The Mercy of Gods Review: A Thrilling New Sci-Fi Epic from The Expanse Creators

The Mercy of Gods is the new series by James SA Corey – aka Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck – the geniuses who created The Expanse.

You can tell I am a fan of The Expanse, and you can read my review of the first book here. That review is now 13 years old, which is a bit terrifying.

With The Expanse, James SA Corey pulled off two incredible feats:

1/ They actually managed to finish writing an epic nine part book series, releasing one book a year. (Unlike some epic fantasy writers I could mention.)

2/ It all wrapped up nicely. It is like they planned it out and all the loose ends and story arcs were wrapped up. That is pretty impressive going.

They also helped create a TV show that was awesome as well and got loads of fans reading the books.

So, they have prior when it comes to delivering epic scifi.

The Mercy of Gods is book one of The Captives War, which is apparently going to be a trilogy of full-length books, with two additional novellas. One of the novellas – Livesuit – is already out and is next on my reading list.

So what’s it all about? (No spoilers)

The story starts on Anjiin, a planet where humanity has established itself, oblivious to its origins. You meet a guy called Dafyd Alkhor, a research assistant, who is part of a science team. He and the science team are established as being pretty damn smart. Alkhor and the team are the main protagonists of the tale.

They are well established and likeable, and the planet Anjiin and its politics and life are done well. So when aliens come and start killing and abducting everyone, it is even more of a shock – despite the fact that you know it is going to happen because the blurb on the back says so.

I won’t go into any spoiler territory, but the book then goes interplanetary and gets very cool.

Did James SA Corey do it again with The Mercy of Gods?

Yes they bloody well did. Which was a relief. This is only going to be a trilogy, so some of the pressure was off. If it was going to be a nine-book epic and the first book was rubbish, then that would be awkward.

Happily, as I said, I really enjoyed this. The characters were great and mostly likeable. The aliens – and there are a pleasing amount of them – are very alien, with different motivations and thought processes than you’d expect.

I experienced something similar to the protagonists in that I was constantly try to guess what exactly the aliens wanted. These guesses are guided by the occasional unpleasant surprise with a dash of casual violence. You realise how alien motivations and actions differ from our own, and it is really well done.

Final thoughts – as good as the Expanse?

James SA Corey really set a high bar with the Expanse. When I first read book one, I loved the characters and the world they were in. However, I had no idea then that it was a nine-book series and I wonder if that lack of knowledge might have enhanced my experience. As it was, I was swept along and when it dawned on me how epic it was going to become I was already well invested.

I went into The Mercy of Gods with high expectations and I am pleased to say, they were met. Did I enjoy it as much as Leviathan Wakes (the first Expanse book)? Possibly not, if I am being honest. But I am looking forward to the second book just as much as I did with the second Expanse book.

This is because I have been hooked by the series and can’t wait to see how things develop. It also has the potential to be as good as the Expanse or even better. That is a big claim and a niggle of doubt arose when I wrote that, but there is a chance each book will be better.

I highly recommend it whether you’re a fan of previous James SA Corey books or not. This is good science fiction.

You can check out The Mercy of Gods here and see what others say. Enjoy.