The Third Book of 2026: Cibola Burns, by James S.A. Corey

Started 1/13/26, finished 1/18/26

I started reading The Expanse series last year, after several years knowing about it but ignoring it (because, you know, I have to prioritize somewhere). I’m not sorry that I waited, but I’m glad I gave in. It’s been a very enjoyable reading experience.

Cibola Burns is the fourth book in the series. By now we have the main cast well established: the crew of the Rocinante, the leaders of the various factions of Earth, Mars, and the asteroids/outer planets, some peripheral characters who carry over from book to book, sometimes making just minor appearances. We know the conflicts. The author (authors, actually) has established a comprehensive model for the way the solar system works -- satisfying world building.

The series is highly political; each book is strong on plot, but the characters are also strong. In some ways they’re quite tropy (the girl genius engineer, the tough, loyal mechanic, etc.) but they all have their quirks, and they are all pretty consistent in the way their personalities are presented. They may be tropes, but they’re not clichés.

I’m a bit of a story structure nerd, and all the Expanse books I’ve read so far hit the beats nicely. For some reason this had a particularly strong “All Is Lost” moment (to steal a beat from Blake Snyder’s Save The Cat!). I’m not sure if it’s because I’m starting to see stories in terms of beats, or Corey just doubled down on the “Weesa all gonna die” element.

I found that Cibola Burns had a few flaws compared to the first three books. A few plot elements that seemed a bit glossed over, and one important character’s story lacked a satisfying conclusion. But these complaints are minor. And while this story came to a good standalone conclusion, it dropped hints of conflict to come. I’ll be reading book five in a few weeks.