A warning tone sounded through the drum, echoing with the distance and the free air. An artificial voice reassured them with its tone while it repeated, ‘This is an emergency alert. Report to shelters and await official instructions.’

“Listen,” Naomi said. “They’re playing our song.”

“Oh my,” Clarissa said, laughing. “We have lived our lives wrong, haven’t we?

Every book in the Expanse series bring something novel, unexpected, and this book does the same. This time, decades have passed and the crew of the Roci is now old, and captain Holden and his co-pilot and lover Naomi are looking for retirement. Bobby, the ex-Mars marine, is set to take their place. However, the protomolecule stolen by the Mars splinter military led by Duarte in the Laconia system is used to create new wonderweapons. And the Laconians, well-led and organized, take over the Medina station, the vital highway intersection between the 1300 worlds where humanity expanded.

The protagonist of the book is not captain Holden this time, but Bobby, Laconians (the new governor of Medina) and the leadership of the now-dispossessed Medina leadership (Drumer). The book seems to just set the scene for another epic struggle between the authoritarian and well-organized Laconians and the free-spirited Belters, residents of Medina.

The book ends on an all-time low, where Laconians are in charge of the critical inter-worlds highway, their weapons are unbeatable, the Sol-Mars alliance was defeated, captain Holden is prisoner on Laconia, Avasarala is now old and out of power, the crew of Roci is reduced and in exile (some crew died), and the insurgency is only marginally successful, allowing some ships to escape from Medina. Additionally, the use of the protomolecule awaken the aliens that destroyed the protomolecule (and 1300 worlds highway) creators.

The plot and writing are still entertaining, but it feels a notch down compared with the other books. There is no central character, mesmerizing and influential, as captain Holden. No other additional, memorable characters are created or even introduced. There is some character development, but it feels an ageing book and story; preparing however for something bigger.

Let’s see where the story takes us.