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The Captive's War #2
The Faith of Beasts
James S. A. Corey's Expanse series has sold more than 12 million copies worldwide and has been translated into more than 23 languages, establishing itself as a modern masterwork of science fiction. Now, the Hugo-award winning author returns with the second volume in their New York Times bestselling and critically acclaimed space opera trilogy, The Captive’s War.
The monstrous Carryx empire was built by subjugation and war. Thousands of species are bound to their Sovran's command in an endless, blood-soaked test: be useful in the eternal conflict or be slaughtered.
Dafyd Alkhor, highest among their human captives, is feared and despised by the very people he champions. Ruthless in carving out his niche in the eternal war machine of the empire, he will reshape human nature itself as a tool for their alien masters’ use. But Dafyd’s loyalty is not what it seems.
The Swarm, an agent of the Carryx’s deathless enemy, has been smuggled into the Carryx world-palace along with the human slaves. It’s discover a way to bring down the empire’s eternal reign. But the longer it lives among and within humanity, the more it forgets that it is a weapon.
As the human captives spread through the battlefronts of empire, the awesome power of the Carryx becomes clear. And with it, a desperate plan for their destruction.
But empires hide secrets, and even the deathless enemy may not be what it appears…
The monstrous Carryx empire was built by subjugation and war. Thousands of species are bound to their Sovran's command in an endless, blood-soaked test: be useful in the eternal conflict or be slaughtered.
Dafyd Alkhor, highest among their human captives, is feared and despised by the very people he champions. Ruthless in carving out his niche in the eternal war machine of the empire, he will reshape human nature itself as a tool for their alien masters’ use. But Dafyd’s loyalty is not what it seems.
The Swarm, an agent of the Carryx’s deathless enemy, has been smuggled into the Carryx world-palace along with the human slaves. It’s discover a way to bring down the empire’s eternal reign. But the longer it lives among and within humanity, the more it forgets that it is a weapon.
As the human captives spread through the battlefronts of empire, the awesome power of the Carryx becomes clear. And with it, a desperate plan for their destruction.
But empires hide secrets, and even the deathless enemy may not be what it appears…
436 pages, Hardcover
First published April 14, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 852 reviews
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
This book is just as strong as the first one.
The story picks up right after the events of the first book, following the main characters in their separate journeys.
The plot is just as captivating, the stakes are getting higher, and the writing is absolutely excellent. I especially loved the evolution and development of the characters as they face new challenges and form new relationships.
I can't wait for the next one!
Thank you so much Orbit Books for this ARC.
The story picks up right after the events of the first book, following the main characters in their separate journeys.
The plot is just as captivating, the stakes are getting higher, and the writing is absolutely excellent. I especially loved the evolution and development of the characters as they face new challenges and form new relationships.
I can't wait for the next one!
Thank you so much Orbit Books for this ARC.
April 19, 2026
The Mercy of Gods was one of my favourite reads of 2024, so I went into the sequel terrified - both for the characters and for my moon-high expectations.
This series is deeply existential. It takes an unrealistic situation and makes it entirely plausible and possible.
Without spoilers for either book, The Mercy of Gods saw humans lose against an alien invasion and taken captive; treated as animals and kept alive only for their worth to the Caryx.
This continues in book two as humans continue to do what we do best: find solace in small moments, hold onto connection and relationship, and tend to a kernel of hope.
Vices, kinks, sins. Humanity had been trying to flay them off their souls since someone came up with the idea of souls, and they'd never managed. Even the Carry hadn't been enough of a break to change human nature. Not that the big fuckers had tried enforcing any ethical guidelines. They'd have been fine with humans murdering and eating each other if the projects kept producing useful results.
This balances characters and plot fairly well. There are a lot of POVs and bumping around to different parts of the universe, but the authors do an amazing job at adding small details and humanity to each person. Important for a series about humans trying to keep their humanity whilst enforcing/carrying out extremes in order to survive as a race.
I find it interesting and terrifying to be in Dafyd’s head. He is both the saviour and villain for the humans. He must manage a semi-infinite list of things that he needs to look into, manage, control.
He seems too perfect in terms of a nobody thrust into the position of a for-the-good-of-all leader.
The tension at his temples felt like he was wearing an invisible crown.
Why not five stars?
I think The Mercy of the Gods astounded me as a one-off experience. Obviously, the concept is developed here, but the initial shock and WOAH mind-blowing realisation isn’t as impressive the second time around.
I still 100% recommend the sequel. It is a worthy sequel and has made me excited to continue.
Physics arc gifted by Orbit.
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Tiktok
This series is deeply existential. It takes an unrealistic situation and makes it entirely plausible and possible.
Without spoilers for either book, The Mercy of Gods saw humans lose against an alien invasion and taken captive; treated as animals and kept alive only for their worth to the Caryx.
This continues in book two as humans continue to do what we do best: find solace in small moments, hold onto connection and relationship, and tend to a kernel of hope.
Vices, kinks, sins. Humanity had been trying to flay them off their souls since someone came up with the idea of souls, and they'd never managed. Even the Carry hadn't been enough of a break to change human nature. Not that the big fuckers had tried enforcing any ethical guidelines. They'd have been fine with humans murdering and eating each other if the projects kept producing useful results.
This balances characters and plot fairly well. There are a lot of POVs and bumping around to different parts of the universe, but the authors do an amazing job at adding small details and humanity to each person. Important for a series about humans trying to keep their humanity whilst enforcing/carrying out extremes in order to survive as a race.
I find it interesting and terrifying to be in Dafyd’s head. He is both the saviour and villain for the humans. He must manage a semi-infinite list of things that he needs to look into, manage, control.
He seems too perfect in terms of a nobody thrust into the position of a for-the-good-of-all leader.
The tension at his temples felt like he was wearing an invisible crown.
Why not five stars?
I think The Mercy of the Gods astounded me as a one-off experience. Obviously, the concept is developed here, but the initial shock and WOAH mind-blowing realisation isn’t as impressive the second time around.
I still 100% recommend the sequel. It is a worthy sequel and has made me excited to continue.
Physics arc gifted by Orbit.
Bookstagram
Tiktok
April 21, 2026
The narrative in this second The Captive's War novel remains deeply introspective and emotionally resonant, exploring trauma, loss, remorse, uncertainty, upheaval, and the forging of new relationships as part of the healing process. The overall tone is still heavy and often bleak, and the authors do an excellent job of provoking a visceral response to the humans' pervasive, humiliating oppression. There are also many fascinating revelations and audacious developments regarding the nature of the war, its enemies, and the vast and implacable Carryx empire with its many subjugated alien cultures. Yet while several characters remain compelling - especially Dafyd Alkhor and the Swarm - I still feel the story has not quite found its center of gravity yet. And so while I want to see how things develop from here, I don't yet feel fully emotionally invested.
May 22, 2026
This is the second novel that I believe to be a trilogy. The first book should be read before reading this one. In this one we continue the story of humans being held captive. They have to prove they are worthwhile of being a use to their captives or they are sentenced to death.
It must be me but this book and series is not doing it for me like other readers on this website. I liked the first book but this was a snooze fest. Nothing happened. Yes we had deaths and had a new development. Truthfully nothing was earth shattering and this book could be condensed into the other books from this series. It is just the daily proceedings of how humans cope being in captivity. Examples would be them trying to have relationships or throwing yourself into work. We already knew this as we touched upon these concepts in the first book. We really needed more of that? The characters don't do much for me either. I mentioned that in my review of the first book. I thought that might be to point because the species is in captivity. But I need someone to be interested in and to root for if I am reading multiple books of a series. Unfortunately that is not the case here.
I know my review sounds like this deserves a one star rating. I am interested in the overall story and humans being captive to eventually fight back. But give me something to sink my teeth in. This book did not. I was bored with it and I found myself grabbing my phone while reading this. I never thought I would say that about a James S.A. Corey novel.
It must be me but this book and series is not doing it for me like other readers on this website. I liked the first book but this was a snooze fest. Nothing happened. Yes we had deaths and had a new development. Truthfully nothing was earth shattering and this book could be condensed into the other books from this series. It is just the daily proceedings of how humans cope being in captivity. Examples would be them trying to have relationships or throwing yourself into work. We already knew this as we touched upon these concepts in the first book. We really needed more of that? The characters don't do much for me either. I mentioned that in my review of the first book. I thought that might be to point because the species is in captivity. But I need someone to be interested in and to root for if I am reading multiple books of a series. Unfortunately that is not the case here.
I know my review sounds like this deserves a one star rating. I am interested in the overall story and humans being captive to eventually fight back. But give me something to sink my teeth in. This book did not. I was bored with it and I found myself grabbing my phone while reading this. I never thought I would say that about a James S.A. Corey novel.
June 11, 2026
A
Covert Group
resists the Assimilation of the /
Alien Abducted
inhabitants of a human
Lost Colony
who are
Trapped in Villainy
serving the
Eminently Enigmatic Aliens
. Second book in The Captive’s War series.
The Carryx Throne World.
My dead pixels copy was a moderate for modern science fiction 446 pages. A dead tree copy would be 448 pages. The book had a 2026 US copyright.
James S. A. Corey is the nom de plume of the writing team of American authors Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck. Together, they have written more than 20 books and several short form stories, principally in their Expanse series, but not exclusively. I have read many of their books. The most recent being Livesuit (The Captives War, #1.5) (my review).
It's strongly recommended that readers having read The Mercy of Gods (The Captives War, #1) (my review) before attempting this book. Without its background, you’ll find this book incomprehensible.
TL;DR Synopsis
The Carryx captives of the lost human colony world of Anjiin are proving useful as a subjugated, slave species and now form the Human Moiety. The survivors face a Conformity Trap, in which there are really negative consequences for not conforming to Carryx expectations. A covert group takes Faith in the Foe through an embedded spy for the Carryx’s mortal foe, the “Deathless Enemy”, in an Enemy Mine situation. The story explores the pressures on humans to fit in and its potential dangers in retaining their humanity.
Well written, but not as impressive a read as the first book in the series, this being the bridge book of the trilogy.
The Review
The Captive's War is a trilogy, or at least it's advertised to be. Middle books are hard. In a five-act play, this book would be Act Two, The Rising Action. Complications are piling up, and the reader is learning a lot. Although it's not as in taking a garden hose in the mouth, like in the first book. I'm going to have to wait approximately two years, with maybe a novella in between, for the final book. Sigh.
The book's prose was good, and it was immaculately groomed. I found no errors. The Hachette/Orbit publisher and the James S. A. Corey writing team continue to have among the highest production values for eye-readable science fiction. I also think that experienced "writing teams" foster those higher values as they review each other's prose, ironing out sentences.
Descriptive prose was good. Action sequences were on par with the author’s previous work. Although some readers may be disappointed with the obligatory space battles. They’re by no means the up close and personal of video games, or even the author’s previous Expanse series. The battles take place with the opponent fleets separated by several au with the laws of physics in place. It takes a long time for projectiles and “beams” to arrive. This is the way Sufficiently Advanced Alien Species would wage space war. It may be too abstract for some folks. Dialogue is likewise good. I always enjoy Cory’s dialogue. In particular, the pithy short sentences used in it.
There was the familiar use of several points of view (POVs). The series starts out with a larger number, but winnows down the number of humans. The shifting viewpoints were well handled and concise. Six POVs were a good fit for this book's 400+ pages. That was somewhat hindered by there being three main locations, and Corey concentrating on their trademark action and dialogue.
The most important POVs to the story were: Dafyd, Jessyn, Tonner, Rickar, Campar, The Swarm, and Ekur-Tkalal.
The human characters are the remnants of the human research team, 'harvested' by the Carryx from Anjiin for their success in biological science research. They're now somewhat adjusted to the moral and ethical dilemmas of the Carryx prison camp-like environment and their captivity.
Dafyd was the nominal protagonist. He has been elevated to the role of the human Trustee by the Carryx, due to being the first to come to understand them and the dynamics of the competitive, multi-alien species prison camp. Heavy weighs the crown and The Chains of Commanding . He begins the Benevolent Conspiracy to keep the Human Moiety alive and to take revenge on the Carryx. The bipolar Jessyn, once one of the more capable researchers, has hardened. The clever monkeys of the Human Moiety brought her affliction under control by mastering alien tech. Along the way, she became a killer. Tonner was the Research Team's leader. He is a brilliant, egocentric researcher. In coping with imprisonment, he buried himself in the Carryx-directed research and in a less-than-selfless effort to improve the Human Moiety's circumstances. He's the least likely to appreciate the personal and group danger, along with the moral and ethical dilemmas of the imprisonment. However, it was his brilliance that convinced the Carryx to found the Human Moiety. Rickar was the outsider. His contribution to most of the story is of the outsider "looking in." He was among the most normal of characters. In a surprising turn, Campar, a minor character in the previous book, receives a promotion. His dialogue can be pricelessly humorous. He was also among the most normal of the characters.
The Swarm was a spy for the Deathless Enemy, a species at least as advanced as the Carryx, whom they have been fighting for Millenia. It’s a highly technologically advanced, nanotech creature capable of Grand Theft Me and of Hollywood Hacking of human and Carryx infrastructure. However, due to prolonged exposure to humans, it now wants to Become a Real Girl . The Swarm plays an important Deus ex Machina role for The Conspiracy.
Ekur-Tkalal was the nominal Carryx antagonist. It’s carried along as a Mr. Exposition on the Carryx, their related world building, and as part of the series’ long-term plotline. It continues with this duty.
There were numerous other humans and aliens imprisoned on the Carryx homeworld and off it that played minor or Red Shirt roles or are destined for future greatness. The aliens are good, but they sometimes get too close to the edge with being anthropomorphic. (The best aliens remain alien.) Important characters have been added, destined to play a role in the last book, but without POVs. In addition, I’m always surprised at the author’s wherewithal to use the Decoy Protagonist twist, especially this far into the series.
The original research group's human captives of the alien Carryx form a covert conspiracy to resist assimilation, recruiting a small number of outsiders, including aliens with special skills. Teaming with the nanotech Deathless Enemy spy, they navigate the brutal prison-camp hierarchy. Balancing survival, rebellion, and the need to maintain their humanity, they plot revenge against the enigmatic Carryx. (The Carryx are too alien.) What makes this better than the typical alien-captivity story is its focus on organizational behavior under duress: how individuals adapt or crack under the weight of the alien environment and its demands, how the dwindling number of original captives negotiate group dynamics and new identities within their population and the other moieties, and how humans cope with and work to subvert the rigid organizational processes imposed by their Carryx masters. The real battle is not individually physical, emotional, and intellectual, but institutional, as the captives learn that surviving the Carryx means first surviving each other and the corrosive pressures of the alien-imposed alien conformity.
The authors are on record for basing this series on the Biblical book of Daniel. Specifically, on the Babylonian exile where Daniel serves in the court of his captors. I saw more of that Biblical influence in the importance of Dafyd's dreams in the narrative. (If you remember your Bible.)
There was: “Sex, drugs, and no rock’n roll music”, along with violence in the story.
Folks had sex, both heterosexual and gay. Oddly, nobody is bisexual or lesbian. Carnal knowledge was tastefully done in the fade-to-black style. You put a brilliant bunch of people together in a prison camp with research and alien manufacturing equipment, and it's no surprise they make something better than Toilet Wine for stress relief. Alcohol is being manufactured, but there is no indication that any other substances are being used and abused. You’d think they’d at least make THC Gummies too? There is art being rendered in captivity. “Dance” is happening, with no mention of the music.
The body count was genocidal. Genocide is amongst the Carryx "policies and procedures". They sterilize an inhabited planet from orbit. Sentient bad behavior typically gets a death sentence. The humans of the Human Moiety have stopped suiciding. Everyone who was going to, already has, and the rest are settling in. Most of the violence was physical, and with some small arms or impact weapons. The violence was moderately graphic.
World-building was good. However, it's hard-ish science fiction. For example, the Carryx and the Deathless Enemy both have FTL Travel , although using different technologies, and there are other “sufficiently advanced technologies indistinguishable from magic”. These exist alongside more prosaic conceivable future technologies. (Like nanotech swarms.)
One plot line was the the long-term survival of the Human Moiety. I noted, once things had settled down, there were no unwanted or otherwise pregnancies despite all the male-female copulation going on. That went unexplained, as the authors dived into a more technical solution.
The callousness and brutality of the Carryx and their "sky cities" prison camps, and the other "animal" moieties, are fading into the background with this book. The conditions in the camp, really an arcology, which includes the menagerie of alien species the humans rub shoulders with daily, were particularly good at first, but not as interesting as in the first book. They've become familiar. The Carryx and Deathless Enemy spaceships were remarkably bland due to superior technology. The single, Earth-like alien planet visited was likewise nondescript.
In general, there was less effort put into worldbuilding than in the first book. Not much new to the series was introduced.
Summary
I started this series with mixed expectations. It's been better than I expected. It had a good beginning. This middle book sets up the scenery and plot needed to reach the final book of the trilogy, though it's not without its surprises.
Middle books are hard. In a trilogy, they have to be read before you can get to the end. This one was "Good", but not as much as the first. It introduced new plot lines and tied off a few from the first book. There were a few surprises. It was also not as immersive in its worldbuilding as the first book.
This series and this book are better than the author's The Expanse. It's more sophisticated and better written. And, as only a trilogy, it's barely within my threshold of pain for serial fiction.
However, I am apprehensive about the media advertising of this series. It is already being talked about as a future television series, like its predecessor The Expanse. For the Expanse book series, the TV series was a disaster for the books. The authors were producers and money talks; books experienced publishing delays, and their quality suffered. I'm hoping The Captive's War #3 is mostly written before its TV show's scripting begins, if it hasn't already.
This story was well-written, somewhat gritty, semi-hard science fiction. It was one of the better books I've read this year. However, its serial fiction. It was also not as remarkable as the first book in the series or even the Livesuit novella. I'm prepared to be patient and wait for the final book.
The Carryx Throne World.
My dead pixels copy was a moderate for modern science fiction 446 pages. A dead tree copy would be 448 pages. The book had a 2026 US copyright.
James S. A. Corey is the nom de plume of the writing team of American authors Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck. Together, they have written more than 20 books and several short form stories, principally in their Expanse series, but not exclusively. I have read many of their books. The most recent being Livesuit (The Captives War, #1.5) (my review).
It's strongly recommended that readers having read The Mercy of Gods (The Captives War, #1) (my review) before attempting this book. Without its background, you’ll find this book incomprehensible.
TL;DR Synopsis
The Carryx captives of the lost human colony world of Anjiin are proving useful as a subjugated, slave species and now form the Human Moiety. The survivors face a Conformity Trap, in which there are really negative consequences for not conforming to Carryx expectations. A covert group takes Faith in the Foe through an embedded spy for the Carryx’s mortal foe, the “Deathless Enemy”, in an Enemy Mine situation. The story explores the pressures on humans to fit in and its potential dangers in retaining their humanity.
Well written, but not as impressive a read as the first book in the series, this being the bridge book of the trilogy.
The Review
The Captive's War is a trilogy, or at least it's advertised to be. Middle books are hard. In a five-act play, this book would be Act Two, The Rising Action. Complications are piling up, and the reader is learning a lot. Although it's not as in taking a garden hose in the mouth, like in the first book. I'm going to have to wait approximately two years, with maybe a novella in between, for the final book. Sigh.
The book's prose was good, and it was immaculately groomed. I found no errors. The Hachette/Orbit publisher and the James S. A. Corey writing team continue to have among the highest production values for eye-readable science fiction. I also think that experienced "writing teams" foster those higher values as they review each other's prose, ironing out sentences.
Descriptive prose was good. Action sequences were on par with the author’s previous work. Although some readers may be disappointed with the obligatory space battles. They’re by no means the up close and personal of video games, or even the author’s previous Expanse series. The battles take place with the opponent fleets separated by several au with the laws of physics in place. It takes a long time for projectiles and “beams” to arrive. This is the way Sufficiently Advanced Alien Species would wage space war. It may be too abstract for some folks. Dialogue is likewise good. I always enjoy Cory’s dialogue. In particular, the pithy short sentences used in it.
There was the familiar use of several points of view (POVs). The series starts out with a larger number, but winnows down the number of humans. The shifting viewpoints were well handled and concise. Six POVs were a good fit for this book's 400+ pages. That was somewhat hindered by there being three main locations, and Corey concentrating on their trademark action and dialogue.
The most important POVs to the story were: Dafyd, Jessyn, Tonner, Rickar, Campar, The Swarm, and Ekur-Tkalal.
The human characters are the remnants of the human research team, 'harvested' by the Carryx from Anjiin for their success in biological science research. They're now somewhat adjusted to the moral and ethical dilemmas of the Carryx prison camp-like environment and their captivity.
Dafyd was the nominal protagonist. He has been elevated to the role of the human Trustee by the Carryx, due to being the first to come to understand them and the dynamics of the competitive, multi-alien species prison camp. Heavy weighs the crown and The Chains of Commanding . He begins the Benevolent Conspiracy to keep the Human Moiety alive and to take revenge on the Carryx. The bipolar Jessyn, once one of the more capable researchers, has hardened. The clever monkeys of the Human Moiety brought her affliction under control by mastering alien tech. Along the way, she became a killer. Tonner was the Research Team's leader. He is a brilliant, egocentric researcher. In coping with imprisonment, he buried himself in the Carryx-directed research and in a less-than-selfless effort to improve the Human Moiety's circumstances. He's the least likely to appreciate the personal and group danger, along with the moral and ethical dilemmas of the imprisonment. However, it was his brilliance that convinced the Carryx to found the Human Moiety. Rickar was the outsider. His contribution to most of the story is of the outsider "looking in." He was among the most normal of characters. In a surprising turn, Campar, a minor character in the previous book, receives a promotion. His dialogue can be pricelessly humorous. He was also among the most normal of the characters.
The Swarm was a spy for the Deathless Enemy, a species at least as advanced as the Carryx, whom they have been fighting for Millenia. It’s a highly technologically advanced, nanotech creature capable of Grand Theft Me and of Hollywood Hacking of human and Carryx infrastructure. However, due to prolonged exposure to humans, it now wants to Become a Real Girl . The Swarm plays an important Deus ex Machina role for The Conspiracy.
Ekur-Tkalal was the nominal Carryx antagonist. It’s carried along as a Mr. Exposition on the Carryx, their related world building, and as part of the series’ long-term plotline. It continues with this duty.
There were numerous other humans and aliens imprisoned on the Carryx homeworld and off it that played minor or Red Shirt roles or are destined for future greatness. The aliens are good, but they sometimes get too close to the edge with being anthropomorphic. (The best aliens remain alien.) Important characters have been added, destined to play a role in the last book, but without POVs. In addition, I’m always surprised at the author’s wherewithal to use the Decoy Protagonist twist, especially this far into the series.
The original research group's human captives of the alien Carryx form a covert conspiracy to resist assimilation, recruiting a small number of outsiders, including aliens with special skills. Teaming with the nanotech Deathless Enemy spy, they navigate the brutal prison-camp hierarchy. Balancing survival, rebellion, and the need to maintain their humanity, they plot revenge against the enigmatic Carryx. (The Carryx are too alien.) What makes this better than the typical alien-captivity story is its focus on organizational behavior under duress: how individuals adapt or crack under the weight of the alien environment and its demands, how the dwindling number of original captives negotiate group dynamics and new identities within their population and the other moieties, and how humans cope with and work to subvert the rigid organizational processes imposed by their Carryx masters. The real battle is not individually physical, emotional, and intellectual, but institutional, as the captives learn that surviving the Carryx means first surviving each other and the corrosive pressures of the alien-imposed alien conformity.
The authors are on record for basing this series on the Biblical book of Daniel. Specifically, on the Babylonian exile where Daniel serves in the court of his captors. I saw more of that Biblical influence in the importance of Dafyd's dreams in the narrative. (If you remember your Bible.)
There was: “Sex, drugs, and no rock’n roll music”, along with violence in the story.
Folks had sex, both heterosexual and gay. Oddly, nobody is bisexual or lesbian. Carnal knowledge was tastefully done in the fade-to-black style. You put a brilliant bunch of people together in a prison camp with research and alien manufacturing equipment, and it's no surprise they make something better than Toilet Wine for stress relief. Alcohol is being manufactured, but there is no indication that any other substances are being used and abused. You’d think they’d at least make THC Gummies too? There is art being rendered in captivity. “Dance” is happening, with no mention of the music.
The body count was genocidal. Genocide is amongst the Carryx "policies and procedures". They sterilize an inhabited planet from orbit. Sentient bad behavior typically gets a death sentence. The humans of the Human Moiety have stopped suiciding. Everyone who was going to, already has, and the rest are settling in. Most of the violence was physical, and with some small arms or impact weapons. The violence was moderately graphic.
World-building was good. However, it's hard-ish science fiction. For example, the Carryx and the Deathless Enemy both have FTL Travel , although using different technologies, and there are other “sufficiently advanced technologies indistinguishable from magic”. These exist alongside more prosaic conceivable future technologies. (Like nanotech swarms.)
One plot line was the the long-term survival of the Human Moiety. I noted, once things had settled down, there were no unwanted or otherwise pregnancies despite all the male-female copulation going on. That went unexplained, as the authors dived into a more technical solution.
The callousness and brutality of the Carryx and their "sky cities" prison camps, and the other "animal" moieties, are fading into the background with this book. The conditions in the camp, really an arcology, which includes the menagerie of alien species the humans rub shoulders with daily, were particularly good at first, but not as interesting as in the first book. They've become familiar. The Carryx and Deathless Enemy spaceships were remarkably bland due to superior technology. The single, Earth-like alien planet visited was likewise nondescript.
In general, there was less effort put into worldbuilding than in the first book. Not much new to the series was introduced.
Summary
I started this series with mixed expectations. It's been better than I expected. It had a good beginning. This middle book sets up the scenery and plot needed to reach the final book of the trilogy, though it's not without its surprises.
Middle books are hard. In a trilogy, they have to be read before you can get to the end. This one was "Good", but not as much as the first. It introduced new plot lines and tied off a few from the first book. There were a few surprises. It was also not as immersive in its worldbuilding as the first book.
This series and this book are better than the author's The Expanse. It's more sophisticated and better written. And, as only a trilogy, it's barely within my threshold of pain for serial fiction.
However, I am apprehensive about the media advertising of this series. It is already being talked about as a future television series, like its predecessor The Expanse. For the Expanse book series, the TV series was a disaster for the books. The authors were producers and money talks; books experienced publishing delays, and their quality suffered. I'm hoping The Captive's War #3 is mostly written before its TV show's scripting begins, if it hasn't already.
This story was well-written, somewhat gritty, semi-hard science fiction. It was one of the better books I've read this year. However, its serial fiction. It was also not as remarkable as the first book in the series or even the Livesuit novella. I'm prepared to be patient and wait for the final book.
January 1, 2026
Thank you to NetGalley and Orbit Books for the opportunity to read in advance for an honest review.
I’ll preface with this: I was not the biggest fan of the first book in this series, Mercy of the Gods. It’s not a bad book by any means, it just wasn’t completely for me and I ventured into The Faith of the Beasts to see if things would work better for me, personally.
They did not. Again, not a bad read here; it’s just not for me.
The worldbuilding is still excellent. There’s a lot to keep track of as the story progresses. I started to get invested overall late in the read, but not enough in the characters. It just took too long for me to really care to continue with the series beyond this book.
There’s an audience out there that will eat this up. Fans of the authors and the expansive sci-fi genre should give it a try.
I’ll preface with this: I was not the biggest fan of the first book in this series, Mercy of the Gods. It’s not a bad book by any means, it just wasn’t completely for me and I ventured into The Faith of the Beasts to see if things would work better for me, personally.
They did not. Again, not a bad read here; it’s just not for me.
The worldbuilding is still excellent. There’s a lot to keep track of as the story progresses. I started to get invested overall late in the read, but not enough in the characters. It just took too long for me to really care to continue with the series beyond this book.
There’s an audience out there that will eat this up. Fans of the authors and the expansive sci-fi genre should give it a try.
March 26, 2026
I loved everything about this - the character development, the multiple POVs (including the POV of the oppressors), and the scientific elements. I found this to be an excellent continuation of book one. This book serves to widen the scope of the story and gives the reader some hints and Easter eggs. There’s something so brilliant about giving the reader insider knowledge that the characters themselves have yet to discover. The hierarchies, the secrets, and the fight for survival amongst a terrifying regime of aliens had me on the edge of my seat. It’s rare to find a book in which I care greatly and equally about all of the POVs. Cannot wait to get my hands on whatever is next for this series, whether it be a novella or book 3!! A huge thank you to Orbit and NetGalley for this advanced reader copy.
April 23, 2026
Hey Siri, play My Mistake by Steve Lacy, as I return this to Audible and beg for my credit back.
May 7, 2026
While I liked this, I am trying to pin down why I did not like it more. I think it primarily has to do with the overall set up of the series. From the get go in the first novel, we know humans on Anjinn will be conquered by the Carryx; we also know one Dafyd Alkhor, a citizen of Anjinn, will lead a rebellion/revolution that overthrows the Carryx. Hence, the story consists of filling in the blanks between what we know will happen and the trials and tribulations getting there. The heavy foreshadowing clipped the wings of the series. The Expanse worked so well due to the sense of wonder and not knowing what will happen; here, just the opposite.
That stated, The Faith of Beasts works well as the sophomore in the trilogy, giving the reader some reveals about the Carryx and the 'enemy' they are currently fighting. It also developed Dafyd more, along with the other main characters. Hard not to like and feel for Dafyd, who starts the tale here as the 'leader' of the human captives on the Carryx 'palaceworld'. Dafyd, feared and hated by most of the humans for his 'betrayal' of their doomed rebellion that would have probably lead to their extinction by the Carryx. By 'leader', Dafyd has been placed as a liaison between the human captives and their librarian minder Carryx; the Carryx do not like dealing with the animals so only Dafyd converses with the librarian and takes their orders and so forth. The authors did a fine job here depicting the dynamics of the situation.
The novel does have some fine 'gee whiz' aspects to it as well, such as the Carryx technology (most largely appropriated from their client/slave alien races) and the slow (and unsurprising) discovery that other humans are part of the 'enemy' the Carryx currently wage war on. Yet, it still embodies a very old trope; humanity, conquered by an 'evil' (or at least implacable) enemy somehow manage to fight back and overthrow their new overloads. Worse, in my opinion, as we know humanity will win in the end from the get go. The authors pace this well and populate it with good characters, but this really lacks the sense of mystery found in their Expanse series. 3 speculative stars!
That stated, The Faith of Beasts works well as the sophomore in the trilogy, giving the reader some reveals about the Carryx and the 'enemy' they are currently fighting. It also developed Dafyd more, along with the other main characters. Hard not to like and feel for Dafyd, who starts the tale here as the 'leader' of the human captives on the Carryx 'palaceworld'. Dafyd, feared and hated by most of the humans for his 'betrayal' of their doomed rebellion that would have probably lead to their extinction by the Carryx. By 'leader', Dafyd has been placed as a liaison between the human captives and their librarian minder Carryx; the Carryx do not like dealing with the animals so only Dafyd converses with the librarian and takes their orders and so forth. The authors did a fine job here depicting the dynamics of the situation.
The novel does have some fine 'gee whiz' aspects to it as well, such as the Carryx technology (most largely appropriated from their client/slave alien races) and the slow (and unsurprising) discovery that other humans are part of the 'enemy' the Carryx currently wage war on. Yet, it still embodies a very old trope; humanity, conquered by an 'evil' (or at least implacable) enemy somehow manage to fight back and overthrow their new overloads. Worse, in my opinion, as we know humanity will win in the end from the get go. The authors pace this well and populate it with good characters, but this really lacks the sense of mystery found in their Expanse series. 3 speculative stars!
April 28, 2026
Good science fiction, maintains the level of the previous novel. Looking forward to reading the novella pending publication during 2026.
April 21, 2026
Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck have delivered another scintillating entry in the Captive's War series. The only reason to not go out and read these yesterday is that waiting another 1-2 years for the conclusion is going to be painful.
That being said, they aren't too long and read like butter, so rereading or listening again to Jefferson Mays' incredible audio narration won't be painful to do to catch up on things before the finale. I really need to know what happens next though so please be quick James S.A. Corey!
This middle book catches up with events not too long after the end of book 1, and man does it just hit the ground running. It feels like a major event or revelation occurs within almost every chapter, though there's not much action and they do switch up the pacing every now and then with some quieter scenes that do heavy lifting on the character and theme development front.
The meat of these books though is the extraordinarily tense macro plot of the larger galactic war our human POVs find themselves caught in the middle of, and the unbelievably engaging alien/creature worldbuilding on display around every corner. As our human POVs split up this time, we rotate through some suspenseful smaller plot arcs that together fold neatly into the larger one.
This is such a streamlined and efficiently told series, yet one that still manages to feel grounded in real people's experiences. It may not be what I'd recommend turning to if you want to go for deeply character driven sci-fi (there's Vorkosigan for that!), but I find I care deeply about this group and feel the larger stakes because the characters also feel real and three dimensional.
I just can't praise what Abraham and Franck are doing here enough -- just an incredibly well-rounded and thrilling set of space opera books so far that's setting up an explosive finale I need in my hands immediately.
That being said, they aren't too long and read like butter, so rereading or listening again to Jefferson Mays' incredible audio narration won't be painful to do to catch up on things before the finale. I really need to know what happens next though so please be quick James S.A. Corey!
This middle book catches up with events not too long after the end of book 1, and man does it just hit the ground running. It feels like a major event or revelation occurs within almost every chapter, though there's not much action and they do switch up the pacing every now and then with some quieter scenes that do heavy lifting on the character and theme development front.
The meat of these books though is the extraordinarily tense macro plot of the larger galactic war our human POVs find themselves caught in the middle of, and the unbelievably engaging alien/creature worldbuilding on display around every corner. As our human POVs split up this time, we rotate through some suspenseful smaller plot arcs that together fold neatly into the larger one.
This is such a streamlined and efficiently told series, yet one that still manages to feel grounded in real people's experiences. It may not be what I'd recommend turning to if you want to go for deeply character driven sci-fi (there's Vorkosigan for that!), but I find I care deeply about this group and feel the larger stakes because the characters also feel real and three dimensional.
I just can't praise what Abraham and Franck are doing here enough -- just an incredibly well-rounded and thrilling set of space opera books so far that's setting up an explosive finale I need in my hands immediately.
April 1, 2026
It absolutely breaks my heart to say this but this was a DNF for me. I adored the Expanse series. And even the first book in the Captive’s War series, Mercy of Gods was good, even if it was a slower burn. The Faith of Beasts lacked the depth and vitality that Corey brought to the Expanse series. The cast of characters is long, and keeping track of who was what got dizzying. Then you add in all the species, and I was so lost. Every time I picked it up I felt like I had to reorient myself for a chapter or two. The writing is great, but the connection to the characters and plot is not there. This might be a “me” problem. This book is probably smarter than I am. And that is okay. I want to love it. I want to dive in and live in it as I’m reading it. Unfortunately, that spark was just not there.
Faith of Beasts hits shelves April 14.
Thank you to Orbit Books and Netgalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Faith of Beasts hits shelves April 14.
Thank you to Orbit Books and Netgalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
April 28, 2026
Book 2 of the The Captive’s War trilogy, “The Faith of Beasts” continues the struggles of the human scientists and other elites of the world of Anjiin as they now live under the “thumb” of the Carryx. The first book (“The Mercy of Gods”), while not as good as James SA Corey’s The Expanse, was still an intriguing look at an alien empire in a story that felt like a life-or-death version of academics fighting for tenure and grant money. The preceding novella (“Livesuit”) was more along the lines of traditional military science-fiction and focusing on the Carryx’s “deathless enemy” and debates about when/where individuality ends and technology starts. The Faith of Beasts represents a merging of the two previous types of stories and feels like Corey has really found their groove with The Captive's War.
As always Corey excels with the world building of their universes and this book is no exception. We get more details about the Carryx and why it won’t be so easy for the humans to simply just kill their leader and expect their captors to fall while Anjiin is freed. Besides that, I thought it was a nice plot twist that there’s other alien conspiracies against their Carryx overlords besides humanity’s and trying to maintain the secrecy of communication between those species led to a potential alliance even with the cost of a major human character's death to keep that secret. So a lot of good lore development on the Carryx front. Meanwhile, I appreciated that Corey wasted no time bringing people, both the readers and the Anjiin humans up to speed with the reveal from Livesuit about the true nature of the Carryx’s enemies. It led to some more intriguing developments and interactions from the Anjiin contingent and their “new” allies against the Carryx. I likewise liked the reveal that the deathless enemy being more complicated than just what is presented at first and it ties into both Livesuit’s final reveal about the titular technology and shows that the enemy is more similar to the Carryx and the Carryx's treatment of slave species than the enemy would care to admit. Based on how I’m gushing about this all, there’s a lot of great developments here in the book.
Besides the plot developments, The Faith of Beasts also shows Corey doing fantastic character work as always. Dafyd once again is a compelling “protagonist” as we see him struggling to take on the responsibility of keeping humanity safe, carrying out the Carryx’s orders, planning a secret revolt, etc all while being demonized by those outside his inner circle. It certainly makes him much more compelling than Jim Holden’s rather vanilla heroism in The Expanse. Jessyn’s arc meanwhile was another great continuation of her mental health struggles and transformation into a warrior from last book especially as she continues with both as well as makes the first connection to the deathless enemy. Finally, while not technically human, “The Swarm” is a great exploration of identity and the struggles of something not human becoming an individual human in this crazy world, leading to a lot of fascinating ethical questions about that self-discovery and its role in the war. This ties into some of the best character work of The Captive’s War, namely how these truly alien aliens still are written so well they still come off as human in their own ways. Much like how the humans of the book tried anthropomorphizing the Carryx and servant species, a reader can’t help but do the same. Obviously disgusted as the individual Carryx try to climb the hierarchy/look down at the humans. Satisfaction as Jessyn finally gets one over the haughty and controlling Sinen, Third Gardner. And love when the new giant slug alien (Vaudai) and the hilarity of its translations when bonding with the humans (sorry “sticks-with-meat-on-it”) it encounters. So yeah kudos for Corey for generating these emotions when reading about these creatures.
So lore and character work are as great as always with Corey at the helm. There’s of course always greatly written passages as well where Corey really explores compelling topics and points out how human nature and realistic issues that arise in fantastical situations. For instance the human captives see the problems with how they being “the elite” of Anjiin that were kidnapped and brought to this alien world has drawbacks namely most are older/no longer child-rearing age, they previously had “unremarkable” people supporting them with mundane everyday chores while the elites could excel in their fields, and how some elites' skills in something like art doesn’t always translate well to blue collar work in their new existence (although sometimes something like dance came into use deciphering alien body language). Content like that makes a reader feel smart just by reading it a paragraph after hearing about alien social-structures.
I’m biased because of my previous affinity for The Expanse, but even without that “The Faith of Beasts” demonstrates once again James S.A. Corey is perhaps the best science fiction creative team working today. Novella 2 and Book 3 can’t get here soon enough.
As always Corey excels with the world building of their universes and this book is no exception. We get more details about the Carryx and why it won’t be so easy for the humans to simply just kill their leader and expect their captors to fall while Anjiin is freed. Besides that, I thought it was a nice plot twist that there’s other alien conspiracies against their Carryx overlords besides humanity’s and trying to maintain the secrecy of communication between those species led to a potential alliance even with the cost of a major human character's death to keep that secret. So a lot of good lore development on the Carryx front. Meanwhile, I appreciated that Corey wasted no time bringing people, both the readers and the Anjiin humans up to speed with the reveal from Livesuit about the true nature of the Carryx’s enemies. It led to some more intriguing developments and interactions from the Anjiin contingent and their “new” allies against the Carryx. I likewise liked the reveal that the deathless enemy being more complicated than just what is presented at first and it ties into both Livesuit’s final reveal about the titular technology and shows that the enemy is more similar to the Carryx and the Carryx's treatment of slave species than the enemy would care to admit. Based on how I’m gushing about this all, there’s a lot of great developments here in the book.
Besides the plot developments, The Faith of Beasts also shows Corey doing fantastic character work as always. Dafyd once again is a compelling “protagonist” as we see him struggling to take on the responsibility of keeping humanity safe, carrying out the Carryx’s orders, planning a secret revolt, etc all while being demonized by those outside his inner circle. It certainly makes him much more compelling than Jim Holden’s rather vanilla heroism in The Expanse. Jessyn’s arc meanwhile was another great continuation of her mental health struggles and transformation into a warrior from last book especially as she continues with both as well as makes the first connection to the deathless enemy. Finally, while not technically human, “The Swarm” is a great exploration of identity and the struggles of something not human becoming an individual human in this crazy world, leading to a lot of fascinating ethical questions about that self-discovery and its role in the war. This ties into some of the best character work of The Captive’s War, namely how these truly alien aliens still are written so well they still come off as human in their own ways. Much like how the humans of the book tried anthropomorphizing the Carryx and servant species, a reader can’t help but do the same. Obviously disgusted as the individual Carryx try to climb the hierarchy/look down at the humans. Satisfaction as Jessyn finally gets one over the haughty and controlling Sinen, Third Gardner. And love when the new giant slug alien (Vaudai) and the hilarity of its translations when bonding with the humans (sorry “sticks-with-meat-on-it”) it encounters. So yeah kudos for Corey for generating these emotions when reading about these creatures.
So lore and character work are as great as always with Corey at the helm. There’s of course always greatly written passages as well where Corey really explores compelling topics and points out how human nature and realistic issues that arise in fantastical situations. For instance the human captives see the problems with how they being “the elite” of Anjiin that were kidnapped and brought to this alien world has drawbacks namely most are older/no longer child-rearing age, they previously had “unremarkable” people supporting them with mundane everyday chores while the elites could excel in their fields, and how some elites' skills in something like art doesn’t always translate well to blue collar work in their new existence (although sometimes something like dance came into use deciphering alien body language). Content like that makes a reader feel smart just by reading it a paragraph after hearing about alien social-structures.
I’m biased because of my previous affinity for The Expanse, but even without that “The Faith of Beasts” demonstrates once again James S.A. Corey is perhaps the best science fiction creative team working today. Novella 2 and Book 3 can’t get here soon enough.
May 6, 2026
It's a good second book.
It was well paced as I have come to expect from the writing of SAC and the various characters POV chopping and changing was about right.
Some thought provoking Sci-fi concepts were introduced and explained so even I could understand them.
There was some space travel, expeditions to new alien worlds and some time spent within the Human Moiety - Dafyd takes up the mantle of leader.
The Livesuit from 1.5 in the series made an appearance - of sorts.
There were a few deaths on the macro and micro level that served to surprise and shock me.
The Carryx are revealed in more detail, particularly their social structure.
More exposition of who Deathless Enemy were but leaving enough of the mystery for book three.
Good, fresh, speculative fiction - really enjoying it.
It was well paced as I have come to expect from the writing of SAC and the various characters POV chopping and changing was about right.
Some thought provoking Sci-fi concepts were introduced and explained so even I could understand them.
There was some space travel, expeditions to new alien worlds and some time spent within the Human Moiety - Dafyd takes up the mantle of leader.
The Livesuit from 1.5 in the series made an appearance - of sorts.
There were a few deaths on the macro and micro level that served to surprise and shock me.
The Carryx are revealed in more detail, particularly their social structure.
More exposition of who Deathless Enemy were but leaving enough of the mystery for book three.
Good, fresh, speculative fiction - really enjoying it.
April 22, 2026
Utterly disappointing. The good thing about a trilogy is that it HAS to be completed in three books, that lets you do something new in each installment. A fundamental test for any good trilogy is the second book, if the second book could have been a successful first book, that means the series is headed in the right direction. "The Faith of Beasts" would not be published if it were the first books, it does nothing, say nothing and goes nowhere, it makes the reader feel as if the story was actually only ever meant to be a duology, but a third book was added for padding.
The cast of character remains large and pointlessly dull and uninteresting, there is never enough time to actually care about anyone apart from Dafyd, no matter how much the authors try making you care about the Swarm, you will not. The plot for all of its interweaving is not complex, because it doesn't move. The book begins and ends at the same place, with only one revelation, which, to be honest, was never really a possible surprise. Wow, the Carryx aren't the TV version of the White Walkers where just killing the Sovran will topple the whole thing? Amazing idea, sure glad I read 500 pages of worldbuilding to find that out. For a series with novellas in-between installments, this could and should have been the novella.
The only reason I will read the final installment is out of sheer gamblers fallacy, might as well now, even though I am almost positive that the authors cannot bring this series to a satisfying conclusion, if they were, they wouldn't be pussyfooting about for 500 pages, stalling, instead of, you know, writing the damn story they made everyone who read book 1 that they had. It's getting more and more common these days that authors are just lying to their audiences, promising on stories they either can't or never even intended to deliver.
More pet peeves that continue from the previous book:
The naming of every character being some sci-fi jumble of syllables, no matter if they're human or alien, it sure is fun to have to remember a bunch of random sounds that may or may not be the name of an alien slug or just a plain human.
Lack of actual serious themes and emotions apart from baby's first veganism and possibly transsexualism arguments (the Swarm just had to transition from a man to a woman, but the plot couldn't progress you see).
Aliens don't feel distinct, the Carryx Empire doesn't feel large, the enemy is somehow supposed to be the ally of humanity because of reason? There is no real motivation behind any of what the human moiety is doing in its resistance. Also, no other species is resisting, only humans and the Soft Lothark, and even they're barely doing anything. For a sci-fi with a lot of aliens, only the humans seem free will and agency.
The cast of character remains large and pointlessly dull and uninteresting, there is never enough time to actually care about anyone apart from Dafyd, no matter how much the authors try making you care about the Swarm, you will not. The plot for all of its interweaving is not complex, because it doesn't move. The book begins and ends at the same place, with only one revelation, which, to be honest, was never really a possible surprise. Wow, the Carryx aren't the TV version of the White Walkers where just killing the Sovran will topple the whole thing? Amazing idea, sure glad I read 500 pages of worldbuilding to find that out. For a series with novellas in-between installments, this could and should have been the novella.
The only reason I will read the final installment is out of sheer gamblers fallacy, might as well now, even though I am almost positive that the authors cannot bring this series to a satisfying conclusion, if they were, they wouldn't be pussyfooting about for 500 pages, stalling, instead of, you know, writing the damn story they made everyone who read book 1 that they had. It's getting more and more common these days that authors are just lying to their audiences, promising on stories they either can't or never even intended to deliver.
More pet peeves that continue from the previous book:
The naming of every character being some sci-fi jumble of syllables, no matter if they're human or alien, it sure is fun to have to remember a bunch of random sounds that may or may not be the name of an alien slug or just a plain human.
Lack of actual serious themes and emotions apart from baby's first veganism and possibly transsexualism arguments (the Swarm just had to transition from a man to a woman, but the plot couldn't progress you see).
Aliens don't feel distinct, the Carryx Empire doesn't feel large, the enemy is somehow supposed to be the ally of humanity because of reason? There is no real motivation behind any of what the human moiety is doing in its resistance. Also, no other species is resisting, only humans and the Soft Lothark, and even they're barely doing anything. For a sci-fi with a lot of aliens, only the humans seem free will and agency.
April 16, 2026
I'm playing it safe with this rating because despite the rocky start where I had to reorient myself, remember what had happened and where things left off -- in a very alien (hah) and complex world with all the associated circumstances -- for the most part.. once I got in it, and stayed in it, I was boogeying along. When I set this down, which I did for nearly a week, I didn't think of it. And even when I'm in it, I asked myself : am I enjoying this? Do I actually "get" it? And the answer to both is probably no but part of me is interested despite it all.
This is far and away from a lot of the sci-fi I've read and the alienness of it all, the various species and cultures and languages, the having to create all the things the humans need more or less from scratch, it's all very.. well, alien. This isn't a space opera in the sense of exploration or battles or politics. This is surviving once subjugated, around other species likewise subjugated, whilst also maybe trying to get a rebellion going.. to try and overthrow and seemingly impossible to overthrow overlord.
And in that vein there were some interesting little bits, commentary if you will, which echo and comment eerily to our own reality. Which, hey, not very uplifting all things considered but also not surprising as it's not like sci-fi hasn't been used as a mirror before.
Now that we know this is a trilogy, and now we can see the shifting groundwork being laid, I'm expecting this to finish with a big splash. I want to see the take down, what that means for the humans and species left after all is said and done (I mean, assuming they win..), and whether there's a bigger picture still to be revealed. Or whether the point of this is just to reflect on how history remembers those who sacrificed for the good of all.
Looking forward to finding out.
---
This review can also be found at A Take From Two Cities.
This is far and away from a lot of the sci-fi I've read and the alienness of it all, the various species and cultures and languages, the having to create all the things the humans need more or less from scratch, it's all very.. well, alien. This isn't a space opera in the sense of exploration or battles or politics. This is surviving once subjugated, around other species likewise subjugated, whilst also maybe trying to get a rebellion going.. to try and overthrow and seemingly impossible to overthrow overlord.
And in that vein there were some interesting little bits, commentary if you will, which echo and comment eerily to our own reality. Which, hey, not very uplifting all things considered but also not surprising as it's not like sci-fi hasn't been used as a mirror before.
Now that we know this is a trilogy, and now we can see the shifting groundwork being laid, I'm expecting this to finish with a big splash. I want to see the take down, what that means for the humans and species left after all is said and done (I mean, assuming they win..), and whether there's a bigger picture still to be revealed. Or whether the point of this is just to reflect on how history remembers those who sacrificed for the good of all.
Looking forward to finding out.
---
This review can also be found at A Take From Two Cities.
April 26, 2026
Audiobook (14 hours) narrated by Jefferson Mays
Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
Award winning Jefferson Mays continues with the narration of this book.
I speak more in depth about his narration of this series in my review of the first book of this series, here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
This, the second book of a new spinoff series by James S.A. Corey, is a complete disappointment.
I started the book on the 17th, and it took me 9 full days to finish, including pausing and reading other books in the pauses to try and give myself space to get back into it.
I was very much into the first book of the series, The Mercy of Gods, rating it a four stars and giving it some glowing comparisons to one of my favorite of all time authors. Unfortunately this one was a slog.
It wasn't until the 50% mark that things started to pull together and I thought I was seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. That light ended up being random sparks that would ignite here and there, glimmer, and quickly fizz out.
I poked through some of the reviews in preparation of this one and was shocked at how many DNF's that there are with such a high overall GR rating. Many of the DNF's that I ran into had a rating of 3 stars. This also shocked me as a 3 star read for me is an enjoyable book, and while people do rate things differently, when I hover over the ratings 3 is I liked it, 2 is it was ok, 1 is did not like it.
One of the reasons that I like when readers rate DNF books is because generally readers will rate them a 1 or 2, depending on how far they got into the book and the reasons for the dislike. Anecdotally 1's are generally bad writing, bad grammar, bad editing or something structurally significant, where a 2 may be that the writing is a bit off or perfectly fine but it's just not my taste. I tend to rate like this if there are parts that I personally want to see in the books that I like or if the book isn't hitting for me but is otherwise perfectly OK.
I think that the 3 stars is a nod to the author and a show of respect for the original series that this one comes from. Fans seem to be saying, this isn't it but this author is awesome overall. I think that is telling and is why I am likely going to take a look at the Expanse series, but I will not be moving forward on this one, as i did not like it.
Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
Award winning Jefferson Mays continues with the narration of this book.
I speak more in depth about his narration of this series in my review of the first book of this series, here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
This, the second book of a new spinoff series by James S.A. Corey, is a complete disappointment.
I started the book on the 17th, and it took me 9 full days to finish, including pausing and reading other books in the pauses to try and give myself space to get back into it.
I was very much into the first book of the series, The Mercy of Gods, rating it a four stars and giving it some glowing comparisons to one of my favorite of all time authors. Unfortunately this one was a slog.
It wasn't until the 50% mark that things started to pull together and I thought I was seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. That light ended up being random sparks that would ignite here and there, glimmer, and quickly fizz out.
I poked through some of the reviews in preparation of this one and was shocked at how many DNF's that there are with such a high overall GR rating. Many of the DNF's that I ran into had a rating of 3 stars. This also shocked me as a 3 star read for me is an enjoyable book, and while people do rate things differently, when I hover over the ratings 3 is I liked it, 2 is it was ok, 1 is did not like it.
One of the reasons that I like when readers rate DNF books is because generally readers will rate them a 1 or 2, depending on how far they got into the book and the reasons for the dislike. Anecdotally 1's are generally bad writing, bad grammar, bad editing or something structurally significant, where a 2 may be that the writing is a bit off or perfectly fine but it's just not my taste. I tend to rate like this if there are parts that I personally want to see in the books that I like or if the book isn't hitting for me but is otherwise perfectly OK.
I think that the 3 stars is a nod to the author and a show of respect for the original series that this one comes from. Fans seem to be saying, this isn't it but this author is awesome overall. I think that is telling and is why I am likely going to take a look at the Expanse series, but I will not be moving forward on this one, as i did not like it.
May 30, 2026
I never give up, and sometimes that works out dreadfully, like this book , I’ve been reading it for close to a month. Sheer stubbornness keeps me at it, I don’t like the characters, the rambling (which is something I usually like) is boring, the creation tales which many chapters start with are excruciatingly boring. The story is decent enough , it’s what kept me reading.
I think the authors have looked at Adrian Tchaikovsky, and thought he’s good, and let’s do something like that, My problem is that I have the same issues with Tchaikovsky.
And then the ending! After all that, you realise that the only way to understand it is to read the next book. Something I almost certainly won’t , life is too short!
I think the authors have looked at Adrian Tchaikovsky, and thought he’s good, and let’s do something like that, My problem is that I have the same issues with Tchaikovsky.
And then the ending! After all that, you realise that the only way to understand it is to read the next book. Something I almost certainly won’t , life is too short!
May 6, 2026
2.5
Ugh. 436 pages of nothing. Everything presented in this book could have been condensed into a maximum of 100 pages, and even that might have been too much. My first disappointment was the fact that we only spent about 50 pages with Dafyd. The rest of the time is wasted on characters we don’t care about. I felt zero connection to them, and many plot lines led absolutely nowhere.
The connection to the livesuits was another stupid point. It was interesting at first, but it didn't go anywhere. Too much time was lost on irrelevant characters and dead-end arcs. While the chapters featuring Dafyd were good, even those felt stagnant. After 436 pages of filler, Dafyd realizes he just has to wait for someone else to come and save them. Really?
I effectively learned nothing new. Even the final revelation about the Carryx was deeply disappointing, and honestly, it felt like a recycled idea from The Swarm. This felt like a filler book written solely for profit. Now I have to wait two years for the final book in the trilogy? They could have cut all the nonsense, compressed the story into 100 pages, and made this a duology instead.
In conclusion, if you thought the first book was slow, this one moves a hundred times slower. I don’t understand what happened. I loved the first book and I really wanted to like this one too.
Ugh. 436 pages of nothing. Everything presented in this book could have been condensed into a maximum of 100 pages, and even that might have been too much. My first disappointment was the fact that we only spent about 50 pages with Dafyd. The rest of the time is wasted on characters we don’t care about. I felt zero connection to them, and many plot lines led absolutely nowhere.
The connection to the livesuits was another stupid point. It was interesting at first, but it didn't go anywhere. Too much time was lost on irrelevant characters and dead-end arcs. While the chapters featuring Dafyd were good, even those felt stagnant. After 436 pages of filler, Dafyd realizes he just has to wait for someone else to come and save them. Really?
I effectively learned nothing new. Even the final revelation about the Carryx was deeply disappointing, and honestly, it felt like a recycled idea from The Swarm. This felt like a filler book written solely for profit. Now I have to wait two years for the final book in the trilogy? They could have cut all the nonsense, compressed the story into 100 pages, and made this a duology instead.
In conclusion, if you thought the first book was slow, this one moves a hundred times slower. I don’t understand what happened. I loved the first book and I really wanted to like this one too.
May 5, 2026
The Faith of Beasts by James S.A. Corey is the second book in The Captive’s War trilogy, sequel to The Mercy of Gods. This novel is a space opera set in the far future where a group of humans from the planet Anjin have been captured by the powerful Carryx empire, and are forced to make themselves useful to the Carryx, or die. This is a very bleak story with characters that live under constant stress and trauma, forced to sit and watch while their friends are ruthlessly murdered by aliens. In James S.A. Corey’s usual fashion, the plot is tight and fast paced with a very accessible writing style, despite the heavy subject matter. The first novel, The Mercy of Gods, was a five-star read for me, an excellent novel overall, full of discovery and shock. In this follow up story, the novelty has worn off and the discovery aspect of the story does not quite reach the excitement level as the first book.
The story continues from the previous novel with the human moiety imprisoned in a Carryx world-palace. The subjector-librarian expects the humans to remain useful with plans for generations of captivity. The humans, led by Dafyd Alkhor, form a plan to create children using scientific methods rather than natural breeding. They also must continue to produce the scientific value that was established in the previous novel. They must remain useful to the Carryx. In this book, we follow a couple other characters who have been sent away from the world-palace to the front lines of the war against the deathless enemy, a way for the Carryx to see where humans might provide a use outside of the world-palace. We get the viewpoints of Campar, Rickar, and Jessyn, characters from book one. Unfortunately, the storylines are not overly compelling, and while we do get some more information about the deathless enemy and the war with the Carryx, there are not any major revelations in this book.
Not much overall happens in the plot of The Faith of Beasts. The book seems like a holdover and setting up of events for the third novel and conclusion to the trilogy. We do get some interesting character development from the swarm entity, but it’s unclear where the character and the story goes from here. To wrap up the story with one more book (and one more novella), James. S.A. Corey is going to have to do some major heavy lifting. Since not much happens in this middle book, it’s not clear what resolution we will get from book three, or how it’s going to resolve. Will the Carryx be defeated? Or will humanity remain in captivity forever?
The Faith of Beasts suffers big time from middle book syndrome, not enough happens to move the plot forward and the storylines weren’t as compelling. The worldbuilding is still interesting, and I do want to know what happens next, but this book was a bit disappointing. The bleakness of the novel needs some hope and optimism to counteract that, but we get none of that, and it’s not clear how humanity will defeat the Carryx, or even if they will.
The story continues from the previous novel with the human moiety imprisoned in a Carryx world-palace. The subjector-librarian expects the humans to remain useful with plans for generations of captivity. The humans, led by Dafyd Alkhor, form a plan to create children using scientific methods rather than natural breeding. They also must continue to produce the scientific value that was established in the previous novel. They must remain useful to the Carryx. In this book, we follow a couple other characters who have been sent away from the world-palace to the front lines of the war against the deathless enemy, a way for the Carryx to see where humans might provide a use outside of the world-palace. We get the viewpoints of Campar, Rickar, and Jessyn, characters from book one. Unfortunately, the storylines are not overly compelling, and while we do get some more information about the deathless enemy and the war with the Carryx, there are not any major revelations in this book.
Not much overall happens in the plot of The Faith of Beasts. The book seems like a holdover and setting up of events for the third novel and conclusion to the trilogy. We do get some interesting character development from the swarm entity, but it’s unclear where the character and the story goes from here. To wrap up the story with one more book (and one more novella), James. S.A. Corey is going to have to do some major heavy lifting. Since not much happens in this middle book, it’s not clear what resolution we will get from book three, or how it’s going to resolve. Will the Carryx be defeated? Or will humanity remain in captivity forever?
The Faith of Beasts suffers big time from middle book syndrome, not enough happens to move the plot forward and the storylines weren’t as compelling. The worldbuilding is still interesting, and I do want to know what happens next, but this book was a bit disappointing. The bleakness of the novel needs some hope and optimism to counteract that, but we get none of that, and it’s not clear how humanity will defeat the Carryx, or even if they will.
April 30, 2026
Not a disappointment! A good story that moves along. And I’m happy that there is at least one more book in the series.
April 29, 2026
I struggle to write about this book without spoilers and I don’t really want to. So this is very brief.
Very good sequel to a fabulous first book.
The Swarm is my favourite character. Great journey.
Dafyd is a poor bastard. He can’t win.
Great alien aliens.
Sorry, that‘s it. You will just have to read it yourself. Now the long wait for the next book. Planned as a trilogy, so far… I wouldn‘t mind reading another few books in this world, I‘m in this for the long haul. Space opera at its best, indeed!
🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀
Very good sequel to a fabulous first book.
The Swarm is my favourite character. Great journey.
Dafyd is a poor bastard. He can’t win.
Great alien aliens.
Sorry, that‘s it. You will just have to read it yourself. Now the long wait for the next book. Planned as a trilogy, so far… I wouldn‘t mind reading another few books in this world, I‘m in this for the long haul. Space opera at its best, indeed!
🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀
April 16, 2026
I really enjoy what these books are about; they are full of interesting ideas about culture and social structure, all punctuated with some really great scenes. That said, I don't particularly like the way the narrative is told. None of the characters are terribly compelling and while they provide the necessary variety of POVs to get the scope of the narrative, I truly don't care about any of them. Finally, the pacing has not built to a satisfying climax in either novel. I feel compelled to read the next entries to know what happens but I'm not excited to turn the pages.
April 30, 2026
I just can’t do it anymore. The people who love this series talk about how good of an introspective meditation on trauma and grief it is. That’s well and good, but it’s not what I’m looking for by the Expanse writers. I’m looking for an epic space opera.
This book follows human who have been conquered and subjugated by an alien species. They do their assigned tasks and talk about maybe setting up a revolution in 3 or 4 generations.
This feels like the author’s background notes for the kind of novel I want to read. There’s so much tone-setting and world building and no actual plot movement. I just can’t do it anymore
This book follows human who have been conquered and subjugated by an alien species. They do their assigned tasks and talk about maybe setting up a revolution in 3 or 4 generations.
This feels like the author’s background notes for the kind of novel I want to read. There’s so much tone-setting and world building and no actual plot movement. I just can’t do it anymore
dreaded-dnf
April 23, 2026I keep having to "rewind" this audio because I lose track of who is who and a lot of new characters were introduced. I'm setting his aside for now. Maybe I'll try again at another time, but for now I am DNFing and moving on.
May 3, 2026
3.75 stars
April 29, 2026
I am honestly at a bit of a loss for words. I still had hopes for this even after a weak book one, but I remain so disappointed.
This series feels like the authors first work together, not something they wrote after The Expanse. The story IS interesting. It has the pieces to make something great but the overall picture isn't clicking for me. It just isn't written with the level of care and detail I expected. And it fails on some of the things The Expanse absolutely excelled at. Which is baffling to me considering this came after.
The characters.. I know I should judge it on its own and not compare it to The Expanse, but I just can't help it. Yes it's doing something different but when I know the authors can do something so well, I have to remark on it. The Expanse cast is phenomenal. They wrote a 9 book series with characters that all felt unique, had amazing arcs, while at the same time developing that universe expertly. It had an overarching plot, but every book was a satisfying read on its own.
The Captive's War by comparison, is just filled with characters I don't give a single shit about. They are boring and no one is memorable. And the feeling these two books gave me when I finished them was, is that it? Like a TV series with a short 8 episode season, ending after what feels like only half of it.
I also don't understand why this is only a trilogy, with such short installments too? This was supposed to be a space opera on a much larger scale than Expanse, and I guess it is, yet this just feels rushed. You're told of this massive conflict but our POV of it is extremely limited.
If this was given The Expanse treatment the entirety of book one would have focused on Anjiin, made you care about the characters and their world, and ended with the climax of the Carryx invasion. Instead that happened in the first 50-100 pages if I recall correctly. Insanely rushed if you ask me.
I'm still invested enough to read the final book. Going to keep my expectations in check for that one though.
This series feels like the authors first work together, not something they wrote after The Expanse. The story IS interesting. It has the pieces to make something great but the overall picture isn't clicking for me. It just isn't written with the level of care and detail I expected. And it fails on some of the things The Expanse absolutely excelled at. Which is baffling to me considering this came after.
The characters.. I know I should judge it on its own and not compare it to The Expanse, but I just can't help it. Yes it's doing something different but when I know the authors can do something so well, I have to remark on it. The Expanse cast is phenomenal. They wrote a 9 book series with characters that all felt unique, had amazing arcs, while at the same time developing that universe expertly. It had an overarching plot, but every book was a satisfying read on its own.
The Captive's War by comparison, is just filled with characters I don't give a single shit about. They are boring and no one is memorable. And the feeling these two books gave me when I finished them was, is that it? Like a TV series with a short 8 episode season, ending after what feels like only half of it.
I also don't understand why this is only a trilogy, with such short installments too? This was supposed to be a space opera on a much larger scale than Expanse, and I guess it is, yet this just feels rushed. You're told of this massive conflict but our POV of it is extremely limited.
If this was given The Expanse treatment the entirety of book one would have focused on Anjiin, made you care about the characters and their world, and ended with the climax of the Carryx invasion. Instead that happened in the first 50-100 pages if I recall correctly. Insanely rushed if you ask me.
I'm still invested enough to read the final book. Going to keep my expectations in check for that one though.
June 1, 2026
This is certainly not the series to pick up or continue if you are in the mood for something light and fluffy. Now increasingly intertwined with the conquering empire of the Carryx, the humans of Anjiin must contemplate a variety of grim matters, first and foremost being whether death for their entire species might be preferable to starting up a breeding program solely to provide further personnel for that alien empire. It is a brutal environment that they exist in, its characters continually battered and depressed by the events around them, with no control over their daily lives and little way to impact their situation.
The duo behind James S.A. Corey has thought about these things before. The idea of how to set up secret generational resistance against a superior conqueror was in the minds in the back third of The Expanse. The Daniel Abraham half of the duo had some thoughts on the best way to face a conquering tyrant as his The Dagger and the Coin series played out (a series that I'm reasonably sure I may be the only person who still thinks about). The plot does not feel familiar, just some of the themes. This one is way more brutal and depressing. This is not meant to be a criticism. I enjoyed the book. But, it was A Lot.
It is not exactly a typical narrative structure. The prologue of the first book basically spoiled the whole series: The enduring myth is that this guy, Dafyd Alkhor, is going to bring down the Carryx from within, except in a way that has him be something of a hated figure among humanity. Compounding this narrative strangeness was the decision to put out a novella between books one and two that spoils what would have otherwise been the key plot point of this second book, which multiple of the Anjiin scientists discover in different ways: That there are other humans out there and that they are, as a species, aligned with the opposition to the Carryx. The little Livesuit story would have actually fit perfectly between books two and three, once the reader knows something about the other humans and is intrigued by the strange black-armored man who Jessyn meets here. Learning more about those people would have been perfect right there. Instead, that came before this book. I don't really get it. Jessyn's realization here that the pear-looking thing is actually a pear should have been a fresh revelation to the reader who has engaged with not just the main novels but with side, in-between novellas.
Still, they manage to find tension in this situation. No surprise, there's an inherent tension in being stuck under a seemingly all-seeing totalitarian empire state. You don't, on a moment to moment basis, know what is going to happen with these folks, and there is a compelling aspect to this. These are character archetypes that may not be strangers in the genre but pretty much nobody gets put through this kind of wringer, not even ones who exist under authors who are known for putting their characters through the wringer. This isn't manufactured, plot-driven melodrama. This is a continuous low-level existential dread, added to which is the question of whether by trying to live at all are you participating in great barbarities for which any future generation should hate you. I am typing these words into the Goodreads box where the banner at the top is advertising a list of "Escapist Reads." This is not the place to escape.
One thing that I enjoy about this series, that it has going for it compared to The Expanse, is that there are actually alien beings who are an active part of the narrative. Not just the tyrannical Carryx but also their whole suite of servant species, some of whom the humans have learned names for and others are just continually referred to by the way they look. This moves to the forefront in this second book as, now that the human moiety's position in the Carryx is a touch more stable, that brings them into more interaction with others within the empire. One particularly excitable slug guy, Vaudai, makes a great impression, referring to one of his favored humans as "sticks-with-meat" but in what is clearly a fond way. These species are alien to one another and yet individuals of them find a way to get along in a crazy situation.
It seems that this is setting up to be a trilogy. I will also give it credit for not just being a trilogy that takes the Empire Strikes Back approach of ending with the heroes suffering a huge setback and having to rally again in the third book. Hopefully it is not a long wait until the thing finishes. Daniel Abraham (one half of Corey) wrote two books of his own trilogy in consecutive years and now it's three years and counting since the second book. I guess he's still doing better than the Kingkiller Chronicles.
The duo behind James S.A. Corey has thought about these things before. The idea of how to set up secret generational resistance against a superior conqueror was in the minds in the back third of The Expanse. The Daniel Abraham half of the duo had some thoughts on the best way to face a conquering tyrant as his The Dagger and the Coin series played out (a series that I'm reasonably sure I may be the only person who still thinks about). The plot does not feel familiar, just some of the themes. This one is way more brutal and depressing. This is not meant to be a criticism. I enjoyed the book. But, it was A Lot.
It is not exactly a typical narrative structure. The prologue of the first book basically spoiled the whole series: The enduring myth is that this guy, Dafyd Alkhor, is going to bring down the Carryx from within, except in a way that has him be something of a hated figure among humanity. Compounding this narrative strangeness was the decision to put out a novella between books one and two that spoils what would have otherwise been the key plot point of this second book, which multiple of the Anjiin scientists discover in different ways: That there are other humans out there and that they are, as a species, aligned with the opposition to the Carryx. The little Livesuit story would have actually fit perfectly between books two and three, once the reader knows something about the other humans and is intrigued by the strange black-armored man who Jessyn meets here. Learning more about those people would have been perfect right there. Instead, that came before this book. I don't really get it. Jessyn's realization here that the pear-looking thing is actually a pear should have been a fresh revelation to the reader who has engaged with not just the main novels but with side, in-between novellas.
Still, they manage to find tension in this situation. No surprise, there's an inherent tension in being stuck under a seemingly all-seeing totalitarian empire state. You don't, on a moment to moment basis, know what is going to happen with these folks, and there is a compelling aspect to this. These are character archetypes that may not be strangers in the genre but pretty much nobody gets put through this kind of wringer, not even ones who exist under authors who are known for putting their characters through the wringer. This isn't manufactured, plot-driven melodrama. This is a continuous low-level existential dread, added to which is the question of whether by trying to live at all are you participating in great barbarities for which any future generation should hate you. I am typing these words into the Goodreads box where the banner at the top is advertising a list of "Escapist Reads." This is not the place to escape.
One thing that I enjoy about this series, that it has going for it compared to The Expanse, is that there are actually alien beings who are an active part of the narrative. Not just the tyrannical Carryx but also their whole suite of servant species, some of whom the humans have learned names for and others are just continually referred to by the way they look. This moves to the forefront in this second book as, now that the human moiety's position in the Carryx is a touch more stable, that brings them into more interaction with others within the empire. One particularly excitable slug guy, Vaudai, makes a great impression, referring to one of his favored humans as "sticks-with-meat" but in what is clearly a fond way. These species are alien to one another and yet individuals of them find a way to get along in a crazy situation.
It seems that this is setting up to be a trilogy. I will also give it credit for not just being a trilogy that takes the Empire Strikes Back approach of ending with the heroes suffering a huge setback and having to rally again in the third book. Hopefully it is not a long wait until the thing finishes. Daniel Abraham (one half of Corey) wrote two books of his own trilogy in consecutive years and now it's three years and counting since the second book. I guess he's still doing better than the Kingkiller Chronicles.
May 17, 2026
[This review can also be found on my BLOG]
**I received a copy of the book from Orbit Books UK in exchange for an honest review**
CW: violence, blood, gore, injury, murder, war, death, slavery, genocide, confinement, vomit, colonialism, body horror, medical content, xenophobia, mention of pregnancy/miscarriage, panic attack, depression, grief
--
The Faith of Beasts drops us right back into the thick of things, with the human moiety doing all they can to survive. Working to show their worth to the Carryx while also being folded into their wider war, alongside the various other alien species that the Carryx has enslaved, against the deathless enemy.
While I enjoyed The Mercy of Gods a part of my brain couldn’t help but hold it up to The Expanse with how much I loved those books. Having now read book two of the Captive War series it is starting to stand apart, as a much darker space opera with even more otherworldly conditions but still brilliantly examining the human condition during existential change.
Daniel and Ty’s storytelling and masterful balancing of multiple povs never fails to blow me away. While book 1 mostly took place in the Carryx World Palace, here we see the different narratives start to branch out with characters being sent to new parts of the universe, interacting and allying much closer with the different species of aliens around them and by extension expanding our understanding of the Carryx and the wider details of this war that they are embroiled in. The scope of the worldbuilding is just phenomenal!
The number of characters that we follow is still vast but the main players have definitely started to narrow down, though i’m fearful of getting attached to anyone because none of them are truly safe from allies or adversaries alike.
There’s a great level of both action and science but with the key theme being survival we also see a lot of personal introspection. Mental health is touched on with regards to the disaster situation around these characters but also around difficult decisions and actions they directly have to make and do.
I always love when scifi stories bring in the exploration of language and communication too and with aliens involved this expanded to mannerism and social cues here, not just to communicate but to also spy on the Carryx.
Theres a lot of doom and gloom in this series but the ball is starting to roll on how the humans are going to hit back at their oppressive alien overlords so there’s a sprinkling of hope and perseverance too. Looking forward to the next book!
Final Rating – 4.25/5 Stars
**I received a copy of the book from Orbit Books UK in exchange for an honest review**
CW: violence, blood, gore, injury, murder, war, death, slavery, genocide, confinement, vomit, colonialism, body horror, medical content, xenophobia, mention of pregnancy/miscarriage, panic attack, depression, grief
--
The Faith of Beasts drops us right back into the thick of things, with the human moiety doing all they can to survive. Working to show their worth to the Carryx while also being folded into their wider war, alongside the various other alien species that the Carryx has enslaved, against the deathless enemy.
While I enjoyed The Mercy of Gods a part of my brain couldn’t help but hold it up to The Expanse with how much I loved those books. Having now read book two of the Captive War series it is starting to stand apart, as a much darker space opera with even more otherworldly conditions but still brilliantly examining the human condition during existential change.
Daniel and Ty’s storytelling and masterful balancing of multiple povs never fails to blow me away. While book 1 mostly took place in the Carryx World Palace, here we see the different narratives start to branch out with characters being sent to new parts of the universe, interacting and allying much closer with the different species of aliens around them and by extension expanding our understanding of the Carryx and the wider details of this war that they are embroiled in. The scope of the worldbuilding is just phenomenal!
The number of characters that we follow is still vast but the main players have definitely started to narrow down, though i’m fearful of getting attached to anyone because none of them are truly safe from allies or adversaries alike.
There’s a great level of both action and science but with the key theme being survival we also see a lot of personal introspection. Mental health is touched on with regards to the disaster situation around these characters but also around difficult decisions and actions they directly have to make and do.
I always love when scifi stories bring in the exploration of language and communication too and with aliens involved this expanded to mannerism and social cues here, not just to communicate but to also spy on the Carryx.
Theres a lot of doom and gloom in this series but the ball is starting to roll on how the humans are going to hit back at their oppressive alien overlords so there’s a sprinkling of hope and perseverance too. Looking forward to the next book!
Final Rating – 4.25/5 Stars
April 30, 2026
what if humans are the real monsters.... nah, on second thought it might be the Murderous Enslavement Lobsters
I adore how creative the myriad alien species are, especially the Carryx and their (at first) inscrutable philosophy. Everything to do with the Swarm is top notch, their journey is so damn tragic and interesting. Definitely my favourite character, and there are some tough contenders. It's a major feat keeping Dafyd sympathetic while watching him slowly damning his soul.
The only downside I can think of is that I have to wait another 2 years for more. This is why you wait until a series is fully published before picking it up -_-
I adore how creative the myriad alien species are, especially the Carryx and their (at first) inscrutable philosophy. Everything to do with the Swarm is top notch, their journey is so damn tragic and interesting. Definitely my favourite character, and there are some tough contenders. It's a major feat keeping Dafyd sympathetic while watching him slowly damning his soul.
The only downside I can think of is that I have to wait another 2 years for more. This is why you wait until a series is fully published before picking it up -_-
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