Friday Reads: Babylon's Ashes

Happy Friday! If you've had quite enough of Earth for the time being, why not escape into "The Expanse" with Adam's Friday Reads, Babylon's Ashes by James S. A. Corey?

Babylon's Ashes is the sixth book in the sci-fi adventure series The Expanse, the source material for the recent SYFY/Prime original series of the same title. The series is set a few centuries in the future, after humans have settled throughout the solar system, having colonized the Moon, Mars, and the Asteroid belt. By this point in the series, alien technology has also allowed humans to journey to the far reaches of the galaxy through interstellar ring gates, colonizing planets in distant solar systems and discovering new sources of vital resources. Militant citizens of the Asteroid belt (so-called "Belters"), tired of being exploited by the "Inners" of Earth and Mars, have launched a devastating attack against Earth, leading to an all-out war for survival and control of our solar system's dwindling resources. And right in the middle, as always, is Captain James Holden and his crew, the central characters in the series, who must navigate the perilous space between all of these warring factions.

The series is exciting and superbly written, with storylines touching on science, politics, medicine, religion, philosophy, business, and many other areas. One of the things I appreciate most about the series is how clearly the authors (Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck writing together under a joint pen name) define the stakes for each of the warring groups, especially the Belters. They've been exploited and marginalized for generations by Earth and Mars, and now that humans have begun colonizing other solar systems, the resources from the Belt may no longer be needed, potentially leaving the Belters without an economic base. And Belters can't pack up and find a new home on a distant planet, because most of them can't survive in the gravity of a planetary surface when their bodies have adapted physiologically to Belter life in low or no gravity. Even if you don't agree with the actions of their charismatic leader, Marco Inaros, you can't help but feel sympathy for their cause.