Tiamat’s Wrath by James S. A. Corey
This is the high point of the Expanse series in my opinion, in part because the old and slightly hackneyed politics of the early novels has become irrelevant, but mostly because the purity of the grand space opera dominates the book. The Laconian Empire felt like a faltering turn in the series when I saw that it was coming but instead it delivered an energy and a surprise that lifted the whole narrative. I hated Duarte more than previous antagonists precisely because I could sympathize with him at the same time, and his view that one wise man with immortality could provide good government has resonance with anyone who has read much history. So to see his comeuppance delivered with such conviction, first with the destruction of the battleship in the Sol System, and then with the invasion of Laconia and the end of the alien shipyards, was enthralling. The use of Holden was different in this book, a lovely variety. The use of all the Rocinante family/crew was fresher here as well. I had my usual questions, wondering why it was that the protomolecule builders had need of facilities for building warships to begin with, since they were a hive mind. In Cibola Burn the presence of the protomolecule causes the ruins on that planet to activate in uncontrollable ways, but on Laconia, which is clearly a more central world to the civilization, there is no report of any such problem. There is also a faceless quality to the Laconians themselves. The idea of Laconia is modeled on the Spartans of Sparta, who were a noisy and raucous bunch; the Laconians have no feeling of character and are not explored much. But the feeling of vengeance powerfully delivered brings quite a rush to this book and this overcomes other considerations. This is probably the single best space opera novel that I have ever read. Truly fine.