Leviathan Falls (The Expanse #9) by James S. A. Corey

Leviathan Wakes
Caliban's War
Abaddon's Gate
Cibola Burn
Nemesis Games
Babylon's Ashes
Persepolis Rising
Tiamat's Wrath

Leviathan Falls is the ninth and final book in The Expanse series. It was a fitting final novel to one of the best science-fiction series I have ever read. This book is action-packed and filled with great interactions between our characters, the wry wit Corey are known for, and it introduces a dog, so you know I'm on board for that.  

It's very hard to know what to write without giving away major spoilers, but in the first book of the series, Leviathan Wakes, we are introduced to an alien life form and in this book, we see how humans eventually deal with that.  It's a lovely story of aging, dealing with existential questions of purpose of life and mundane questions about how dogs defecate in space. It's a brilliant look at how relationships morph, develop, and strengthen and weaken over time. 

If I haven't convinced you to read these books yet, I don't know what else I can do. This writing duo can do no wrong, as far as I'm concerned, and I can't wait to see what they do next.  This series is as great a science-fiction series as I have ever read. 5/5 very enthusiastic thumbs up.

Lines of note:

When Alex talked about his grandson, working out whether he'd been born yet, how big he was likely to be, speculating on the names that Kit and his wife might choose, all Jim could see was one more body on the pile when the end came. Another baby who'd stop breathing when the deep enemy solved its puzzle. Another death.

Maybe that was unfair. There had been any number of end-times before this: black plague, nuclear war, food web collapse, Eros moving. Every generation had its apocalypse. If they made humans stop falling in love and having babies, celebrating and dreaming and living out the time they had, they'd have stopped a long time before. (page 74)

There are a number of reasons my husband I don't have children, but the fact that our country has essentially been at war our entire adult lives definitely played a factor into our decision. Bringing children into a world in which climate change, war, and the threat of nuclear annihilation (and that was before I worried about a never-ending pandemic) seemed unfair. I think parents are very brave.

"If mitochondria and chloroplasts hadn't set up shop inside other organisms, eukaryotic life wouldn't exist, including all of us. Hermit crabs using discarded shells and soup cans. Acacia ants built their whole evolutionary strategy out of supporting trees. Intestinal microflora have a vast effect on cognition, emotion, metabolism. Most of the cells in your body right now aren't human. Change out a few species of bacteria in your gut, and you'll be a fundamentally different person." (page 321)

My husband has challenging gut issues and we've seriously looked into a fecal transplant, but this very idea that his personality could change entirely has prevented us from going through with it. 

"Did something happen with Elvi?"
...
"Have you asked her?"
"You see? There you go with your useful, straightforward suggestions. I never come up with those kinds of things myself." (pages 347-348)

It's this kind of interaction between characters that makes me love this series so much.

"It was like seeing a Picasso composition in the style of Van Gogh, familiar and alien at the same time." (page 356)

I love a good simile. Simply brilliant writing from Corey here. 

"You want bullshit happy mouth noises, or the truth."
"Bullshit happy mouth noises."
"It's great," Miller said without missing a beat. "It's having a long, restful sleep full of interesting, vivid dreams." (page 452)

This is absolute fan service here. In the final pages of the novel, Corey brings back an OG character and has the dialogue be spot on in his voice. 

Again, if you're not reading this series, you're missing out on something great.