Babylon's Ashes

After the events of Nemesis Games have, almost literally, broken the world, the Solar System finds itself engaged in the most destructive war in history. Governments have fallen, countless are dead, and the crew of the Rocinante find themselves struggling to keep up in a world choking on Babylon's Ashes.

Going forward, there are major spoilers for the series, so below the cut will include a much richer review.

In broad strokes, Babylon's Ashes more than Nemesis Games is a war story first and foremost. More so than even Caliban's War was. Picking up in the immediate aftermath of the status quo shattering events of the last book, we're thrown right into things as our cast, the crew of the Rocinante and a legion of new and familiar faces, are attempting to adjust to how much the world has changed once again.

We're given a sweeping narrative that runs from Earth to the edge of settled space and in the slow zone we first saw in Abaddon's Gate. Taking many familiar faces, Avasarala, Prax, Bobbie Draper and Anna, there's a wide amount of latitude to explore the tragedies of a solar system at war. Economic dislocation, creeping tyranny, and tragic loss from piracy, starvation and battle. It does an amazing job at humanizing war, especially one on a scale not before seen in human history.

It also does a wonderful job of humanizing people. So many stories about war too easily devolve into "us and them" stories, but this one doesn't. It acknowledges that people, whether from Earth, Mars or the Belt are people - no matter the physiological differences. One of James Holden's best traits shines through as, in response to Free Navy propaganda, he makes videos about the lives of average Belters trying to eke out an existence in the most hostile living arrangements known to man. He tries to show that, regardless of ideology, birthplace, or distance, everyone is human. It's a truly touching moment that tries to dismantle the usual dichotomy of war.

Alongside those moments, it manages to give us a gripping story of ending a solar system wide war. It begins as the forces of Earth and Mars are trying to consolidate and defending themselves from flying rocks thrown by the Free Navy. Holden and his crew go on a daring mission to blind their opponents to finally give the beleaguered Earth some breathing room. From there, it's a series of feints, attacks, and chases to try and gain advantage.

One of the small things I will criticize with this novel is that, while it nails the human element of war very well, the specifics of the war are left very vague. Outside of some moments near the end of the story where I have a definite idea of the numbers, the stakes involved in various battles and chases are extremely vague. I never know who held the balance of power, how many ships were involved, and whether one side really had the upper hand. The book could have been made so much more tense by the breakdown of what was lost, and what assets were where so I could sense out the course of the war. 

However, since the human element is more important, I can forgive it. As one character puts it, "war isn't just torpedoes and battle lines."

Through the character of Michio Pa, a tertiary character from Abaddon's Gate, we get the divided loyalties of someone who believes they're doing the right thing in war. To some, she's a pirate, from her own perspective she's a freedom fighter trying to bring justice to the people of the Belt. The vision put forward by the Free Navy, a Belt no longer under the heel of Mars and Earth, economic justice for Belters, and true void cities, is intoxicating. However, the increasingly brutal means put forward to make that a reality, are at odds with her own morality. 

It also examines the rolls of leaders. Even the flaws with the Great Man Theory of history. It shows us the leaders we have, while great, are not necessarily infallible geniuses. One of the best moments is when Fred Johnson simply says, he's doing what he knows in the best way he can. 

The narrative climaxes in a satisfying way, trying to seek solutions to the problems which led to the war in the first place. I quite enjoyed the effort to look at humanity through a full glass, and with the major players earnestly trying to find methods to solve the problems which caused the war, but with just enough ambiguity for the future to keep you invested in what comes next.

Moreover, it has some amazing moments which will probably not be forgotten in this series, but many spoilers follow.

To start with, Marco Inaros is probably one of the best villains ever put to paper. He's charismatic, dramatic, and has grand narratives which define the future for people. He can even make you believe that even if things go wrong that's part of the plan. He's also petty, spiteful, immature, and possessive. When things do go wrong it's never his fault and he must blame others, when things go right he planned it that way! That his own ego and personal vendettas prove to be his undoing, makes it all the more sweet in the end.

In stark contrast to Avasarala and Johnson, or even Holden, he tends to make things up as he goes along. A lack of long term strategy and penchant for grand gestures dooms his cause from the start! So much so many of his lieutenants begin to desert! It's even better when he calls Fred Johnson his white whale, and one his men mutters he never did get around to finishing that book!

That being said, this does lead to that I felt some of the ending was not well done. There's a lack of closure for his lieutenants, men like Anderson Dawes who make major decisions are almost just thrown away. We don't get a great perspective on Earth rebuilding, whether more people are simply fleeing to the colonies, or how things will ultimately be resolved. It does though, do a very good job at tying up the plot.

All that being said, the finale is simply amazing. Taking the building problem of ships going missing through the gates for unclear reasons which has been hovering in the background since Nemesis Games, it uses a very jerry-rigged equation to deduce that with a certain mass going through the gates, the ships disappear. With the remnants of the Free Navy burning to catch Holden and company in the slow zone, they use it as a hail mary. Then, Marco and the Free Navy vanishes, but potentially start a larger problem. 

On my first read through of this book, I didn't really like it. Having now read it a second time, I'm thrilled by what I've read! Definitely one of the best in the series, it manages to smash the status quo and set the stage amazingly well for what is to come. A must read.