The Expanse

My Diablo3 shenanigans are almost over; the Season 1 Crusader hit the level cap on Friday after several short session through the week.  I could continue to pimp him out, but don't really see the point.  The fun part of D3 for me is the progression through the levels and trying some wacky skill builds.  Grinding out equipment that's marginally better, so that I can grind equipment more efficiently, so that I can get equipment that's marginally better, so that I can grind equipment more efficiently ... is a cycle I've never found compelling.  I'll probably sit tight in Sanctuary until Season 2 starts and then pick another class.

EVE is still backburner but is about to pick up again.  I'd intended to get in this weekend and monkey about, but had family stuff yesterday and today has thus far been consumed by errands and chores.

Tangential Rant:  For the record, if you happen to change your own motor oil ... check the anti-tamper seal on your jug of oil before you leave the damn store.  I went out early this morning, got the oil and filter at the mega-mart 20 miles down the road.  After lunch I got my car up on the ramps, drained the crankcase, and went to wet the seal of the new oil filter only to find that the anti-tamper lid on my rather expensive full synthetic was broken and the contents in the jug were thus unknown.  I refused to risk an engine over a $30 jug of oil (someone could have refilled it with Canola and returned it for all I know), so I went inside, cleaned up, grabbed our other vehicle and drove to town angry.  Ten seconds in the store aisle could have saved me an hour of hassle.  Check the seal.


Anyway, here's the reason for the title of the post.  During the colder months, I tend to chew through a few novels.  I'm a sucker for Jim Butcher's Dresden Files, in particular.

Last week I finished up the 4th book of The Expanse series, Cibola Burn.  After a strong start in the first novel, I wasn't too sure about where this series was going.  But the last book sold me, so I'll recommend the series to any other sci-fi bookworms out there.

I'm about to go back and reread Book 1 - Leviathan Wakes.

I'll paste the synopsis from Wikipedia:

Humanity has colonized the solar system – Mars, the Moon, the Asteroid Belt and beyond – but the stars are still out of our reach. 

Jim Holden is XO of an ice miner making runs from the rings of Saturn to the mining stations of the Belt. When he and his crew stumble upon a derelict ship, the Scopuli, they find themselves in possession of a secret they never wanted. A secret that someone is willing to kill for – and kill on a scale unfathomable to Jim and his crew. War is brewing in the system unless he can find out who left the ship and why. 

Detective Miller is looking for a girl. One girl in a system of billions, but her parents have money and money talks. When the trail leads him to the Scopuli and rebel sympathizer Holden, he realizes that this girl may be the key to everything. 

Holden and Miller must thread the needle between the Earth government, the Outer Planet revolutionaries, and secretive corporations – and the odds are against them. But out in the Belt, the rules are different, and one small ship can change the fate of the universe.

The first book is part mystery novel, part science fiction, part political thriller.

I also read this week that the first novel is going to become the basis for a SyFy series called The Expanse, due sometime in 2015. I'm skeptical, but I'm hoping that the Sharknado loving idiots at SyFy don't screw it up.