James S.A. Corey - The Expanse

so the whole plot of Duerte wanting to make humans into a hive mind and the proto molecule making him into a tool was interesting. Tanaka felt like an antagonist for the sake of having one. Miller coming back was nice, even if just fan service. Holden’s sacrifice fit his character and I wasn’t surprised that the ultimate solution was destroying the ring space.

The epilogue at least lets you know that humans eventually solved the FTL problem and at least 30 worlds, not counting the Sol system, survived. Amos still being around was neat, although the epilogue made it half sound like the Sol system (or at least Earth) was in ruins. It also hinted that humans in the different worlds were starting to evolve differently. No real epilogue for anyone, though, post gate collapse

I really liked the duarte/hivemind plot. It was a logical extension, especially with the revelations about the builders and who they were. To me it seemed like the protomolecule was essentially using Duarte to try to revive the race via humanity, in a sense. I found the ending very satisfying. I also get the impression the sol system was pretty beat down at the end. They clearly still had technology and hadn't fully regressed but it very much gives the impression that things haven't been going well. Amos mentions they're starting to get their shit together so I assume they're on the other side of it now, whatever it was, but clearly the humans in Sol just fell back to their normal infighting.

I don't think anyone really needed an epilogue beyond that. Alex, presumably, rejoined his family and finally (hopefully) got to do what he always wanted to but never could - be a father/grandfather. Naomi went home with Amos and probably tried to help rebuild something, but really didn't have anything else anyway at that point. Holden went out like Holden would - sacrificing himself to save everyone.

Additionally, i thought the science was really cool. The idea that the slow zone was just a bubble of 'reality' inside another universe, essentially stealing energy from it to power all their tech and science-magic. It explains why the goths hate them so much too. The epilogue was pretty cool too - seeing that humanity found another way to go FTL and kept advancing, and presumably we're getting the slightest hint of a humanity ascendant, as FTL travel means they can finally start expanding out in the galaxy without all the baggage and problems of before.

With Sol, I suspect what happened was what we already saw happening during the book - resources were getting tight, forcing people to push deeper into the system. And that was only 300-350ish years in our future. Not a stretch to think that with the gates gone, the same problems would eventually re-emerge: humans would exhaust the Sol systems reasonable to get resources, eventually leading to population collapse and a regression.

The linguist does mention weapons and ships being hidden, so it doesnt sound like humans can't get into space anymore on Earth.

I thought the ending was fair but a letdown. Humanity caved to the cthulites and ordered a full retreat. 30 worlds out of 1300 and with at least one dealing with the ravages of failure.

There were third options besides hivemind and withdrawal. What about a limited hivemind as a sort of knights watch to guard the slow zone wall against the extra universal evil? Maybe volunteers only, an elective option for those who chose but not forced? Military service like conscription that people did for a few years and then left after service, to keep a healthy stock?

If the option to join a hive were presented, a LOT of people would take it. I think total rejection is unrealistic, while A Song for Lya or similar views on shared thought is appealing to at least some.

Humanity traded greatness for safety. Cowardly. Oh well. I really liked Duarte and think they did him fair justice in the end, doubly so as the authors are huge libs and he was space hitler. Good on em for that bit of decency. Laconia was awesome.

I think the hivemind plan would have failed. Dont forget that the aliens had figured out a way to kill humans, but they may not have realized it worked because other humans werent aware that the people had been killed. Dont forget the Builders immediately knew the system was dead and then cleansed it, and the Goths keyed in on this and knew their attacks were effective.

Had they gone with the hivemind plan, then the hivemind would have acted the same as the Builders in theory, which would let the Goths know their plan is working. The hivemind wouldnt have saved them from the sodium trick they used which dropped everyone dead. Duarte's hivemind plan hinged on being able to resiste the anti-hivemind attack, but the hivemind would have done nothing to guard against the other attack. I think it ultimately would have failed. Plus, it is questionable if it was Duarte's plan in the end, since it was heavily implied that the Builder tech was heavily influencing him like they did Julie Mao after she was turned

What I really loved about the series was how expansive it felt, pun intended. It was a massive universe, with major political blocs vying with each other and within those blocs, more factions pushing back and forth each other. It really felt like what the world(s) would be like in the future.

The rocinate and its crew felt like a row boat in the middle of the ocean, pushed around by forces far stronger and just trying their best not to sink.

The latest book is the culmination of the final trilogy, where are virtual demi gods and stuff just seemed to happen because they wanted it to. There seemed to be no trouble getting a bunch of ships to help defend them in the slow zone.
Tanaka was a pretty cardboard villain that might have been interesting had she been introduced two books ago and we'd followed her along but was clearly just a disposable bad guy in this book.

While it's nice to get closure, if you can call it that, on the protomolocule stuff, that was never the most interesting part for me. The story needed it for sure, but as a way of showing how a new, unforeseen element can turn the status quo on its head and what the new scramble for power would look like.