Like Persepolis Rising, I give Tiamat’s Wrath 5 stars.

Though I haven’t written reviews for all 8 of the novels to date, I have rated them. Here’s a quick recap:

• Leviathan Wakes - 4 stars

• Caliban’s War - 4 stars

• Abaddon’s Gate - 4 stars

• Cibola Burn - 4 stars

• Nemesis Games - 4 stars

• Babylon’s Ashes - 4 stars

• Persepolis Rising - 5 stars

• Tiamat’s Wrath - 5 stars

• Average Rating: 4.25 stars

I think that one of the things that helps this book is that James fucking Holden is not the protagonist. He’s barely even in this book, which gives the other characters room to grow and have character development. The authors did a magnificent job of giving a feeling to what each character was experiencing, making us care about what happened to everybody, for good or for ill. For example, Dr. Cortázar reminded me of a TERF; his smugness and ability to dehumanize others because they didn’t fit his essentialist definition of “human” felt incredibly real. And then the shock that the others felt when he met his fate was stunning - I could see myself reacting in the same fashion. Brilliant.

Figuring out what the aliens are doing to humans is one of the joys of reading this book, in my opinion. The speed of light changing, consciousness being altered, neutron stars being weaponized - it’s all fascinating to think about. The impossible can become possible with enough imagination, patience, and knowledge. I love it.

Also, one of the greatest lines came from a scientific advancement: “BEEN READING THE SAFETY GUIDELINES. TURNS OUT MALES ARE SPECIFICALLY DISCOURAGED FROM MASTURBATING IN THE GEL WHILE UNDER BURN. WONDER WHAT THAT TEST PROTOCOL LOOKED LIKE.” I’ll leave you to read where that came up, but I will tell you that Fayez said it. I mentioned that line to a good friend of mine, and she said, “I guarantee if they invent anything someone will try to masterbate or have sex in it”.

I did have a qualm with something that Naomi said: “Wars never ended because one side was defeated. They ended because the enemies were reconciled. Anything else was just a postponement of the next round of violence.” White liberal idealism - realistically, wars usually end when one side wins or the parties experience significant war weariness. Bobbie said, “but pacifism only works when your enemy has a conscience”; that holds to be more true. The best way to stop a war is to prevent it from starting, to make it more profitable for there to be a lasting peace.

Ultimately, Tiamat’s Wrath is the best book of the series yet. 5/5, highly recommended.

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