope.  Our trio are still on the run from the Pax, hiding out on Old Earth.  Aenea reveals to Raul that he is to travel on his own and she will meet him again sometime in his future.  Five years of solitary hardship pass, and Raul is reunited with Aenea, who is now twenty-one years old.  Their relationship shifts, as it was prophesized, as Raul becomes a prominent member of Aenea's congregation.  Aenea becomes the messianic figure she was born to be to end the Pax, saving the future of the universe.

3001: The Final Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke

3001:  The Final Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke - 288 pages
Book 4 of the Space Odyssey series

Frank Poole, the astronaut HAL murdered in 2001:  A Space Odyssey, has been recovered from space and returned to the Earth's orbit.  He didn't actually die, but was put into a sort-of cryosleep as he orbited space.  He is now one thousand years into the future, in 3001.  Poole somehow saves humanity from their trouble with the Jovian monoliths, while simultaneously adjusting to his new life in the future with its innumerable technological advances. 

2061: Odyssey Three by Arthur C. Clarke

2061:  Odyssey Three by Arthur C. Clarke - 304 pages
Book 3 of the Space Odyssey series

Dr. Heywood Floyd, who is now 103 years old, returns to the Jovian system 51 years after his last journey.  Floyd and his new crew adventure to Halley's Comet, to test out a sort of vacation-hub for future space travel.  Because they are already in the area, Floyd and his crew are sent to Jupiter's moon, Europa, for an emergency rescue from a crash-land by another U.S. spacecraft.  There was a warning never for humans to land on Europa, so what will happen now that two ships are in its atmosphere?  

2010: Odyssey Two by Arthur C. Clarke

2001:  Odyssey Two by Arthur C. Clarke - 320 pages
Book 2 of the Space Odyssey series

In 2010, a Soviet-American mission is led to salvage Discovery, the space ship from which David Bowman mysteriously disappeared from nine years prior, to gain the data from the ship currently in Jupiter's atmosphere.  The crew is also tasked with investigating the ominous, black monolith found on Jupiter's surface.

2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke

2001:  A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke - 297 pages
Book 1 of the Space Odyssey series

Dr. Dave Bowman and his crew are sent on a secret, mysterious mission.  Their ship's computer system, HAL, begins to display increasingly strange behavior leading to a tense showdown between man and machine that ends in a mind-bending adventure through space and time.

The Currents of Space by Isaac Asimov

The Currents of Space by Isaac Asimov - 239 pages

The Squires of Sark rule over the natives of Florinia, who are forced to labor ceaselessly to produce kyrt, a precious plant fiber that continues to bring riches to their Sarkite masters.  Living among the native Florinians is Rik, a man without memory, unable to take care of himself.  He had been abducted and then had his memory wiped because he discovered something about the fate of Florinia.  As his memory starts to return, Rik becomes fueled by a his own cryptic message of the doom and destruction that will face the planet.  Everyone on Florinia will die, unless the planet is evacuated.  Sark and the government do not want to evacuate the planet because kyrt can only be produced on Florinia, and they would rather chance losing the planet eventually than losing production now.  Will Rik rediscover everything and convince the right people?

The Stars, Like Dust by Isaac Asimov

The Stars, Like Dust by Isaac Asimov - 235 pages

Biron Farrell, a college student at the University of Earth, has his life turned upside down as he deals with an assassination attempt on his life.  Simultaneously, his father is murdered.  Biron becomes grief-stricken and tries to discover who killed his father.  Because of his searching, Biron becomes involved with rebellion and espionage.  The mystery of his father's death takes him into deep space, where he finds himself trapped in a power struggle between the Tyranns and a secret rebellion.  His situation is no longer just life or death for him, but is now a situation where the universe could lose its freedoms.

Endymion by Dan Simmons

Endymion by Dan Simmons - 576 pages

Book 3 of the Hyperion Cantos

274 years after The Fall, shepherd and convicted-murderer, Raul Endymion, is chosen to recover and protect the next messiah, Aenea, or The One Who Teaches.  At just twelve years old, Aenea has stepped into the Time Tombs and re-enters present time many decades later, for Endymion to recover her before the Pax - the futuristic, questionable Catholic church - get to her to stop her from determining the fate of the universe.  Endymion and Aenea cross over time and space, as Aenea learns and prepares for the future of humanity.

That Hideous Strength by C.S. Lewis

That Hideous Strength by C.S. Lewis - 384 pages
Book 3 of the Space Trilogy

The dark forces found on Malacandra and Perelandra find themselves on Earth.  This novel concludes Dr. Ransom's journey, but he is not the main character.  Mark and his wife, Jane, are both graduate students at Bracton College.  Mark is contacted by N.I.C.E., a scientific group that is seeking to buy out the college for its land to "recondition" society.  Mark decides to work there and realizes that it may not be all its cracked up to be - that it isn't as nice as it seems.  Meanwhile, Jane is having nightmares, and seeks help.  The woman she seeks help from tells her that her nightmares are premonitions of things to come.  Jane is chosen to help Ransom complete his destiny through Merlin, the wizard from the Arthurian legends.

Perelandra by C.S. Lewis

Perelandra by C.S. Lewis - 192 pages
Book 2 of the Space Trilogy

Dr. Ransom finds himself on a new planet, Perelandra, with new evils to battle.  Perelandra is invaded by dark forces, temptations, and other human weaknesses.  This malevolent being is seeking to create a new world, which will cause Perelandra's paradise ultimate destruction.  Ransom is tasked with keeping the utopia intact and ridding of the evil on this new planet.

Out of the Silent Planet by C.S. Lewis

Out of the Silent Planet by C.S. Lewis - 160 pages
Book 1 of the Space Trilogy

Dr. Elwin Ransom is kidnapped by Dr. Weston, a physicist, and his accomplice, Devine, via spaceship.  Their destination is the red planet Malacandra, where the two kidnappers plan to use Ransom as a human sacrifice.  Ransom manages to escape his captors, which risks his chances of ever returning home to Earth.  On Malacandra, Ransom meets enchanting and mystical creatures that help to guide him to his destiny.

The Fall of Hyperion by Dan Simmons

The Fall of Hyperion by Dan Simmons - 517 pages

Book 2 of the Hyperion Cantos

The Pilgrims continue their journey to the Time Tombs, where they hope to have their one wish granted by the deadly Shrike.  If the seven pilgrims wishes are to be granted, each could change the future drastically.  The plot thickens and danger forms around every plot twist.  Hyperion will no longer be the same planet they previously knew.  The Time Tombs are opening and nothing can be done to stop their effects.

Hyperion by Dan Simmons

Hyperion by Dan Simmons - 512 pages

Book 1 of the Hyperion Cantos

Seven individuals, previously unacquainted and with contrasting personal backgrounds, are chosen to travel to the planet Hyperion on a pilgrimage to the mysterious, ancient, and somewhat dangerous Time Tombs.  The plot follows seven different timelines that eventually will converge into one as the travelers finally meet the one thing they all have in common - the Shrike, a creature of immense power that most people believe to be mythological.

Chapterhouse: Dune by Frank Herbert

Chapterhouse: Dune by Frank Herbert - 624 pages

Book 6 of the Dune Chronicles

The Bene Gesserit, an ancient and mystical order of women, find themselves questioning the Golden Path of Humanity set into place by the God Emperor.  These women face annihilation by another group of women, the Honored Matres.  The Honored Matres are recklessly seeking to restore the Old Empire, but with their women ruling.  In order to stop the Honored Matres from destroying their order, the Bene Gesserit find themselves searching through histories and discover a new way to save the dying sandworms.  The Bene Gesserit struggle with staving off the Honored Matres and sacrificing all that they know to establish a new, safe place for the sandworms that so desperately need them.  Will Leto's prophecy still hold true or do the Bene Gesserit solve humanity's greatest issue without his prescience?

Reader's Note:  The ending of this book is rather open-ended; some readers believe that Herbert left the story unfinished.  Knowing that Herbert lost his wife shortly before completing his series perhaps helps readers to better appreciate and understand the ending.

Heretics of Dune by Frank Herbert

Heretics of Dune by Frank Herbert - 688 pages

Book 5 of the Dune Chronicles

God Emperor Leto II has been dead for thousands of years after his assassination.  Humanity is still on the Golden Path, despite the Empire falling to ruin.  The Great Scattering, as it is called, has seen millions of people abandon the lives they had known within the Empire to spread out far and beyond the known reaches of space - hence scattering.   The planet Arrakis has become a desert climate again and its sandworms are dying.  The "Lost Ones" of Arrakis are returning home to their planet in the pursuit of the Empire's lost power.  A young girl named Sheeana is found in the wastelands of the planet and begins to rise due to her newfound religious prominence.  Sheeana is the one who possesses the abilities to save the sandworms, as foretold by the late God Emperor's prophecy.