Nemesis Games

First edition
Author	James S. A. Corey
Cover artist	Daniel Dociu
Country	United States
Language	English
Series	The Expanse
Genre	Science fiction
Published	June 2, 2015
Publisher	Orbit Books
Media type	Print Audiobook E-book[citation needed]
Pages	536
Preceded by	Cibola Burn
Followed by	Babylon's Ashes[1]

Nemesis Games is a 2015 science fiction novel by James S. A. Corey, the pen name of Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck, and the fifth book in their The Expanse series. It is the sequel to Cibola Burn. The cover art is by Daniel Dociu.^[2] Nemesis Games received has positive reviews. The novel has been referred to as "Corey’s 'Empire Strikes Back'".^[3]

Plot

The Rocinante is down for long-term maintenance after the events of Cibola Burn. Three crew members decide to take care of some personal business during the down time. Amos Burton heads to Earth when he learns someone important from his past there has died, both to pay his formal respects, and to make sure no foul play was involved. Alex Kamal heads to Mars in the hopes of getting closure with his ex-wife and to see Bobbie while there. Naomi Nagata heads to Ceres station, when she receives a message that her son Filip is in trouble. While Jim Holden supervises repairs to the Rocinante, he is enlisted by Monica Stuart to investigate disappearing colony ships.

Facing collapse by the exodus of colony ships through the rings, militant factions of the OPA coalesce into a Free Navy and simultaneously wreak havoc on Earth by dropping asteroids onto the surface, and subsequently attempting to kill the Martian Prime Minister and Fred Johnson. Amos survives the attacks on Earth, frees Clarissa Mao and escapes to Luna with her help and the help of Baltimore organized crime acquaintances from his old life. Alex meets Bobbie on Mars and they investigate missing Martian military equipment and ships, which leads them into the middle of the assassination attempt on the Prime Minister. Naomi is kidnapped by her ex-lover Marco, leader of the Free Navy, but manages to escape; Alex and Bobbie rescue her.

The crew reunites on the Rocinante. What's left of the Earth, Mars and the non-militant OPA government meet on Luna. Naomi finally tells Jim about her violent past. Amos asks that Clarissa stay as his apprentice. The Free Navy has encamped past the belt and is preventing anyone from going through the rings. It is revealed that the Free Navy was sold most of its equipment by a rogue faction of the Martian Navy led by Admiral Winston Duarte and that the disappearing colony ships are being consumed by a force within the gates.

Characters

• James Holden, Captain of the Rocinante and increasingly competent and trusted negotiator and troubleshooter of the solar system, has been leading his crew on hunting various pirates throughout the system and working for the OPA when the crew decides to for the first time in the series split up to handle various business in life.
• Naomi Nagata, the XO and engineer of the Rocinante, who discovers that her son wants her to join for a project which turns out to be the free navy's attack on the inner planets. Her former husband Marcos Inaros is revealed throughout the novel to be manipulative and cruel to her before she fled the crew
• Alex Kamal, the current pilot of the Rocinante and former Martian navy pilot. After deciding to head back to Mars to pay his ex-wife and family a visit, he ends up meeting Bobbie and being entangled in the Free Navy attacks on the inner planets.
• Amos Burton, mechanic on the Rocinante. After heading down to Earth to Baltimore, his hometown, and seeing old friends decides to visit Clarissa Mao in prison.
• Bobbie Draper, a former Martian Marine now working in Martian Veteran's Assistance. After Avasarala asks her to look into certain disappearances ends up being attacked and subsequently drawn into the conflict in the solar system.
• Clarissa Mao, a daughter of Jules-Pierre Mao, magnate of Mao-Kwikowski Mercantile from Luna; After she is arrested following the event's of Abaddon's Gate is currently living out her life in a maximum security prison on Earth
• Filip Inaros, son of the Free Navy's leader and Naomi Nagata, who is working under his father as part of the Free Navy. He above all believes that what he is doing is right.
• Chrisjen Avasarala, Undersecretary to the UN and despite never having a single vote cast for her, controls more power on Earth than almost everyone else realizes. Partway through the events of the book, she becomes acting general secretary of the UN: The highest ranking political position on Earth.
• Fred Johnson, long-time recognized leader of the Outer Planets Alliance who has been hiring the Rocinante for various jobs before the events of the novel. Throughout the novel he is attempting to rally other Belter's to help stop the Free Navy.
• Marco Inaros, leader of the Free Navy and father to Filip, has been given a large amount of Maritan warships by defecting elements of the MCRN and now wishes to rise up against the tyrannical inner planets. He designs and leads the initial strikes against the inner planets and announces that the Free Navy now controls the solar system.

Reception

Nemesis Games has received positive reviews. Andrew Liptak of Gizmodo referred to Nemesis Games as "Corey’s 'Empire Strikes Back'".^[3] In speaking with Cher Martinetti of Blastr.com, Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck, together the authors behind the pen name James S.A. Corey, commented that they believed that Liptak had captured the fact that "the book was really emotionally engaging and also totally a set-up for what comes next" [Abraham], and that they were satisfied to have written "[a] middle chapter that actually matters to people" [Franck].^[1]

Publication history

• Corey, James S. A. (June 2015). Nemesis Games. The Expanse (hardcover ed.). London, England: Orbit Books (Hachette-Lagardère). p. 536. ISBN 9780316217583.