Cibola Burn

The Expanse, Book 4

By: James S. A. Corey

Narrated by: Jefferson Mays

Length: 20 hrs and 7 mins

Publisher's summary

Hugo Award Winner for Best Series

The fourth book in the NYT best-selling Expanse series, Cibola Burn sees the crew of the Rocinante on a new frontier, as the rush to colonize the new planets threatens to outrun law and order and give way to war and chaos. Now a Prime Original series.

Enter a new frontier.

"An empty apartment, a missing family, that's creepy. But this is like finding a military base with no one on it. Fighters and tanks idling on the runway with no drivers. This is bad juju. Something wrong happened here. What you should do is tell everyone to leave".

The gates have opened the way to a thousand new worlds and the rush to colonize has begun. Settlers looking for a new life stream out from humanity's home planets. Ilus, the first human colony on this vast new frontier, is being born in blood and fire.

Independent settlers stand against the overwhelming power of a corporate colony ship with only their determination, courage, and the skills learned in the long wars of home. Innocent scientists are slaughtered as they try to survey a new and alien world. The struggle on Ilus threatens to spread all the way back to Earth.

James Holden and the crew of his one small ship are sent to make peace in the midst of war and sense in the midst of chaos. But the more he looks at it, the more Holden thinks the mission was meant to fail.

And the whispers of a dead man remind him that the great galactic civilization that once stood on this land is gone. And that something killed it.

The Expanse

• Leviathan Wakes
• Caliban's War
• Abaddon's Gate
• Cibola Burn
• Nemesis Games
• Babylon's Ashes
• Persepolis Rising
• Tiamat's Wrath
• ​Leviathan Falls
• Memory's Legion

The Expanse Short Fiction

• Drive
• The Butcher of Anderson Station
• Gods of Risk
• The Churn
• The Vital Abyss
• Strange Dogs
• Auberon
• The Sins of Our Fathers

©2014 James S.A. Corey (P)2014 Hachette Audio

Awesome Space Western

I'm going to be honest I hesitated to listen to this one for a while, as I heard the new narrator was seriously lacking. Long story short this book was re-released with Jefferson Mays and I decided to dive right in, and I'm really good I did. The last two books in the series was good, but dragged a bit. In my opinion Cibola Burn is actually a step up from books 2 and 3, the pacing is much better and I enjoyed the new fronter/alien world setting of this novel.

There were a lot of characters as well as story elements in the first three novels that took a back seat in this novel. Cibola Burn is light on political intrigue and heavy on the action, so I can see why some might not enjoy this book as much, for me it was a welcome change.

All in all I thoroughly enjoyed Cibola Burn, and this entry reinvigorated my interest in the series. Jefferson Mays was great as always, I'm glad this book was re-released with him as narrator.

Still Going Strong Space Adventure, Mystery

Book 4 in this series and I am still interested in what happens next. The tension and release cycles are well-managed, and the characters are mostly likable though the author does have a little trouble keeping their decisions believable, just as in the other books of the series (this consistent struggle to sustain disbelief is why I cannot bring myself to rate the story 5 stars).

This leg of the story involves planetary “exploration”. The desperado Belter colonists spring through to a new planet that has a lot of alarming characteristics. The main character and his crew have to confront a manipulative and bloodthirsty head of security who uses his position and legal charter to generally be as evil as he can. The planet is mysterious and throws challenges at the humans.

The story has many interesting moments and a smooth tension cycle, leading to a compelling listen when combined with the narrator’s impressive performance. Corey’s characters have consistent bouts of pure stupidity, leading to some parts of the plot feeling forced; however, bearing those moments and continuing to suspend disbelief is worth finding out what happens next. It is fun to imagine what is happening on that world, and how the world looks. The world itself has a sort of uncanny valley feel; sure, they landed on a “habitable” planet, but the place is really “off”. After all of the events that happen, the ending of this leg of the story for the colonists is hard to believe. Still, worth the listen. I will listen to the next book as well.

One of the best yet!

Having reached this book in the series, I can say this is right up there with Leviathan Wakes as one of my favorites so far. Really enjoyed the setting and suspense, and am looking forward to see how they adapt it for TV.

It reaches out it reaches out it reaches out

Best book since the first.

If this is last I see of Miller I’m going to be upset.

Good entertainment

If you like exercising your imagination a bit instead of lazily watching the show, this is a solid choice. The story follows a real feasibility model where it doesn't alienate your belief this stuff could be happening sooner than we think vs. other stories that are clearly fantasy. One could use this series to get kids interested in math & science. Story was entertaining and has me wanting to listen to the next one.

Yet another amazing expanse of masterful writing.

I am constantly amazed and thrilled by the story writing, the excellent narration, and rich world building... Universe building. Can't wait to start the next book!

Great job blending the technical and beautiful.

Corey does a wonderful job giving us scifitech jargon and beautiful metaphors of the expanse.

Another great listen

Loved it! Maybe not as fast paced as the previous books but some seriously cool parts! I rewound multiple sections just because it was sooooo fun to listen to! Moving on to the next one now.

Great story

Great story overall a little slow at times but we start to see more of what the gate builders made before they vanished

Cibola and Burn

While not my favorite in the series, it is still a great listen. Love the consistency of the narration between the books thus far! Looking forward to book 5 now