The Faith of Beasts

The Captive's War #2

by James S.A. Corey

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. 

★ “Masterful . . . . This is space opera at its best.” – Publishers Weekly (starred review) on The Mercy of Gods
 
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 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 start of something truly epic."  ― Fonda Lee on The Mercy of Gods

"Corey is always one of the most engaging voices in the genre."  ― Adrian Tchaikovsky, author of  Children of Time

For More from James S. A. Corey, check

The Captive's War
The Mercy of Gods
The Faith of Beasts

The Expanse
Leviathan Wakes
Caliban's War
Abaddon's Gate
Cibola Burn
Nemesis Games
Babylon's Ashes
Persepolis Rising
Tiamat's Wrath
​Leviathan Falls

Memory's Legion

The Expanse Short Fiction
Drive
The Butcher of Anderson Station
Gods of Risk
The Churn
The Vital Abyss
Strange Dogs
Auberon
The Sins of Our Fathers
 

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Space Opera, Aliens, Fantasy, Space, Science Fiction Fantasy

512 pages, Paperback

Expected publication April 14, 2026

Reviews

[MagretFume · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Carly · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Wes O · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[April · Rating 5 out of 5]

The pacing worked really well. It kept things moving without feeling rushed, and every section felt purposeful. There was always enough momentum to pull me forward, but also enough space to sit with what was happening and let the character choices land.

The plot itself was genuinely interesting and layered. It wasn’t just about what was happening, but why it was happening, and how each decision created ripple effects. The morally grey actions and characters added a lot of depth, and I appreciated that the story didn’t shy away from difficult or uncomfortable choices.

The only downside of reading this as an ARC is that it makes the wait for the next book feel even longer.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an ARC of this. All thoughts are my own.

[ShamNoop · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley and Orbit for the ARC.

This book is much more of a character-building and setup episode compared to the first one, and much more of a slow burn, so it’s a good thing the characters and worldbuilding are as brilliant as they are. The plot developments are sparse but heavy and exciting, and the way the themes are developed through the character arcs is really well done. Very excited for the next book (which I think might be the last but I’m not sure).

[Chloe Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an incredible second main installment to the Captive’s War series. The character work, worldbuilding, and overall narrative hit all their marks respectively and set up so much for the next installment in the series. Overall it just built on everything I loved about The Mercy of Gods and Livesuit.

[Emma Bennett · Rating 4 out of 5]

An alien invasion is one thing. An invasion of highly advanced, sentient, and hierarchical alien arthropods called Carryx conquering and subjugating multiple worlds and species is super freaky. What am I doing to myself. This is the stuff of nightmares. I have been tandem reading books one and two of The Captive's War trilogy by James S.A. Corey (authors Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck)—Mercy of Gods and The Faith of Beasts—and Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky. Both have insects as sentient alien life forms and I am fairly bug phobic.

The Carryx of The Captive's War series are so fascinating as xenophobic space imperialist overlords of humans and other groups within the entire scope of the entirety of the Carryx space dominion (referred to as ‘moieties’) that I am compelled to read it anyway. The Faith of Beasts, book two of the series, begins with cleverly written mythos that and some fantastic insights into the human moiety before being absorbed into the Carryx empire. As the book progresses and you read more of the snippets of mythos, you will start to get more of the picture.

Readers and watchers of The Expanse Series will find similarities between the protomolecule and the Swarm, which are networked nanomachines that serve the purpose of espionage against the Carryx. Both assimilate the minds of other human life forms into their own network. Therefore, this part of the world building in the second book will feel familiar.

If you’ve been wondering what the heck is this Swarm network thing doing?? What’s the plan?? You will get some answers. Also, there is a crazy part of The Faith of Beasts where you get a little bit of insight into how this weird Swarm nanomachine network starts questioning the nature of its own consciousness.

And what the heck are the humans up to? Yes, they’ve got a sort of group Stockholm syndrome going on, trying not to be rendered extinct by pissed off space bugs but at the same time trying to figure out how the hell to escape captivity and restore autonomy. Well, you’re going to get some answers and new developments. Then, of course you’re going to be left wondering what happens next.

That’s for book three.

Thank you very much, Orbit Books, Hachette Book Group, James S.A. Corey, and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book. You spin me right round, baby, right round like a record, baby, right round, round, round.

[Frederick H Yingling · Rating 4 out of 5]

I couldn't put this one down. Finding new ways to expand on the problems faced by the characters did increase the complexity, but never in a way that was difficult to follow. Seeing the applications that a conquerer species would test on humanity to prove their utility really got my mind going on how any interaction can spiral. Thanks to Orbit for providing an advance copy through NetGalley.

[Aaron McKinney · Rating 4 out of 5]

*ARC provided via NetGalley in exchange for feedback. Thank you to NetGalley, the authors, and Orbit Books.

8/10

This series is definitely slow burn Sci-Fi, if you are looking for fast paced action look elsewhere (I would suggest Red Rising). However, if you are looking for a detailed, methodical, well thought out story that is, as far as anything I have read, utterly unique look no further. James S.A. Corey is truly a master of Sci-Fi world building, from the planets and systems, to the way they interact, and to the plethora different species described here, the way the interact, the unique traits of each, etc. Nothing about the setting of this book is familiar to the reader, and yet it is easy to imagine you are amongst the Carryx, to feel the sorrow, desperation, resignation, and even faint flickers of hope, that the human moiety feels throughout this novel.

As I said this is not fast paced action, despite this every chapter left me saying "just one more" in the same way a high action scene would. This is done here through the careful doling out of information, information that is both new to the reader and the characters in the story, that makes you crave the next piece of the puzzle the way you do in the best of thriller novels.

I highly look forward to book 3 in this series, and hey Orbit if you wanna send me early when the time comes I wont argue...

[Ricky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Corey does it again! Mercy was one of my favorites from the year it came out, and the sequel absolutely stands true. The world-building, the alien life, the Carryx hierarchy, and the scientific evolution are all fascinating and not your usual “sci fi rebellion story.” Dafyd is complex, his motives aren’t always clear, and he’s torn. You want to root for him, while also yell at him. It answers enough while asking enough new questions to leave me excited for the next.

[Noel · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Everything. You do whatever you can, even though it doesn’t seem to be working. You keep shoveling the shit against the tide and you hope the tide goes out before your strength fails. It feels meaningless. It feels overwhelming. It feels like you’re a tiny, insignificant thing in a universe that barely notices you exist, because that’s just accurate.”

This series is gonna cook.

*Received early as an e-ARC from Goodreads.

[Cosmic · Rating 5 out of 5]

James S.A. Corey has done it again. The universe building is as rich and immersive as ever, with the Carryx empire feeling even more vast, terrifying, and complex. The character dynamics (human and alien alike) deepen in ways that hit hard emotionally, and the tension builds relentlessly toward a finale that left me desperate for the next book.
As a huge fan of everything Corey has written (The Expanse is still my all-time favorite series), this one feels like a natural evolution, same sharp prose, moral weight, and cosmic scale, but with fresh stakes and truly alien perspectives that make it stand out. The Swarm, the inter-species politics, and the quiet moments of humanity in the face of overwhelming power… it’s all masterfully done.
I can’t wait for the final chapter! Highly recommend to anyone who loves smart, character driven space opera with big ideas.
Huge thanks to Orbits Books and NetGalley for the early ARC.

[Andrea B · Rating 5 out of 5]

The sequel more than lives up to the first! The world expands in a compelling way, revealing a rich diversity of alien societies alongside the human captives, all brought together through layered, interactions and vividly crafted settings. As with the first book, I was completely pulled into the story.

What shines are the complex dynamics: between species, within species, and among the humans themselves. The cast is distinct, and watching these very different personalities collide, cooperate, and clash kept me engaged. This is one of those rare series where you’re desperate for the next installment, yet already dreading the moment it eventually ends, because you know you’ll want to stay in this universe just a little longer.

[Matthew John · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this in advance!

I went into this book not knowing what to expect or where it would pick up following The Mercy of the Gods. I did read the short novella Livesuit before jumping into this but I would not consider it required reading prior to this, but definitely after. The story picks up and builds in a very similar manner to book 1. Lots of political drama and shadow games from the humans. You get more insight into other species and the Carryx which helps the world building greatly. The new animal species are introduced with their descriptions and wild names which helps build the story greatly. You also get a glimpse into the greater universe with many surprises as our team ventures out into the field to work for their new masters and while doing so meet some great new characters (Vaudai is by far my favorite character!). Overall a great well paced read that continues to build the world and has a great setting. I was lucky to get access to this the week of my 40th birthday so it ended up being an excellent gift! Now the long wait for the next novella and book 3 begins. Solid 5 stars!

[Saif Shaikh | Distorted Visions · Rating 4 out of 5]

Advanced Review Copy provided in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to Orbit Books and Netgalley.

Score: 🪳👾👽💀

Since this is an ARC, the review aims to be as Spoiler-free as possible.

The second entry in The Captive’s War, the daring new space opera from the minds of the blockbuster series The Expanse is upon us. The alien gods continue to be ever so merciful with their benevolent tyranny, and the vanquished, the beasts continue to be ever so faithful!

Just like you dear reader, I was foaming at the bit, when the announcement of a brand-new series from the creators of the massively successful space opera series The Expanse a few years ago. I voraciously consumed all nine mainline entries in that series, along with a smattering of novellas set in the same universe. I was ready for Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck (together known as the author demonym James S.A. Corey) to embark on a new combined adventure, and so we were offered The Captive’s War, with the first entry, The Mercy of Gods.

I wrote about The Mercy of Gods after receiving a review copy praising the authors’ new spin on the classic alien invasion trope. In summation, The Mercy of Gods had an interesting premise, a fresh coat of paint on a very played-out narrative, with incredible worldbuilding, a compelling setting, and a menacing antagonist but is held back by lackluster character work, and slowburn pacing. For people expecting a pace-for-pace rehash of The Expanse series, The Captive’s War is an entirely different beast.

How prophetic those closing words. The new entry, titled The Faith of Beasts continues the story of struggle of humanity (and other alien races) under the indifferently malicious yoke of the far superior hive hegemony of the Carryx. After the climactic events of The Mercy of Gods, our rag-tag group of surviving scientist captives have thinned, tensions between key members have arisen, due to the elevation of the unlikeliest of them all.

Returning to the forefront of The Faith of Beasts is the unassuming Dafyd Alkhor, now elevated to the “first among slaves” as he becomes the de facto speaker for the human moiety, directly reporting to the Carryx Librarian charged with overseeing the human faction from the Earth-analog planet Anjiin. Along with Dafyd, we see the return of other familiar faces, surviving the events of the first book. The mentally-deteriorating Jessyn and other minor characters like Campar are thrust into larger roles in The Faith of Beasts. After the concluding events of The Mercy of Gods, the human faction has proven their usefulness to the tyrannical Carryx, and have earned their favor — by being divided to push new frontiers of exploration, research, and discovery into techniques to assist with the Carryx expansionist war effort.

"Other beings feel loss or sorrow, other civilizations grow sick from war, but war is what the Carryx are. They will never mourn their dead, they rejoice that the weak give way to the strong. They will never grow tired of violence. They will never be other than what they are.
For them, conflict ends when the last stars burn out and all life dies. Not before."

Unlike the narrative structure of The Mercy of Gods, the characters in The Faith of Beasts head off in their own directions, carving out their own subplots, with new side characters introduced, both human and alien, gradually pushing the grander plot forward.

In my criticism of The Mercy of Gods, I bemoaned that the character work felt lackluster, especially coming off the high achieved by the masterful cast in The Expanse universe. Fortunately, The Faith of Beasts goes a long way to develop each individual character further, giving each of the major players like Dafyd, Jessyn, Campar, Tonner and others a more defined character arc sketched from their own personal experiences in the events leading up to this timeline. In particular, Dafyd’s new role as unlikely “first slave” was well-crafted, showing us the inner turmoil of his new responsibilities as he navigates burgeoning hatred against him by his own species. Amidst his own misfortune, he kindles the tiny spark of rebellion, while including new conspirators, as well as attempting to understand the mysterious swarm.

Several new side characters were introduced in The Faith of Beasts, many of which show potential to bloom into larger roles in future entries. In particular, I enjoyed the author’s new focus on giving other alien races like the Lothark and others their own unique part to play in the grander narrative, expanding an already impressive scale of worldbuilding. The new insight into the Carryx also fleshes out their own history, and provides new context to their millennia long empire.

However, many of my qualms from the review of the first entry remain in this sequel. The Captive’s War still feels like a book focused on emotional repercussions and worldbuilding rather than action set pieces. An uncommon style in the space-opera genre, which usually heavily relies on grandiose interstellar battles, and smaller-but-still-punchy action scenes, The Faith of Beasts opts to have much of the larger scale action scenes just out of sight of the reader perspective, giving us merely a glimpse, a tease of large scale events. While this stylistic choice vexed me in the first entry, marinading with the story over the years between entries have given me new appreciation for the bravery of this choice. Humanity is but a speck, an insignificance, an irrelevance to the Carryx and their galaxy-spanning hegemony. Having the larger-than-life battles appear as only a passing graze to such a speck as humanity feels entirely apt from that perspective. After all, what can an ant say about international warfare in our own reality.

The pacing in The Faith of Beasts is just as plodding as Mercy, with a greater emphasis on the emotional trauma of the captives as they survive under the vastly superior Carryx and their indifferent malice. As a sequel, The Faith of Beasts does a fantastic job of creating a sense of mundane progress of daily processes, even under abject servitude and the constant threat of eradication, showing us how easy humanity rationalizes suffering and transforms it into adaptive evolution.

The Captive’s War is not trying to be another rehash of The Expanse. While The Mercy of Gods introduced the new world, setting, characters, and stakes; The Faith of Beasts skillfully builds upon that strong foundation, expanding the world, developing character motivations, raising the stakes, and setting up the intergalactic board, for the next entry. I daresay the third book will not be the last episode in humanity’s fight for survival. We are after all, faithful beasts!

Read this review and more on my Medium page: Distorted Visions

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[Essy Knopf · Rating 5 out of 5]

Caveat: I’m a James S. A. Corey superfan, so I’m naturally biased. I’ve read The Expanse series multiple times, as well as The Mercy of Gods and the Livesuit novella twice. I find the world of the Captive War trilogy deeply compelling. With that said, I’ll start with what I enjoyed most about this book.

If The Mercy of Gods was about setting the stage—introducing the Carryx’s galaxy-spanning empire, its tyranny, and humanity’s shock at being subsumed into that empire as a “moiety”—then The Faith of Beasts is about escalation. This second installment focuses on humanity’s rise in status as a species of interest to the Carryx, while also widening the lens on the empire itself—its internal logic, its reach, and, crucially, its enemies.

The novel gradually reveals that the Carryx’s “deathless” enemy—the one force preventing their total dominance—may be human, or at least not only human. Instead, it appears to be a coalition of species capable of wielding the machine-based technology first introduced in Livesuit: a system that can seamlessly assume control of a being it has integrated into upon death, hence the Carryx’s label “deathless.” Through our human protagonists, we get thrilling encounters with these opposing forces and tantalizing hints at their capabilities, including the possibility that they could help Jaffyd and his crew challenge the Carryx. Along the way, we also learn more about how the Carryx govern, how their hierarchy functions, and how they conceptualize other species as “animals.” Every new scrap of information feels earned and fascinating.

The book moves at a breakneck pace and is an absolute page-turner. Revelations arrive quickly, and I felt a genuine shock and thrill when one of the main characters unexpectedly encounters another human—apparently from a civilization either ancestral to the Anjin or a parallel branch of the same lineage. This development seems to confirm long-running fan speculation that the Anjin are a lost human colony. While earlier theories proposed a connection to The Expanse universe (which the authors have explicitly denied), the “lost colonists” idea still holds weight, and the groundwork for it was clearly laid. I’m excited to see where this thread goes in book three.

That said, I was less convinced by the recurring creation myth that opens some chapters. While I understand its intent—to show how the Anjin explain their origins through mythology—I found it difficult to extract concrete meaning from these passages, and I’m not entirely sure how much they advanced the story or deepened our understanding. It’s possible I missed something, but their narrative utility felt limited.

Early in the book, we’re told that due to Jaffyd’s leadership, humanity’s standing with the Carryx has improved, resulting in a three-thousand-strong human moiety housed on the world palace planet. I would have liked more showing here: scenes of arrival, settlement, internal organization, or political tension. Instead, we’re largely told this has happened, and the story moves on. While this choice supports the novel’s excellent pacing, it slightly undercuts the sense of scale and makes it harder to fully grasp the weight of responsibility on Jaffyd’s shoulders, or why he’s so thoroughly worn down. The momentum is exhilarating, but it comes at the cost of some world-building texture.

A related (and admittedly minor) complaint is that many characters remain thinly sketched. I even resorted to a Reddit character summary—where one character, Jessyn, was memorably described as “the depressed girl."” And, honestly, that shorthand often feels accurate. Jaffyd himself remains something of a cipher: brilliant, strategic, and relentlessly tactical, but emotionally opaque. We get little insight into who he was before, what shaped him, or what ultimately drives him beyond survival and calculation. There are occasional flashbacks and reflective moments scattered throughout the book, but I found myself wanting more.

Part of the challenge is structural. These characters have been stripped of society, context, and stability, and are locked in perpetual survival mode. Deep character arcs are difficult under those conditions. Still, I wish we’d seen more interiority. There’s an argument that this simply isn’t that kind of story: it’s far more plot-driven than character-driven, and that was also true of book one, where a large cast with minimal development often felt like fodder for inevitable deaths. The emotional impact of those losses was limited because we never had the necessary depth of characterization and therefore connection as readers. That said, the overarching stakes—the constant threat of annihilation and the shared oppression of humanity—do a lot of the emotional heavy lifting.

All told, I adored this book and tore through it in about two days. The thought of waiting another year (or more) for book three hurts, though I take some comfort in knowing there’s likely another novella on the way. I wasn’t initially sure whether there was a direct character connection between Livesuit and book two, but after revisiting the text, it appears that Corvall—the man in the black livesuit—may indeed be Estebán Corval from Livesuit, a member of Kirin’s unit who was separated after reassignment. I’m not sure whether the slight discrepancy in spelling is intentional or an editorial oversight, but the possibility of a direct link between the stories is exciting enough that it’s already tempting me to reread Livesuit yet again.

[Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

I absolutely loved the first book of this series, so I ran to read this one as soon as I got it, and I was not disappointed. As always, the setting of Captive's War is detailed and alien and wondrous even in its horror. There are so many different types of aliens, every single one that communicates differently, and we even got a more prominent alien character this time in the form of Vaudai, a slug alien who curses in his own language, is cheerfully sure that the Carryx will be conquering the world, but in the meantime, he can be helpful and do science! (I loved Vaudai, please let him be in the next book as well). And we do get to learn a lot more about the Carryx, through both the POV chapters of the Carryx serving the Sovran and through the Soft Lothark, who it turns out have been hiding their own secrets and brewing their own rebellion this entire time as well.

The Carryx are still as terrifying as before, as described by the Deep Lothark themselves:

We have waited for millenia to see the empire fall, but it rises from every stumble. It wars down every enemy. Other beings feel loss or sorrow, other civilizations grow sick from war, but war is what the Carryx are. They will enver mourn their dead, they rejoice that the weak give way to the strong. They will never grow tired of violence. They will never be other than what they are.

For them, conflict ends when the last stars burn out and all life dies.

Not before.

And yet despite that, as most of the team from the last book is scattered across the stars, everyone is fighting back in their own way. Jessyn finds secrets and other humans on another conquered planet, Campar cares for others on the warzone, Rickar proves essential, Dafyd wrestles with power and leadership and trying to ensure the human moiety's survival while also searching for a way to destroy the Carryx, and the swarm learns more about itself and what it means to be human.

Speaking of, one of my favorite things from the last book was the swarm's feelings for Dafyd, and so I was so excited to see how it would develop here. The swam is full of conflicting emotions and yearning, seeming so human at times when it desperately wants "Another hour. Another minute. Another chance to make clear to Dafyd that it is the same person he took comfort in," and "a chance to make things right again. A chance to return to who they were. A chance--however slim, however fragile--to be loved." Of course, it's not that simple, what with the swarm technically having killed Dafyd's girlfriend (long before she was his girlfriend, but still), and his friend. It is a delicious conundrum, and I loved all of the swarm's chapters with Dafyd since no matter what, they have to work together to bring the Carryx down.

I am still really hopeful for how this relationship will further develop with the swarm becoming Clae though, especially with Dafyd's feelings toward Clae being described as "He would have called it fear, except there was something more with it. Something wide and wild and as awe-inducing as the stars. "

And Dafyd--the one we know who will ultimately bring about the end of the Carryx while being hated by all of humanity. We see the burdens of leadership over him as he conspires, and also the ruthlessness he is forced to enact to ensure everyone's survival. You may not like him, but you always understand what he's trying to do, and he is super effective at it.

Ultimately though, this is a book about working together towards an almost impossible goal.

Everything. You do whatever you can, even though it doesn't seem to be working. You keep shoveling the shit against the tide and you hope the tide goes out beofre your strength fails. It feels meaningless. It feels overwhelming. It feels like you're a tiny insignifacnt thing in a universe that barely notices you exist, because that's just accurate...there's a beauty in truth...there's also a beauty in work.

Maybe you won't see the fruits of your labor, but you still have to keep trying anyway.

If you read the Livesuit novella, then a lot of revelations in this book make more sense, but in either case, we learn a lot more about the Carryx's deathless enemy here, and I am very excited to learn more in the next book as well. In general, this was a great second book in the series, and I can't wait to read the next one!

[Trevin Sandlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Faith of Beasts marks the second (sorta - more on that below) entry in "The Captive's War," the sprawling science fiction series written by James S.A. Corey, otherwise known as the writing duo of Ty Franck and Daniel Abraham, creators of The Expanse. The first book came out a couple of years ago and I raved about it here. This is more of the same. TLDR? If you liked the first book, you'll like this one.

This is definitely a novel where you need to read Book 1 (The Mercy of Gods) first. There is no recap at the beginning. You step in more or less immediately where book 1 ended. Much of the novel is divided between the humans on the Carryx "homeworld" and those who have been sent off on missions with their captors around the galaxy.

Though maybe "like" is doing some heavy lifting here because this is an ugly world and it features some characters that are hard to like, to say nothing about love. That's my long way of saying that, intentionally by the authors, who've written him to be the way he is...Dafyd is real hard to root for. In a lot of ways, he's the pragmatical politician we're familiar with. Willing to get dirty to achieve the ends he thinks are necessary (though thankfully, we get a counter argument to his actions very late in the book - a discussion about whether humanity under the Carryx should be themselves, or make like chickens).

That gets me to what the meat of this novel is. This is a book about xenobiology and sociology, not space battles and politics. A good deal of this book explains big ideas, like convergence of evolution, or the dynamics of any "rules" of evolution. These aren't new concepts - I recall Star Trek covering them quite a bit in the original 1960s series, though in that case I think it was mostly to explain why the aliens all looked like weird people. There are discussions of big ideas like the ethics of reproduction in a "slave environment" like what the Anjiin humans find themselves. On ideas like eusocial organization and propogation. Tech ideas likened to lichen. All of the sorts of big ideas that in some ways, modern science fiction often looses track of in favor of "pretty laser go flash."

I said this is the second book in the series and it is. BUT...there was a novella. Livesuits came out awhile back and is set in this universe. I've seen some people say you need to read it first and I can't disagree more. I actually think Livesuits is better read AFTER this novel. While I'm not surprised about the reveals regarding the Carryx's "deathless enemy," I definitely think that reveal would have been even more anticlimactic had I read Livesuits first. But there is a big reveal (maybe?) on the last page of this book that really brings into question everything that's been going on with one particular character in the story.

A lot of this is setup, I feel. For a book in which a lot happened, I felt at the end like nothing much actually DID happen. By the end, some other pieces of the puzzle have been revealed, but we still don't have the big picture. I still don't really know where the authors are going with this. I'm just glad to be along for the ride.

And yet at the same time...this is a disquieting read. This is not easy, even if it the prose is not difficult. There's a strand of hopelessness in these books that is hard to avoid and at the end...I'm not certain I "enjoyed" the book, if that makes sense. It is a great book - and I'll gobble up the next installment quickly...but man...this is some bleak stuff at times. Even when there are moments of human tenderness and connection...they're torn apart from you just as easily. The human characters in this saga are living a nightmare..one that doesn't seem to have a good end in store for them...and one I couldn't help feeling uneasy at. In a world as bleak as ours can be right now...let's just say...I'm reaching for a rom-com right away. 4.5 stars. Something is just holding me back from a 5...but I don't know that I can put my finger on it.

Big thanks to NetGalley and Orbit Books for a chance to read an advance copy for review. All opinions are my own and were not compensated. The Faith of Beasts is out on April 14 and you can preorder it now - go do so!

[Tina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an e-arc from Netgalley in exchange for a fair review.

Thrilling yet deeply contemplative, The Faith of Beasts blends first contact with rebellion and human adaptability. While I really enjoyed the first book, I was obsessed with this one.

In case you go into the novel and can’t remember what happened in book 1, this book provides organic-feeling reminders throughout the first chapter, which was excellent. I can’t stand when books don’t provide an update for you, but I also am not as fond of an info-dump format for it, so this was perfect.

Unlike a lot of stories of human rebellion (either against humans or other beings), this novel captures the realistic subtleties and conflict behind the balance of placating your captors and fighting back. Were Dafyd’s choices and actions justified? Does it matter if, in the end, it means saving the species? It raises the ethical question of whether the end does justify the means - especially if that end isn’t guaranteed - and what’s great about Dafyd’s conflict is that you don’t hate him. Because we see inside his head, we know his motives are based on what he believes is the only way to survive, but you can also totally understand how others see him as a traitor. It’s such a well-executed dynamic.

And while Dafyd’s sections are rather depressing - really, how could they not be - the book has a great balance with some other perspectives that are chock-full of exploration and meeting new species. I would love to get into that more, but it would be spoilers, though I’ll say if you’d been hoping to learn more in book one about the other aliens - and the Carryx too - this book definitely has more of that. It also begins to introduce a common trope but then subverts it, which was great. There’s a wonderful character named Vaudai - who resembles a giant blue slab of meat - who brings in a little bit of comic relief. How they swear had me laughing out loud. I won’t share my favourite one, but calling someone “badly made furniture” killed me. and the plot about the Lothrak? I loved that!

And we have far more on the Swarm, the alien possession subplot, which is a trope I love, so I was all here for that aspect, and how that shifts over the course of the book was excellent too. While the interpersonal issues seem to exist for the characters themselves, to give them depth, everything ties into the greater rebellion.

This sounds like a boring way to praise a book, but this book is perfectly balanced. No character’s section drags, the action scenes are dropped in at proper intervals, there’s focus on ethical concerns, but it’s not didactic (in fact, I don’t think any argument is posited on any of the elements - it’s left to the reader to discern. As such, it’s so immersive. You wonder, if I were in Dafyd, Jessin, whoever’s place, what would I do? I personally don’t find the “lamb sacs” a big deal, but someone else might, for example, though other aspects, like whether it’s better to die out than bring forth enslaved others, are complex concerns rife with nuance and, sadly, humanity’s own history. It’s a story that is incredibly rich thematically, yet you fly through it as the pacing is spot on.

The dynamics of human community are also compelling, especially given how the group is composed of the “leaders” of society, but no average workers - the knowledge gaps they have to overcome in terms of just basic tasks and construction are so interesting. As someone who loves anthropology, I adored watching how humans adapted and made concessions. The issues they face that the Carryx didn’t bother to consider (or, more likely, had no basis to even imagine) are so realistic. It’s humanity in microcasm and it’s a survival story above all else.

And of course, the exploration side-plots were very fun, as well as being relevant to the overall storyline. One of my favourite tropes is when a person is just on a new planet, and they have to walk around and just look for weird stuff to catalogue.

I could ramble on and on about this book all day, so I’ll stop and just say that I loved it. Can't wait for Book 3!

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Faith of Beasts expands the scope of Captive’s War, gives new insight into “the enemy”, and moves the story’s needle a fraction, but ultimately felt like a step down from The Mercy of Gods. I’m still excited to see how the story ends but hoping book 3 returns to being as compelling as book 1.

What I liked:

- I’ve been desperate to see what happens next after The Mercy of Gods, and while the needle isn’t moved much in this book, it was satisfying to see the story progress.

- Several characters become less one-dimensional. The swarm struggles with existential feelings about what it’s done, identity, and how it feels about Dafyd; Rickar has more screen time and a satisfying arc; and thankfully, Jessyn’s story wasn’t solely fixated on her mental illness and medication needs this time around.

- The story makes direct connections to Livesuit, as well as callouts to the novella itself. Easily my favorite part of the story.

- We learn more about the Soft Lothark; this part was fascinating and my second favorite part.

- Amusing new alien species and interactions (“sticks-with-meat-on-them”...)


What I didn’t like:

What I loved about The Mercy of Gods was its focus on a single group of characters in a claustrophobic, traumatic, and intimate experience. It was stressful yet hopeful to watch their journey, and I felt connected to their experience. The Faith of Beasts, instead, has multiple POVs with much less “screen time” per person.

- On the Carryx homeworld, Dafyd struggles with being a leader that everyone despises. He does some interesting stuff with getting infrastructure set up for the human population, but what made his character so great in book 1 was how cunning, clever, and adaptable he was with figuring out the aliens, communication, and more. That’s for the most part gone in this book; instead, he has to figure out what kind of a hardline stance he needs to take with the rest of the humans so that they all can survive. It’s fine, but not as interesting.

- A painstaking percentage is from the perspective of Surur, a Carryx, and I found these chapters grueling and repetitive to get through. I just don’t care about the biological imperatives of the Carryx, and far too much screen time spent on this. Captive’s War is meant to be a trilogy, each book is fairly short, and The Faith of Beasts is a full third of the story, yet very little happens, so It was frustrating that Surur’s perspective took up so much time that could have been spent on the core cast. It would be like if 25% of Star Trek was Klingon episodes.

- The rest of Dafyd’s original gang is spread out across the galaxy, and because of the limited time each gets, almost nothing happens to move the needle.

In addition, the interlude chapters felt superfluous. I understand what they were, but still, I would have rather had more story content.

Overall, I’m conflicted on how to score this. The Mercy of Gods was nearly flawless, so I felt more harshly disappointed than I would have been if this was my first entry into the series. The writing style is still engaging, the story does crawl forward a bit, and we learn new insights. But the split POVs, Surur’s perspective, and how little actually happens given this is the middle book of a trilogy, dropped my enjoyment a lot.

I’d say my personal score would be a 2.5/5 for this reason, rounding up to 3. I’m still looking forward to seeing how the series ends, but it feels like it’ll be hard to wrap everything up in a satisfying way at this pace.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Dustin George-Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a pre-release copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

In a lot of ways you know what you're getting when you read a James SA Corey novel -- well crafted tight prose, a solid sci-fi story that's easy to digest while still giving plenty to sink your teeth into, and wonderful focus on compelling characters. That's exactly what you get with The Faith of Beasts, the second book in The Captive's War. This series comes on the heels of the wildly (and justifiably popular) The Expanase series, and while this series is thematically quite different from The Expanse and is in an entirely different universe, it still reads like a Corey novel in all the best ways.

The Faith of Beasts follows up on last year's The Mercy of Gods in which humanity has been conquered by the Carryx, a apex level predatory species that resemble nothing less than giant mantis shrimp, and who have spent millennia acquiring other species as beasts of burden to bolster their eternal war against an unknown "deathless enemy." This book carries on the themes from Mercy of Gods -- how the remnants of humanity, relocated to a Carryx home world and forced to both serve the whims of the Carryx while also justifying their "moitey's" existence, can both survive while also sowing the seeds of what has been hinted as a future rebellion. The character of Dafyd serves as the moitey's self-appointed leader and also link to the Carryx, which makes him humanity's savior, but also makes him hated by his own people as they serve under a brutal yoke.

In this novel we learn more information about both humanity's place in the overall cosmos and also within the Carryx's hegemony, while deepening our understanding of the other sentient "animal" species within the Carryx's control. We learn more about the Carryx themselves -- their motivations, their leadership structure -- and about the "deathless enemy" against whom the Carryx continue to fight. Anyone who has read last year's tie-in novella "Livesuit" will have probably guessed a few of the revelations within this book already.

Dafyd, as humanity's appointed leader and unwilling quisling, is a complicated figure and we really get to sink our teeth into his motivations, along with the unfathomable stresses that come along with the job. He is required to walk a tightrope of unimaginable thinness -- forcing his fellow humans to do enough to justify their existence to the Carryx and prevent them from extinction, while surreptitiously working behind the scenes to undermine the Carryx from within. There are revelations about other species that heretofore have been considered adversaries, but who may have a more complicated relationship than previously indicated. There is also a wild-card -- a "spy" that has infiltrated humanity's moiety and who professes to be on humanity's side, but who can be viewed as untrustworthy due to some pretty obvious reasons.

We also branch out a bit from the Carryx homeworld with focus on side characters who are taken by the Carryx and reassigned either to the front lines or to other planets for research purposes. We gain a better understanding of their perspectives and the mystery of the Carryx and the great war deepens through their stories and interactions.

This is very much a middle novel in a series -- there aren't any particularly groundbreaking revelations, but there's a lot of setting the table for future books. The misery of humanity is apparent, but there are seeds of hope sowed in the process that will most certainly play out in future novels.

A quite enjoyable read.

[Joe Karpierz · Rating 4 out of 5]

THE FAITH OF BEASTS, by James S.A. Corey, is a sequel to 2024's THE MERCY OF GODS, and is the second book in the Captive's War trilogy. The story is of a set of humans and other species captured by the Carryx, an alien race participating in an endless war against an unknown enemy. The captives are put to use by the Carryx to help them carry out their war of destruction and conquest, although, to be fair, it's not clear who the real enemy is and why the war is being fought in the first place - well, except, that the Carryx live to be at war. That's about all we know. There's nothing worse than an enemy that you know nothing about that is coming after you for no discernable reason with a ferocity and relentlessness that is unmatched anywhere in the galaxy.

And, with all that, Corey throws us a curveball. Oh sure, THE FAITH OF BEASTS expands on the war against the "deathless enemy", explores the Swarm and its importance, and continues the story of the human captives from THE MERCY OF GODS. But it is so much more than that. It is an exploration of the motives of the Swarm, the survival of the humans, and the deception that comes with attempting to foment a rebellion without letting the captors know that there is a rebellion going on. And while this might seem to be more than a bit obvious, it's much more insidious
when the person leading the rebellion is also the person that is now taking point for the Carryx in the human moiety. Dafyd Alkhor, who was pretty much a nobody in his original position with the humans on Anjiin has found himself in charge of the human moiety, taking orders from the Carryx while at the same time earning the trust of the humans he must lead and command to do what the Carryx want. Meanwhile, he must work with the Swarm, who we learn not only inhabit a person's body, but as that Swarm entity moves from body to body it brings along the minds of the
other bodies it has inhabited, thus creating a sort of group mind all within one person. And wouldn't you know it, one of the bodies the Swarm has inhabited is Dafyd's dead lover. So there's that.

Dafyd really is caught between a rock and a hard place. The Carryx have charged him with stopping at nothing to get the most out of the human moiety, and thus in order not to blow his cover he must employ tactics that disturb and disgust him, whether he wants to or not. The scene in which he stops a labor walkout show Dafyd at his conflicted finest, knowing that the method he is employing is one that will prove to the Carryx that he is loyal and capable of doing his job, while at the same time allowing him to hide the fact that he is trying to overthrow the Carryx. After a confrontation with another one of the humans, Dafyd is assigned a, oh, I guess a hall monitor, if you will, and a set of creatures who are there to actually do the dirty work if Dafyd is threatened. Through these and other creatures, he learns that there appears to be another rebellion in the works within those creatures. Plots within plots within plots.

To be sure, Dafyd is not the only character (or characters) we learn about as we go through the novel. There is a small group of humans on a planet some of the captives have been taken to aid the Carryx in some work they need to be done, and this group is believed to be part of the grand plan to overthrow the Carryx. Not to be left out, we begin to learn something about the history and civilization of the Carryx, and how the structure of their society is maintained down through time.

I'm not sure that the plot of The Captive's War is significantly advanced in the pages of the THE FAITH OF BEASTS. In that respect, I think, it is a classic second book in a trilogy. The author needs to move the pieces around the chessboard to get them where he needs them to be to be able to tell the grand completion of the entire story arc. I don't, however, think it will be the "bad" or "worst" book in the trilogy as so many second books end up being. This is a pause, a setup, an investigation of characters and their motives, the results of which will, I suspect, lead us to the grand conclusion of the story.

It is a rare thing when it's hard to make out where the story is going. In The Captive's War, the reader probably believes that the events of the story will end up with the humans being victorious. I'm not sure that's necessarily the case. But if it is, the joy will be in discovering how that happens. As it stands right now, it's not clear to me whether the humans will come out on top. And that's kind of the fun of it all, isn't it? I'm very interested in hanging around to find out the resolution. You should be too.

[Cathy Newman · Rating 5 out of 5]

NOTE: I strongly recommend reading Livesuits before this book.

What a fantastic sequel. While this is not an action-packed book, a lot happens here that moves the story forward, revealing quite a bit of new, crucial information about the Carryx, the Soft Lothark, the history of human space colonization, the ongoing war, the "deathless enemy," and (to a lesser extent) the swarm.

Some of my favorite scenes featured a new alien character we didn't see in book 1: Vaudai, and his interactions with other characters we know. This added some much-needed humor. For example: "Digits! I need differentiated fingers! Quickly!"

Wikipedia describes The Captive's War as a series focusing on xenobiology and sociology, and the description is especially appropriate for this book. On the biology side alone (as an evolutionary biologist), here we cover themes of (mild world-building spoilers in hidden quotes):

➤ Universal rules of evolution -- "Evolution only had a few hard rules -- heritability, mutation, and the reward of greater fitness. All the different ways the universe could find to solve those puzzles were where the interesting work waited."

➤ Convergent evolution -- "Plants that look like plants, and bugs that look like bugs... It says more about what kinds of pressures they're under than anything about the organism. An environment tells you how to live in it."

➤ Adaptations of extreme reproductive changes in inhospitable environments... and the implication that this applies not only to non-human animals, but also to the society of captive humans.

➤ Lichens as a symbiosis between a fungus and a photosynthetic partner, (BIG SPOILER) as an analogy for the Livesuits.

➤ Domestication as a strategy for survival of a species -- "What bird had the highest population on Anjiin? Evolution's darling. The one avian with the best strategy? Chickens. Because we raised and fed and protected them. The most common grasses were farmed grains. The most successful mammals besides ourselves were food animals. ... So give up. Decide that dying as heroes is less appealing than living as corn and chickens. Maybe stop pouring your heart into the thing that can't happen and start building the best version of what can."

➤ Eusocial societies -- The Carryx evolving "a different solution to the same problem"... Eusociality as we know it on earth, but with a twist.

On the sociology side, we see the human society struggle through agonizing decisions about reproduction, leadership, security and punishment, and what the goals should even be for a captive society in this unprecedented situation.

Questions remain, though, and I'm really looking forward to the next installment!

Thank you to Orbit and NetGalley for the digital ARC.

[Jay Brantner · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Faith of Beasts opens where the first book left off, with humanity enslaved by a race of terrifyingly powerful, deeply Nietzschean aliens entrenched in a war with another, mostly unseen, galactic power. The best and brightest of the prisoners have been tasted to prove humanity’s usefulness and thus stave off the genocide of an entire species. In book two, the parameters of that task have become better-defined, but the broad strokes of the conflict remain the same: determine some means of clandestine, long-term resistance while showing enough short-term usefulness to stay alive.

The most fascinating parts of the first book were the vital attempts to understand the minds of humanity’s captors—after all, if you don’t understand what your captors value, how can you prove yourself valuable?—and those elements don’t abate at all in the second book. Humanity must understand their enemy both in order to stay in their good graces and to figure out weaknesses that may be exploitable in the long-term. If anything, the necessity of understanding aliens only increases in The Faith of Beasts. After all, humanity isn’t the only intelligent species in servitude, and it will be difficult to accomplish anything without learning more about their fellow captives. Throw in one captive on a research mission to another planet and another handful stationed on warships and the scope of exploration increases noticeably.

And not only are those plotlines plentiful, they also tend to produce the most powerful scenes. There’s not much here that’s really first contact per se, but there are several moments of sudden realizations about a group that’s deeply other, and those are the moments that make this worth the price of admission.

On the other hand, humanity’s internal politics—none of the best and brightest want to play second fiddle—were a weakness in the first book and remain so here. While the failure of the ensemble cast to provide any truly fascinating character in book one makes for a relatively easy time getting back up to speed after a nearly two-year layoff, that cast simply doesn’t get much more compelling in the second book. The difficulty of organizing a group of people who all think they should be the lead makes for an interesting subplot, but The Captive’s War remains relatively weak when dealing with intra-human conflicts.

Like the first book, The Faith of Beasts has enough strengths to make it worth the read but enough weaknesses to keep it from being a must-read. Readers that fit the classic sci-fi “come for the aliens, don’t sweat the characterization” stereotype will surely find it a fascinating read. On the other hand, those who want to deeply invest in the main cast ought probably skip this one. As for me, I’m somewhere in the middle. Through two books, the series has consistently kept me engaged but not yet had me truly enamored.

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Within the alien Carryx empire, the humans they conquered are continuing to earn themselves a place by proving useful... but although they seem cowed and broken, various members are still trying to find their own ways to resist, although Dafyd, who is playing the long game from his position in charge of the humans, is in the unenviable position of needing to come down hard on the attempts of others to keep the Carryx from simply eliminating all the humans in their empire, as they do for any race that doesn't fit into their needs. Meanwhile, the swarm-like entity assisting him is struggling with its sense of self and feelings for Daffyd, and several members of D's original team have been split up, assigned to other projects, including one on the war front itself... where they might discover opportunities too exciting to pass up.

I received an early review edition of this book through Netgalley. I don't think it affected my review.

The second book in the series does a great job of continuing the storylines and exploring some new ideas, giving a surprising amount of plot development in the process... or perhaps not that surprising. If this is meant only to be a trilogy (as I read somewhere, without verifying if it's supposed to be correct), it's an appropriate amount for a middle book, setting up potential allies and weaknesses in the enemy. For me, at least, I was surprised how much things changed and how certain secrets got revealed that I was anticipating, but not for much later. On a character level, it also mostly satisfies... although splitting up the characters we came to know in the first book does disappoint mildly, and others disappear rather suddenly leaving their story feel a little unfinished, it's almost made up for with the addition of new characters, including one of my favorite non-humans introduced in the series. I was also a little disappointed on one development with one character that seemed to sacrifice a bunch of juicy potential drama down the line. I say seemed because it's certainly possible some of that might come back and, if not, what we get instead may prove even better, but it was one thread from the first book that I was excited about and looks--right now--like the authors were done with it before I was.

All in all, it's a great second part. Maybe not quite as exciting as the first book in the series, suffering from some of the traditional issues that lead to 'middle book syndrome' (not as much exciting novelty as a brand new story, and a sense of 'moving certain pieces into place'), but by no means a disappointment, it's still a book I will almost certainly be buying for my own collection despite having gotten access to a free preview. On my own scale I'd probably put it at 3.5 stars, rounding up to a four.

[Allen Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

BEASTS is the 2nd entry in The Captive's War series by James S.A. Corey, AKA Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck. Thanks to Orbit, NetGalley, and the authors for this advanced copy. Again, all my thoughts are independent of Corey's other series The Expanse, as I have neither read nor watched it.

So, my first question is: did you enjoy THE MERCY OF GODS? If you didn't, and you're waiting to see if book 2 is going to be what sells you on this series, I am here to tell you that this will not be the case. BEASTS is not the book that is going to convince you that you like this series. It is more of what we got in MERCY, but doubled down.

If it seems like I'm dogging on this, I'm not. It's excellent. But it's excellent in what it's setting out to do, which is continue the story begun in book 1. Here again, we are with the human moeity, with Dafyd at the top as the liaison between them and the Carryx. Where this book excels is not the gripping character work that a die-hard Abraham fan might come to expect or the action of a sci-fi space opera, but in the continued exploration of survival. How do survivors adapt to their new--and deadly--environment? Who are those who willingly collaborate with their overlords? Unwillingly? How does the human mind make sense of its surroundings by categorizing everything in human terms and sociology because that's what's understandable?

What the authors continue to excel at here is just how alien the Carryx and their society feel. When the humans make the mistake of acting like their alien overlords are human, we understand because they're just so incomprehensible as a species--desires, purpose, raison d'etre--that even when we're flat out told, we don't believe it because it's just so inhuman. The entire endeavor looks so bleak, even as we learn more about the Carryx's enemies. Allies come from unexpected areas, but the unfeeling violence of the Carryx comes out of nowhere and it is brutal and chilling and completely in line with the survival horror game that this series is.

This series continues to be a fascinating exploration of ideas into the human psyche and there were some moments I had to set it down and process some of the decisions made thereby. Some (read: all) of the romance stuff could have just been cast to the side and I'd been perfectly fine. Worldbuilding here is top-notch. I hope this is longer than a trilogy because I'd stay in this world forever.

[Grigory Lukin · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The Faith of Beasts" is the sequel to "The Mercy of Gods" - and I highly advise you to read the tie-in novella "Livesuit" before you start the new novel. (It's not mandatory, but it'll clear up a few things for you.)

The first book had a pretty slow build-up before we saw our first alien. This sequel, on the other hand, jumps right in. The human moiety is semi-autonomous and dealing with a new set of problems. There are several alternating protagonists, which gives the book a real Expanse feel. :) The narrative follows every surviving member of Tonner's research group, as well as thr swarm and one Corryx. We're also introduced to new alien races. One particular ongoing human-alien interaction was really well written :) - I won't spoil it for you.

There's a lot of worldbuilding, new lore, wacky developments, and more brainstorming by Dafyd, still hellbent on taking down the empire.

The entertainment aspect was great, but... I had to do a lot of work to suspend my disbelief. In the first book, the swarm specifically said that the Corryx are always listening, and even it couldn't provide perfect privacy for long. In this new book, Dafyd discusses his conspiracy out loud, at length, on his totally-not-bugged terrace. At one point, he discusses pretty seditious topics in writing, using big glowing letters, for very long periods of time... That would work only if the Corryx had the trust levels of a newborn kitten, and we know that's not the case... In other words, the authors hand-wave away the fact that the mightiest species in the universe should probably own at least one nanny-cam.

Almost every alien who interacts with humans makes the dumbest possible decisions. Many humans who feature in one character's narrative never even get a name, and they bumble in the background like mindless NPCs, never making the same discovery the character made. Another example: the investigation into a serious security incident begins and then just... gets forgotten. For no reason. And at one point (though that was rather minor), Synnia's death from book 1 gets a minor retcon. :-/

I think a lot of that could've been fixed with a few very minor tweaks - i.e., "the Carryx think surveillance is dishonourable" etc. Even with those flaws, this sequels stands above and beyond most new releases, but... it's not perfect. That's why I'm giving it 4 out of 5 stars.

(Thanks to NetGalley for providing me a free ARC in exchange for this review.)

[Jenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jumping back into The Faith of Beasts by James S.A. Corey felt incredibly immersive, and I was hooked again almost immediately.

We pick up right where things left off, with the human moiety now established within the Carryx empire, tasked with building a fully self-sustaining society: food, resources, and, of course, people. And that last part is where things get especially grim, because humanity is also expected to contribute bodies to fuel the Carryx’s expansion and their ongoing war against the mysterious deathless enemy. It’s such an unsettling setup, and I continue to love how morally complex and uncomfortable this series is willing to get.

We follow Dafyd again, along with members of his original crew and The Swarm, but for me, the standout POVs were easily Jessyn and Campar. Their missions take us beyond the immediate human enclave and give us a broader look at what’s happening across the galaxy, which was one of my favorite parts of this book. The scope is expanding in a satisfying way, and every new piece of information about the deathless just makes that mystery more compelling. I’m so curious to see where that goes.

Also, if you’ve read the short story Livesuit (book #1.5 - which I definitely recommend, even though it’s not required), there’s a really fun connection here.

That said… The Swarm POV was a bit of a letdown for me this time around. It was actually one of my favorite aspects of book one, but here it felt more frustrating than fascinating. Watching it question its purpose and identity, especially as something that’s been a weapon against the Carryx for so long, just didn’t quite land for me in the same way.

Overall, this is very much a middle book where the plot doesn’t really move all that much. The Faith of Beasts feels like a bridge book, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Time is spent expanding the world, repositioning characters, and setting things up for what’s coming next. It makes me think we might even get a time jump in the final book, just based on how the pieces are being arranged.

I really enjoyed this second installment in The Captive's War. It’s a fast, engaging read, and I love that I genuinely don’t know where this trilogy is going to end up. That alone keeps me hooked.

4.25 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Orbit Books for the eARC. All thoughts are my own.

[Charles Korb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to goodreads for giving me a giveaway copy!

In my review of the first book I said

James SA Corey got a contract for a trilogy and you can tell. This book has a lot more set up and leaves a lot more unresolved than the Expanse books do. I wonder if when the series is done, it will be less of a trilogy and more of a duology with a book length prologue

This book also feels like a lot of set up. Having just reread George RR Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire, it feels like a less ambitious Feast for Crows/Dance with Dragons, with all the pieces moving after the last climax to prepare for the next thing, but it doesn't have the benefit of following Storm of Swords (certainly in at least my personal pantheon of greatest fantasy books of all time).

Also, what should have been the biggest reveal of this book is spoiled in Livesuit. Yes, there is a secondary reveal that adds info that isn't in Livesuit but it is weird to have a scene that is dramatic irony for half the readers and a shocking surprise for the other half

The last book ends with the humans stuck on the carryx planet, learning more about the carryx's enemy (the spy), having some hope maybe they have allies on the planet with them (the spy), and commiting to defeat the carryx. This book ends with the humans stuck on the carryx planet (but occasionally being sent off on missions for the carryx!), learning more about the carryx's enemy (the reveals in this book), having some hope maybe they have allies on the planet with them (deep lothark), and commiting to defeat the carryx (this time with a vague plan).

Ok, I complained a bunch BUT I still had fun reading this book. The Jessyn chapters in particular were my favorite and it still has the JSAC page turning quality where you want to keep reading. Their inventive far future technologies are also super fun to let them play with and the aliens remain creative (Vaudai forever). They also don't hold back from killing people but the deaths feel earned rather than just for shock value.

I have high hopes for the next book given how well they ended the expanse and they've certainly laid the groundwork for a thrilling conclusion.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great installment into the Captive's War trilogy. This book continues the same fantastic world-building that we are used to from James S. A. Corey, and gives us insight into so much more of the nature of the ongoing conflict that we only got a glimpse of from the previous book (and novella). While many questions are answered, others are raised, and the reader is left with an impression that there is a vast history and background to the *other* side of the conflict waiting to be learned. It's truly unbelievable that there's only one more installment that is supposedly going to wrap this story up, as the scale of what the characters are confronting seems like it would require enough material for several more books.

I will say that I'm not quite left with the same breathless anticipation of the story to be continued as I have at the end of a typical James S. A. Corey book. I think it's because we're not really left with much of a hint of how our character's can possibly improve their situation, and although a sliver of hope is there, it isn't fleshed out - certainly not enough to imagine how that might be advanced. And although we see much more of this universe, the overall standing of our characters and the conflict itself seems mostly unchanged. The story spends a lot of time on introspective analysis, particularly from the character of The Swarm, which I personally did not find to be very interesting. Similarly, Dafyd's storyline has morphed into mostly one of palace intrigue with a smattering of philosophy. The most interesting storylines are from the characters who get sent into the field since that's where we see the most world-building, my personal favorite aspect of these author's works.

Overall, this book felt more like it's meant to be a bridge between book 1 and 3, but by itself, it doesn't add too much. I honestly have no idea how all the loose ends are going to be wrapped up with just one more book, and I'm wondering if another trilogy is meant to follow this one. Whatever is in store for us, I know I'll be there reading it.

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!