2023 reread: I still feel this is the weakest book in the series. A 3.5, that would have been a lot more had the wheels not come off in the later half. Miller gets a bit too wild with his storyline and the whole zombie, love story combo just makes it feel too melodramatic. However, on the flip side, if you measure it against typical commercial fiction in this category, the characterization, setting, and especially the start of the plot, blows them out of the water. So, it still is above average, and therefore clearly above a 3, for me.


Glad I got around to reading the book after enjoying the TV show quite a bit. The book has some of the same major plot beats but otherwise is pretty different. This book alternates chapters that focus on Holden and Miller with frenetic, thriller-like pacing.

There’s a more thorough explanation for the technology that is explainable. The group dynamics are fairly different for the main crew, even. They’re much more tight-knit and, I would say, better written than the characters in the show.

Some back story elements in the show aren’t present just yet in book 1. But they also aren’t put together in a way that makes each of them suspicious of one another like in the show. They jive better and are more giving people.

This books ending is halfway through season 2, but elements of book 2 are present from the jump almost in season 1. It’s pretty different and well worth the read. This book was fun, I’m reading the second now and the writing gets much better and introduces Avasarala, Bobby, and Prax, none of whom are present in this book. All of the character work gets better in the next book, this one is mostly a highly enjoyable action thriller, with the writing to match.