239 books
—
458 voters
Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read.
Start by marking “Cibola Burn (Expanse, #4)” as Want to Read:
Cibola Burn
(The Expanse #4)
by
The fourth novel in James S.A. Corey’s New York Times bestselling Expanse series
The gates have opened the way to thousands of habitable planets, and the land rush has begun. Settlers stream out from humanity's home planets in a vast, poorly controlled flood, landing on a new world. Among them, the Rocinante, haunted by the vast, posthuman network of the protomolecule as th ...more
The gates have opened the way to thousands of habitable planets, and the land rush has begun. Settlers stream out from humanity's home planets in a vast, poorly controlled flood, landing on a new world. Among them, the Rocinante, haunted by the vast, posthuman network of the protomolecule as th ...more
Get A Copy
Kindle Edition, 593 pages
Published
June 17th 2014
by Orbit
Featured Notes & Highlights
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Reader Q&A
To ask other readers questions about
Cibola Burn,
please sign up.
Popular Answered Questions
James Corey
Amazon is in a fight with our publisher Hachette.
Community Reviews
Showing 1-30

Start your review of Cibola Burn (Expanse, #4)

Oct 26, 2013
Neil Hepworth
rated it
it was ok
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
authors-my-students-interviewed
This book was the clunker to end all clunkers. The dud to end all duds. The turd in your soup, if you will. In other words, it was a bad book.
First of all, the book can’t figure out it’s own plot. Twenty pages in and the book thinks it’s going to be about immigration, evil corporations and land rights. Oh, but then it’s not. Halfway in and the book thinks it’s going to be about natural disasters. But then it’s about killer slugs and orbital decay?...neither of which was interesting. At the end, ...more
First of all, the book can’t figure out it’s own plot. Twenty pages in and the book thinks it’s going to be about immigration, evil corporations and land rights. Oh, but then it’s not. Halfway in and the book thinks it’s going to be about natural disasters. But then it’s about killer slugs and orbital decay?...neither of which was interesting. At the end, ...more

Cibola Burn brings The Expanse back to its good form.
Cibola Burn, the fourth volume in The Expanse series, has often been said as the weakest book of the series. And after the previous books—Abaddon’s Gate and the novellas/short stories of the series which I’ve read so far— which left me disappointed, I was seriously scared this one would be even worse. As it turns out, I ended up enjoying it.
Not only there’s no c ...more
Cibola Burn, the fourth volume in The Expanse series, has often been said as the weakest book of the series. And after the previous books—Abaddon’s Gate and the novellas/short stories of the series which I’ve read so far— which left me disappointed, I was seriously scared this one would be even worse. As it turns out, I ended up enjoying it.
“Right,” Holden said. “No coffee. This is a terrible, terrible planet.”
Not only there’s no c ...more

Sep 14, 2018
Mario the lone bookwolf
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
corey-james-s-a
So what to do with all those other worlds?
A popular theme in Sci-Fi and something that has been described in two ways over the years in this forever evolving genre. Just as a plot vehicle, not in detail and just for the fun of it or in too much detail for the average reader (not you, of course, you are wonderful), the prime examples are Ben Bova's Grand Tour series and Kim Stanley Robinsons Mars trilogy, both so extreme that they are just something for the true hardcore fan. The Expanse has a pe ...more
A popular theme in Sci-Fi and something that has been described in two ways over the years in this forever evolving genre. Just as a plot vehicle, not in detail and just for the fun of it or in too much detail for the average reader (not you, of course, you are wonderful), the prime examples are Ben Bova's Grand Tour series and Kim Stanley Robinsons Mars trilogy, both so extreme that they are just something for the true hardcore fan. The Expanse has a pe ...more

In The Expanse humanity has spread out among our solar system, and there have been decades of political tension and hostility among the people of Earth, Mars, and the Belters of the Outer Planetary Alliance. The events of the previous books have resulted in the unlocking of a system of wormhole gates that puts literally a thousand habitable new worlds and all their natural resources within reach.
All the people put their differences aside to begin a new golden age of peace and prosperity as they ...more
All the people put their differences aside to begin a new golden age of peace and prosperity as they ...more

After taking almost three hundred pages to find its stride, Cibola Burn launches its readers into a tense, high-stakes adventure that lasts to the final page.

I loved it!

Mel 🖤🐶🐺🐾 ...more

Mel 🖤🐶🐺🐾 ...more

Cibola Burn (Expanse, #4), James S.A. Corey
Cibola Burn is a 2014 science fiction novel by James S. A. Corey (pen name of Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck) and the fourth book in The Expanse series.
After the events of Abaddon's Gate, humanity has gained access to thousands of new worlds and solar systems through the gate networks. At the start of Cibola Burn the United Nations, Martian, and Outer Planets Alliance governments have thus far restricted exploration and colonization efforts to one corpora ...more
Cibola Burn is a 2014 science fiction novel by James S. A. Corey (pen name of Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck) and the fourth book in The Expanse series.
After the events of Abaddon's Gate, humanity has gained access to thousands of new worlds and solar systems through the gate networks. At the start of Cibola Burn the United Nations, Martian, and Outer Planets Alliance governments have thus far restricted exploration and colonization efforts to one corpora ...more

The fourth Expanse novel is a bit of a sea change – though a perfectly logical progression from the game-changing events of Abaddon’s Gate. This time the crew of the Rocinante is tasked with mediating a potentially disastrous dispute between corporate interests and belter squatters on the first habitable world discovered on the other side of the ring.
Thrilling action, nail-biting suspense and complex characters are, by now, par for the course in what has become the most consistently and spectac ...more
Thrilling action, nail-biting suspense and complex characters are, by now, par for the course in what has become the most consistently and spectac ...more

I finished it, due in large part because of my love for the Expanse series overall, as I devoured Leviathan Wakes thru Abaddon's Gate in short order. Cibola Burn, however, fell short of my expectations for many reasons, most of which have already been detailed in previous reviews.
First, the new characters. Basia's story arc was probably the most interesting of the newcomers yet, even still, I found myself becoming bored with his predictability. Havelock, for the most part, I found myself wanting ...more
First, the new characters. Basia's story arc was probably the most interesting of the newcomers yet, even still, I found myself becoming bored with his predictability. Havelock, for the most part, I found myself wanting ...more

*** 4.25 ***
"... “It was astounding, Bobbie thought, how quickly humanity could go from What unimaginable intelligence fashioned these soul-wrenching wonders? to Well, since they’re not here, can I have their stuff?” ..."
The authors of "The Expanse" series came through again! With a flair for storytelling and a well build set-up to a series starting from book one, "Cibola Burn" comes to us with a set of givens and expectations. The givens are the great world-building, characters we already k ...more
"... “It was astounding, Bobbie thought, how quickly humanity could go from What unimaginable intelligence fashioned these soul-wrenching wonders? to Well, since they’re not here, can I have their stuff?” ..."
The authors of "The Expanse" series came through again! With a flair for storytelling and a well build set-up to a series starting from book one, "Cibola Burn" comes to us with a set of givens and expectations. The givens are the great world-building, characters we already k ...more

This series as a whole is so poorly-named, that it borders on false advertising. For an ongoing story collectively called The Expanse, each successive book has become smaller, and smaller in scope. Leviathan Wakes had a solar system-wide war, with entire planetary bodies being irrevocably altered in the conflict. Caliban's War had virtually the same plot, but with some different characters, and felt lesser by its very derivative nature. Abaddon's Gate centered on an enclosed area of space, with
...more

Re-Read 9/25/18:
This second read went down SMOOTH. :) Sure, we're out of the Solar System and Holden is attempting to play peacemaker rather than the lone voice of truth, but what he's got on his shoulders is the one-eye'd king in the land of the blind syndrome... AND massive conflict. Not whole Powers breathing down his neck this time, but things get really hairy out on the frontier where law and order is played fast and loose.
Yep. It's a cowboy novel featuring slugs that blind you, a planet li ...more
This second read went down SMOOTH. :) Sure, we're out of the Solar System and Holden is attempting to play peacemaker rather than the lone voice of truth, but what he's got on his shoulders is the one-eye'd king in the land of the blind syndrome... AND massive conflict. Not whole Powers breathing down his neck this time, but things get really hairy out on the frontier where law and order is played fast and loose.
Yep. It's a cowboy novel featuring slugs that blind you, a planet li ...more

4.5 of 5 stars at The BiblioSanctum http://bibliosanctum.com/2014/06/25/b...
The Expanse is probably my science fiction series right now, and I think Cibola Burn is the best installment yet.
Why, you ask? Well, unlike the previous books, which I felt started off slow but gradually built up to bigger and better action, Cibola Burn breaks this pattern and kicks things off right away with an explosive conflict you can’t ignore. The mysterious proto-molecule that somehow created a massive ring structu ...more
The Expanse is probably my science fiction series right now, and I think Cibola Burn is the best installment yet.
Why, you ask? Well, unlike the previous books, which I felt started off slow but gradually built up to bigger and better action, Cibola Burn breaks this pattern and kicks things off right away with an explosive conflict you can’t ignore. The mysterious proto-molecule that somehow created a massive ring structu ...more

Nov 22, 2016
Rachel (TheShadesofOrange)
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
science-fiction
4.5 Stars
While not quite as strong as the first three books, I still really enjoyed this fourth novel. At this point, I just love spending time with recurring characters.
I was particularly intrigued by the political uncertainty outlined in the beginning of the novel. I really enjoy reading about the tension between the various interplanetary groups.
I found the new female a bit irritating because I find it frustrating to watch an educated women lose her head over a man. Thankfully that subplot ...more
While not quite as strong as the first three books, I still really enjoyed this fourth novel. At this point, I just love spending time with recurring characters.
I was particularly intrigued by the political uncertainty outlined in the beginning of the novel. I really enjoy reading about the tension between the various interplanetary groups.
I found the new female a bit irritating because I find it frustrating to watch an educated women lose her head over a man. Thankfully that subplot ...more

A lot better than the last one, still some bits where I lost interest.
The regular cast is great. Alex and Naomi got bigger parts. Miller is back from the word salad either.
Although these guys don't have any problem with killing characters, I ...more
The regular cast is great. Alex and Naomi got bigger parts. Miller is back from the word salad either.
"You’re like Peter Pan, she says. When a child died, Peter Pan would fall halfway with them. So they wouldn’t be scared.
Weird. And that’s a kid’s story? Anyway, it’s not me, the investigator says (Miller), smiles at her. Holds her hand. I don’t go for half."
Although these guys don't have any problem with killing characters, I ...more

It's utterly fitting that this fourth volume in the The Expanse series is about the exploration of an entirely new planet in another solar system since it is also the first book where I don't know what will happen because the TV show has not caught up to the book series yet.
After the protomolecule has built the Ring and humans have gone through, finding the station connecting us to all kinds of planetary systems, humans want to leave Sol and live some place else. The problem? Well, it's mostly ...more
After the protomolecule has built the Ring and humans have gone through, finding the station connecting us to all kinds of planetary systems, humans want to leave Sol and live some place else. The problem? Well, it's mostly ...more

Just when I thought I was getting tired of the Expanse ... Cibola Burn takes humanity through the mysterious gates built by the protomolecule, to a thousand habitable worlds. The new worlds promise a rebirth for humanity. No more population controls, no more crowded, polluted planets, no more scraping a subsistence living in an air pocket on a planetoid. A thousand Edens await; however, as Detective Miller reminds us, you gotta watch the doors and corners.
Just because humanity made it to a new E ...more
Just because humanity made it to a new E ...more

If I think of this as a stand alone sci-fi book it would probably get a 5 star rating. But this is part of The Expanse series and so far it is the weakest of them all. That should tell you how much I love this series.
Ciobola Burn is slower than the previous volumes and, just like them, it introduces a some new POVs next to the ones of the Roccinante crew. The problem here is that the new POVs all fail to some extent. Basia, Elvi and Havelock are interesting characters but they don't come out goo ...more
Ciobola Burn is slower than the previous volumes and, just like them, it introduces a some new POVs next to the ones of the Roccinante crew. The problem here is that the new POVs all fail to some extent. Basia, Elvi and Havelock are interesting characters but they don't come out goo ...more

Executive Summary: This one felt very different from the rest of the series to me. Whether or not that is a good thing will largely depend on the reader I suspect.
Audio book: Erik Davies is OK. Originally I was pretty indifferent about the narrator change for this book. I was never particularly attached to Jefferson Mays. I had sort of of hoped that as this was the first book released in hardcover maybe the change was due to them getting a better reader.
Turns out that wasn't the case. For the m ...more
Audio book: Erik Davies is OK. Originally I was pretty indifferent about the narrator change for this book. I was never particularly attached to Jefferson Mays. I had sort of of hoped that as this was the first book released in hardcover maybe the change was due to them getting a better reader.
Turns out that wasn't the case. For the m ...more

May 25, 2014
Niki Hawkes - The Obsessive Bookseller
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
my-library-catalogue
I love this series – the plot, the characters, the humor, the world building… all of it. I was excited for this one in particular because when I first started The Expanse a couple of years ago I thought it was only going to be a trilogy. Cibola Burn (and Nemesis Games) felt like bonus books. I’m super thrilled the story is not over!!!
As always, this Expanse book had an excellent mix of familiar and new POV characters – an element that has always kept these novels fresh and exciting for me. Of al ...more
As always, this Expanse book had an excellent mix of familiar and new POV characters – an element that has always kept these novels fresh and exciting for me. Of al ...more

A departure in their method of storytelling. It's nice to see that the authors aren't one trick ponies. In some ways this might be the strongest entry in the expanse yet. In other ways, it isn't quite as strong. I have a hard time placing my finger on why exactly, but it's not my favorite. I suspect that it will be a favorite for many though. It's wickedly fun, and a solid entry in a terrific series. Now the waiting for 'Nemesis Games' begins.
...more

“Space is too damn big”.
And yet somehow, it’s not big enough for a bunch of Belter colonists and an Earth-corp to leave each other alone…
This is the instalment of “The Expanse” that goes from space opera to spaghetti Western, with all the classic tropes: a desolate place where people try to make a decent living, a trigger-happy psychopath, a hostile environment, sabotage, explosions… In other words, tons of fun!
Spoilers from this point on if you haven’t read the three first books of the series.
W ...more
And yet somehow, it’s not big enough for a bunch of Belter colonists and an Earth-corp to leave each other alone…
This is the instalment of “The Expanse” that goes from space opera to spaghetti Western, with all the classic tropes: a desolate place where people try to make a decent living, a trigger-happy psychopath, a hostile environment, sabotage, explosions… In other words, tons of fun!
Spoilers from this point on if you haven’t read the three first books of the series.
W ...more

Nov 02, 2014
Algernon (Darth Anyan)
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
2014
[9/10]
The fourth book in the Expanse Universe continues the tradition of reinventing the series with each new installment. If the first one was a mix of hard-boiled detective investigation and zombie apocalypse in space, the second was mostly about open warfare between the main three factions in the future Solar System (The Earth, Mars and the Outer Planets alliance), the third a homage to Arthur C Clarke Rama novels, the best way I can find to characterize the latest is "cowboys and aliens", wi ...more
The fourth book in the Expanse Universe continues the tradition of reinventing the series with each new installment. If the first one was a mix of hard-boiled detective investigation and zombie apocalypse in space, the second was mostly about open warfare between the main three factions in the future Solar System (The Earth, Mars and the Outer Planets alliance), the third a homage to Arthur C Clarke Rama novels, the best way I can find to characterize the latest is "cowboys and aliens", wi ...more

I am a big fan of this series. Both the book and the show. Having watched the show I now realize that season 4 combines this book and the next. This book tells the part about what happened on the planet.
The gates are open. Mankind has access to thousands of new worlds. One has been settled by some rogue belters, but a UN force is en route to "officially" settle and study the planet. The Belters commit a terrorist act and blow up the shuttle. The ERC, the corporation that's charged with settling ...more
The gates are open. Mankind has access to thousands of new worlds. One has been settled by some rogue belters, but a UN force is en route to "officially" settle and study the planet. The Belters commit a terrorist act and blow up the shuttle. The ERC, the corporation that's charged with settling ...more

Mar 14, 2018
Veronica
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
science-fiction,
buddy-read
A new book in this exciting space opera means a new crisis for Holden and his crew to face. The gates to hundreds of new worlds have been flung open and mankind – not having actually earned this discovery through any effort of its own – is eager to charge through the door, taking all of its ingrained prejudices with it.
"A vast new frontier has opened up for us. We have the chance to create a new society, with untold riches beyond every gate. But this world has treasure, so instead of figuring o ...more
"A vast new frontier has opened up for us. We have the chance to create a new society, with untold riches beyond every gate. But this world has treasure, so instead of figuring o ...more

Made it a little past 25%. I hate all of the POV characters. The plot has no depth or nuance. Everything escalates to violence at the drop of a hat, making the story boring and predictable. I hope the TV series improve on the book because there's so much potential.
UPDATE:
Turns out that I lemmed the book right before it got good and interesting. I stick by some of my previous assertions (escalating to violence quickly, POV characters aren't great) but the story did find some urgency and complexit ...more
UPDATE:
Turns out that I lemmed the book right before it got good and interesting. I stick by some of my previous assertions (escalating to violence quickly, POV characters aren't great) but the story did find some urgency and complexit ...more

I found the challenges of the planet, the scientists rushing around to save things, Holden's interactions with the protomolecule, the idea of a new frontier, etc all absolutely fascinating and lots of fun. But I didn't like the moustache-twirling evil villain (I found him unbelievable) or the lack of female viewpoints in this. (Elvi is a great character but also problematic.) Man oh man, though, I am looking forward to the next one!
...more

4.5 - 4th book in series
“Captain,” Amos said with mock surprise. “Have you actually learned from your past? Is this a new thing you do now?”
It is becoming a monthly treat to come back to the Expanse to have my next fix. As per the other novels, the narration is shared by Holden on one side, the constant, and a new set of characters on the other. I love it that certain secondary protagonists do keep appearing since this reinforces the world-building. I also really appreciated how Corey doesn't j ...more
“Captain,” Amos said with mock surprise. “Have you actually learned from your past? Is this a new thing you do now?”
It is becoming a monthly treat to come back to the Expanse to have my next fix. As per the other novels, the narration is shared by Holden on one side, the constant, and a new set of characters on the other. I love it that certain secondary protagonists do keep appearing since this reinforces the world-building. I also really appreciated how Corey doesn't j ...more
topics | posts | views | last activity | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Fantasy Buddy Reads: Cibola Burn [October 8, 2019] | 10 | 23 | Nov 07, 2019 02:23AM | |
Fantasy Buddy Reads: Cibola Burn [February 2018] | 62 | 83 | Sep 28, 2018 08:42AM | |
Beyond Reality: The Expanse--Cibola Burn: finished reading (spoilers!) | 27 | 46 | Dec 26, 2017 02:00PM | |
Beyond Reality: The Expanse--Cibola Burn: Roll call & first impressions | 10 | 17 | Nov 17, 2017 04:56AM | |
Goodreads Librari...: Please add page count | 4 | 18 | Nov 08, 2017 03:00PM |
Other books in the series
The Expanse
(9 books)
Articles featuring this book
You probably know coauthors Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck as James S.A. Corey—their shared pen name. And you probably know them from their wildly...
151 likes · 17 comments
11 trivia questions
More quizzes & trivia...
“Right,” Holden said. “No coffee. This is a terrible, terrible planet.”
—
66 likes
“Once is never. Twice is always.”
—
34 likes
More quotes…