Nemesis Games by James S. A. Corey

Nemesis Games is the fifth book in The Expanse series.  I have no idea why it took me so long to get on The Expanse train, but if you're not reading these books, you are missing out!

I have said this for every book in the series as I've read them, but this might be my favorite book in the series. They just get better and better.  The world is built, the politics are explained, and now Corey can play in the sandbox that has been created.

We start with Holden and the crew docked because the ship needs repairs after their last disastrous mission trying to do some peacekeeping on a newly settled planet. But before you know it, all four of our crew members are across the solar system split up from one another and the Rocinante. As soon as this started happening, I was squealing "don't split up the party" like I was engaging in some serious D&D roleplaying.  Anyway, as you can imagine, outer space hijinks take place and at the climax of the book, our players have to work cooperatively to accomplish the mission.

Sure, the universe is in a very bad way at the end of the book. Earth has been virtually destroyed. Mars is never going to finish terraforming. There's a sect of the Belters that has declared war.  It's a mess.  But our crew is together and safe and that's all that matters to me.

The dialogue in this book is absolutely sparkling. The number of passages I read out loud to Dr. BB was rather long.  I don't know if it's because I'm so immersed in these characters now of if it's because the writing is so sharp, but whatever the reason, I found reading conversations in these books to be one of the best things about the month of August.

Notable quotes:

1) "We need to talk," she said.

He tensed a little, but kept his voice light and airy. "Like man-and-woman talk?"

"Worse," she said. "XO and captain." (pages 34-35)

2) Holden couldn't tell if she was melancholy or solving a complex engineering problem in her head. Those looks were confusingly similar. (page 56)

3) "Murtry swung first, so technically, that was self-defense. And if I'd wanted him dead, don't you think he'd be dead?  It's no like I quit hitting him because I was tired." (page 78)

4) "Forget Holden.  You called me his hired killer. Is that how you guys think of me?  The killer on Holden's payroll?

Avasarala frowned. "You're not?"

"Well, mostly I'm a mechanic. But the idea that the UN has a file on me somewhere that lists me as the Rocinante's killer?  That's kind of awesome." (page 79)

5) "The reckless tough-guy version of you is almost as tiring as the relentless Boy Scout was. I'm hoping your pendulum swings hit middle sometime soon." (page 376)

If you're not reading The Expanse series, why aren't you?  It's amazing.