After the events of the last book, Babylon's Ashes, the Expanse series was clearly building up to a crescendo and I couldn't wait to find out what was going to happen next. Even though the TV series is a hit, it just doesn't bring the story to life like the books do, and it is lagging behind in the story anyway. Tiamat's Wrath is the eighth book of the series, with only one more to follow if James S. A. Corey sticks to the current plan, and it took only a single sentence for this book to make clear that the series is nearing the end. To keep things spoiler free I won't say what that sentence was, but know that this book is full of big moments and if you are a fan of the series then you will not be disappointed.

The crew of the Rocinante may be dispersed, but they are all playing their parts to keep humanity alive even if a myriad of other individuals seem hell bent on seeing it turn out otherwise. The story moves along from big moment to big moment and just like spending time with old friends it is over far too quickly. In contrast to the first sentence, which made it clear the series was ending, the last sentence lets you know there are still big things to come. The final book is going to be a doozy and I wish there was more than one book remaining because there is still a lot of story to tell here.

Even though I thoroughly enjoyed this book, I do have a couple of criticisms. First, the humor that has always been a part of this series now plays a much smaller role, and second, it felt like some of the story was a little bit contrived this time around. Both are minor criticisms and far outweighed by all the good things, so ultimately I find myself just as eager for the next book in the series as always. 

Jefferson Mays narrates the audiobook version once again and I will take his excellent portrayal of all these wonderful characters over the TV series any day of the week.