Nemesis Games

By: James S. A. Corey

Narrated by: Jefferson Mays

Length: 16 hrs and 44 mins

Publisher's Summary

A thousand worlds have opened, and the greatest land rush in human history has begun. As wave after wave of colonists leave, the power structures of the old solar system begin to buckle.

Ships are disappearing without a trace. Private armies are being secretly formed. The sole remaining protomolecule sample is stolen. Terrorist attacks previously considered impossible bring the inner planets to their knees.

The sins of the past are returning to exact a terrible price. And as a new human order is struggling to be born in blood and fire, James Holden and the crew of the Rocinante must struggle to survive and get back to the only home they have left.

©2015 Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck (P)2015 Hachette Audio

Critic Reviews

"As close as you'll get to a Hollywood blockbuster in book form." (io9.com on Leviathan Wakes)

Enjoyable SciFi, recommendable, with faults

If you are into the expanse franchise this is still worth to listen to or read. It's great to be on the Roci with the crew and I really enjoyed it.

However this and the following book (Babylons Ashes) have really one big problem in their story.
--- VERY SMALL SPOILER - basically none at all ---

Something terrible happens, some bad guys do it, and even though it is very very terrible they still have the support from most of the fraction of humanity they belong to. Given the gravity of what happened it is not credible at all that they would have that support. Or not without at least a generation of brainwashing and isolation from facts. But that didn't happen.

It's really quite bad that the story kinda relies on the people being fine with that bad thing, so very often in that story I just got annoyed because of this. It's just not credible without assuming the that all the normal people are being extremely stupid, bad or downright sociopaths. And stories that rely on people, a whole fraction of humanity even, being stupid or bad really aren't well thought out.

Nevertheless: Enjoyable.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

solar system war: crew on vacation

another masterpiece of hard sf in near future setting with our crew and chracters growing from narative ache types to complete persons. clearly this is an interlude story preparing us for the next increments of this series and tying up loose character ends. Again an exceptional performance from the narrator.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Rich, dense story-telling, beautifully executed

This, and the others in the series, is really near the top of my listening list from the last 20 years. It is so engaging and well-paced. Yes, there are a couple of really annoying characters, but I suppose life is like that and there are many nuanced and enjoyable characters to balance them out. I don't look forward to getting to the end of the books.

I would like to put in a good word for the narrator, Jefferson Mays. He does a wonderful job with the different characters, both male and female. His Avasarala is actually better than the book version: his Avasarala is a lady who knows how to speak properly and does not indulge in euphemisms. She says "arse", not "ass".

Perfect.

Enjoyed it as much as first three books of the series.
Can't wait to continue it.
Definitely recommend.

0 of 1 people found this review helpful

Good again

After the poor narration of the last book, this one was excellent and the story line was top class, leaving us hanging and waiting for the next instalment .

0 of 1 people found this review helpful

Thank god we our narrator back!

10/10 best audiobook I have come across. Thanks for this.
Hopefully someone explains the blunder of the last narrator.

0 of 1 people found this review helpful

Yay!

I had to skip the previous book due to the narrator being unbearable. So good to have Jefferson mays back with the Roci. I've grown to be a part of the crew and can't wait to get flying again.

0 of 1 people found this review helpful

Stunning next episode

As usual a great plot and wonderful characters. Great to learn more about the back story of our core team and in such an unusual way. Thank you for bringing back Jefferson Mays as the narrator.

6 of 6 people found this review helpful

Space Opera At Its best!

Wow! what can I say! Just finished reading James S.A Corey's fifth
instalment of his Expanse series of books and I believe this is his best
book yet. Now, that's a pretty weighty statement in light of his first three
books. Granted, his fourth part of this series wasn't quite up to his
incredible ability to tell a ripping yarn but on balance Corey sets a very
high bar and so for those who have read his other books in this series I think
my assertion that this could well be the best to date is an indicator of the
quality and fantastic story-writing skills that is Nemesis Games.

Although this is Corey's fifth book in his Expanse series, it is by no means
the last. There is just so much scope for further books that Corey has an ever expanding canvas from which to work with. As with his previous parts to this series, we are left with a tantalizing and somewhat unexpected cliff-hanger that has left me chomping at the bit for the next book. I was fortunate enough to have picked up on Corey's work late enough to have all first five parts of this series available and so no waiting time for the next one. Now, though I'll have to wait quite a while.

Corey brings together all the characters from previous stories such as the Martian marine Roberta Draper, the cranky under secretary Avrasarila and even Clarissa Mau and weaves them into this story and pulls them all together in a very satisfying way like an old friends reunion but is integral to the unfolding plot. Nemesis Games also expands some of the core characters back stories and provides interesting insights into their lives before joining up with Holden.

This book also sees a welcome return to the job of narration by Jefferson Mays with his smooth and flowing style that is flawless and competent in its delivery.

Nemesis Games is up there with the very best of any authors work in the genre I've read and Corey has raised the bar yet again with this absorbing and riveting read.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

best of the series

hallelujah, welcome back Jefferson Mays! great performance, gripping plot, and a welcome shift in pattern to previous instalments.

can't wait for the next one!

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Great sci-fi adventure!

Real page turning action, more depth into favorite characters and epic story progression. Great work from the reader too, like watching the best blockbuster in your head!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

love jt

Excellant book love the series. well worth a read. Can't wait for the next one.

The Expanse expands the characters. ..

The characters have their own stories told whilst the main story ploughs on relentlessly.
More Avasarala, more Bobbie, more everything!

Laced with intrigue and excitement

An excellent narrator brings to life story which finally gives each crew member of the Rocinante their own separate but interwined arc allowing for a lot of character development but the stakes are as high as ever.

Brilliant!

As thought experiments go, the Expanse series ranks up there with Einstein’s dreams of relativity. I’m completely hooked!

Awesome Awesome AWESOME!

This series i absolutely adore. Well written well read, the story flows well and the characters are great.

The Expanse is back!

Would you listen to Nemesis Games again? Why?

Yup. Was good.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Clarissa Mao.

Which scene did you most enjoy?

Too many to pick a favourite.

Any additional comments?

After the disappointment of Cibola Burn, James S A Corey more than makes up for it with Nemesis Games. This is back to the brilliance of books one and two, and it gives all the main characters serious plot time and development. Setting things up for book six.