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

Missing Miller

Great story, Miller will be missed he was a favorite. Bobby will be coming back that's good.

Another great installment

Really love these books. Love the main characters and the universe is believable and consistent. Slightl drop off from previous book maybe. I can't tell because I have loved the series so much.

Overly restrained hero

I love this series. It's one that I hate to stop listening to but feel I should so I don't finish it too quickly. That said this story annoyed me at times because of the restraint showed by Holden and to a lesser extent Havelock. Your fighting for the survival of many in an impossible situation and you keep handling the monster in the mix with kid gloves. At one point Alex steps in and takes out an imminent threat and I'm saying out loud finally!!! The narraration by Mays is great as always. I will definitely continue with the series.

Overall great story and a good recording

At times there are cut outs in the reading.. what I mean by that is the narrators voice cuts out. I rewound to see if it was caused by my headphones but it wasn’t.. only happened 5 or 6 times over the almost 20 hours of recording

Good book in great series

It is quite rare that I like a Sci-Fi series as much as I am liking this one. It is also rare when a Sci-Fi series gets better as it goes along (most have a great first book, then coast on that success). Each book is different from those before, but maintain the strong characters and interesting intertwining themes. This book is more planet based, narrowly focused, and personal than the last few books, but had good characterizations, a nice story, and surprises. I liked it a lot, without it being my favorite book of the series.

The (new) narration is awesome, clear and easy to understand, good characterizations, with great expressiveness that really adds to the experience.

I'm crying.

What did you love best about Cibola Burn?

Jeffery (Jefferson) Mays. Also, James S. A. Corey, of course, but J. Mays bring the characters to life.

Since I listen to audiobooks at work, switching to reading text isn't an option. Thus, the performance is what I love best about Cibola Burn.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Cibola Burn?

Jeffery (Jefferson) Mays. Hands down.

I don't think you realize how much agony I was in without the precious and comforting voice of Mays.

Storywise, the science and perspective are fascinating to which the author should receive credit. Often, when composing or consuming a written work, neither the creator nor audience delve too deeply into logistics and details. James S. A. Corey tackles this hurdle with finesse and grace. As a microbiologist, when it comes to space exploration and the journey of studying both microbial and newly found organisms, contamination and observation without interaction can be drastically important. The concept of space exploration is romantic and fascinating, but in practicality potentially tragic and horrifying. There have been a plethora of historical examples; whenever a traveler (i.e. Europeans) or specific biodome arrives, interacts, and integrates with a second biodome (i.e. the new world and natives with smallpox). There are vital issues and obstacles which would occur in real life examples that's reflected in the book. To this eye for detail, thought, and deliberation, one of the most memorable moments is the consistency of logistical, intricate, and minute elements of storytelling and world building.

Which character – as performed by Jefferson Mays – was your favorite?

Comparatively, all of them.

No joke. I downloaded the book in 2016 but only got to it now. The previous narrator, Erik Davies, was a great disappointment after listening to the past four books (all narrated by J. Mays). Every second of listening to Davies' version was agonizing. Their interpretation of the characters, how they sounded, spoke, and acted was a tremendously disparate rendition to the established constructions and portrayals from preceding novels and screen adaptations. He made female characters seem weak and whimsical, whereas Nagata and Avasarala consistently and invariably demonstrate strength, headstrong, and badass capability. Every syllable enunciated in the perspective and voice of Miller was robotic, meek, empty, and... lacking. I cringed at every word.

Mays, contrastingly, is a brilliant actor and narrator. Their voice colors and brings the story to life in a compelling, enticing, and vibrant way that I have never seen done before. I have always been reluctant on audiobooks, but Mays has changed my perspective so quickly I got whiplash.

Anyone else's depiction or presentation would pale in comparison, especially when it comes to Avasarala, Holden, Nagata, Miller, and Amos.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

It's a 20 plus hour book. I can't stay up that long without passing out unintentionally. I will say that I listened to this book at EVERY SINGLE OPPORTUNITY that I could. I'd listen to the novel straight through my 8 hour shift and then on the drive home.

Any additional comments?

Erik Davies isn't necessarily a poor narrator; it's just that Mays has done such an exceptional job, no one else could probably do the Expanse justice.

Fantastic way to advance the story.

Started out very similar to "Speaker for the Dead" in the Enders game series. New planet, new lifeforms, frontier politics, a main character mediator sent to sort it all out. It ended very much in the Expanse way. Great story advancement in the series and it sets the stage for more to come.

Still will prolly be better than the show

Someone described that Corey is getting a little formulaic. I'd have to agree. The book is good. I enjoyed it. But it bad guys and good guys all seem to be cut from their same respective cloths.

Expanse book 4

This book is different from the first three but it is leading the story in a new directions.

Good Story

Entertaining with good character development and interesting concepts of science and human interaction. Characters die, live, and struggle.