“Cibola Burn”
By James S.A. Corey
B+
Now is as good a time as any to pick up “Cibola Burn,” the fourth book of The Expanse ?Series.
The SyFy Channel has just purchased the rights to this space opera from authors Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck, who work collaboratively under the pen name James S.A. Corey.
Given the quality of the source material, the TV show has every opportunity to be a hit. “Cibola Burn” continues the ?saga’s streak of exciting, idea-driven stories with memorable characters that never lose their sense of wonder.
These characters sail through the stars on ships of plastic and metal, and the reader can only share their awe.
The story’s plot is fairly straightforward: an ancient alien ring has been discovered in our solar system.
When ships go through the ring, they are sent to a far-flung galaxy that would take millennia to reach by conventional space transport (in this future, a couple of centuries from our present, faster-than-light travel is ?undiscovered.)
Some libertarian-bent ? colonists travel through, ?settle the first planet they come across and call it Ilus. The problem is, a corporation called RCE purchased the rights to mine and govern the planet, which they call New Terra. The colonists feel threatened by RCE’s arrival and blow up a shuttle. RCE retaliates and uses brutal tactics to find the suspects. Bloodshed ensues.
The various governments of the human race ask the series’ hero, Captain James Holden, to negotiate peace, because “everyone hates him equally, so we can claim he’s impartial.”
As the colonists and RCE bicker about land and resources, it’s slowly revealed there is alien technology on this planet, too, and the aliens did not die of ?natural causes.
Something bigger and badder killed them, and it turns out it never left the planet.
James S.A. Corey has a knack for using science fiction’s strengths and compensating for its weaknesses. His characters are well-developed and give the chapters, which rotate points of view, distinct flavors.
They also speak in snappy dialogue reminiscent of Joss Whedon projects, making quips like “First mutiny? ... It gets easier” whenever perilous situations threaten to make the story too somber.
This banter keeps the story moving during the first two thirds of the book, where there is surprisingly little action and plenty of political maneuvering.
The people of the future turn out to be just as petty and power-hungry as the people of today, and Holden, who is used to shooting bad guys and fixing his spaceship, has his hands full with getting people to sit down and talk.
But Corey never lets the ?universal truth of pettiness and ambition darken the mood. His characters retain their optimism and their willingness to work hard to make things better. Sometimes they fail, but more often than not, they succeed in thrilling ways.
Corey further pulls off the impressive feat of offering a ?satisfying tale while making readers eager for the next ?installment. This series just gets better and better. While “Cibola Burn” starts off slow, it ends up dynamic, heartfelt and satisfying. One can only hope SyFy manages to do the same with the TV adaptation.
