What do you think?
Rate this book
The Expanse #2.5
Gods of Risk
As tension between Mars and Earth mounts, and terrorism plagues the Martian city of Londres Nova, sixteen-year-old David Draper is fighting his own lonely war. A gifted chemist vying for a place at the university, David leads a secret life as a manufacturer for a ruthless drug dealer. When his friend Leelee goes missing, leaving signs of the dealer's involvement, David takes it upon himself to save her. But first he must shake his aunt Bobbie Draper, an ex-marine who has been set adrift in her own life after a mysterious series of events nobody is talking about. Set in the hard-scrabble solar system of Leviathan Wakes and Caliban's War, "Gods of Risk" deepens James S. A. Corey's acclaimed Expanse series.
72 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2012
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,266 reviews
May 9, 2020
Mini-review
Boring, pointless, and immature.
Gods of Risk is a short story that takes place after the second book of the main series: Caliban’s War. I honestly don’t know what’s the purpose of this novella unless you want to read a perspective of a teenager with rampaging hormone doing everything he can—while being obnoxious, frustrating, and ignorant of everything—to save his sweetLeeLeeLeeLee crush so he can relive a moment of erection from smelling her hair or breath. This is the exact example of a YA character that I immensely disliked reading. Gods of Risk isn’t like The Butcher of Anderson Station; this novella is boring, and it doesn’t deepen my love for the series whatsoever. Yes, Bobbie—one of the main POV characters introduced in Caliban’s War—do appear here, but her role here has been reduced to a muscle-gaining maniac. No idea what else to say, I didn’t enjoy reading this one at all, and I wish I hadn’t read it.
You can find the rest of my reviews at Novel Notions
Special thanks to my Patrons on Patreon for giving me extra support towards my passion for reading and reviewing!
My Patrons: Alfred, Devin, Hamad, Joie, Mike, Miracle, Nicholas.
Boring, pointless, and immature.
Gods of Risk is a short story that takes place after the second book of the main series: Caliban’s War. I honestly don’t know what’s the purpose of this novella unless you want to read a perspective of a teenager with rampaging hormone doing everything he can—while being obnoxious, frustrating, and ignorant of everything—to save his sweetLeeLeeLeeLee crush so he can relive a moment of erection from smelling her hair or breath. This is the exact example of a YA character that I immensely disliked reading. Gods of Risk isn’t like The Butcher of Anderson Station; this novella is boring, and it doesn’t deepen my love for the series whatsoever. Yes, Bobbie—one of the main POV characters introduced in Caliban’s War—do appear here, but her role here has been reduced to a muscle-gaining maniac. No idea what else to say, I didn’t enjoy reading this one at all, and I wish I hadn’t read it.
You can find the rest of my reviews at Novel Notions
Special thanks to my Patrons on Patreon for giving me extra support towards my passion for reading and reviewing!
My Patrons: Alfred, Devin, Hamad, Joie, Mike, Miracle, Nicholas.
December 5, 2022
*** 3 ***
This is a short story set in the colonized parts of Mars, and is told from the POV of Bobby 's teenage nephew. He is everything every teenager is, most prevalently ruled by hormones and obsession with a girl who has shown some interest in him and has a lot of issues. He is smart, very good student, but naive and wants to be a grownup already, acting like a brat with his family and risking his life for the promise of some nookie... This story had very little to do with the overall arc of the series, giving us a glimpse of the difficulty Bobby has readjusting to regular life and dealing with constantly being treated like a traitor, since she happened to had worked with Earth in her attempts to save Mars from monsters... It's a long story, so read book 2 before this one if you want some clarity 😀😀😀.
The writing of this series is worth checking it out!
This is a short story set in the colonized parts of Mars, and is told from the POV of Bobby 's teenage nephew. He is everything every teenager is, most prevalently ruled by hormones and obsession with a girl who has shown some interest in him and has a lot of issues. He is smart, very good student, but naive and wants to be a grownup already, acting like a brat with his family and risking his life for the promise of some nookie... This story had very little to do with the overall arc of the series, giving us a glimpse of the difficulty Bobby has readjusting to regular life and dealing with constantly being treated like a traitor, since she happened to had worked with Earth in her attempts to save Mars from monsters... It's a long story, so read book 2 before this one if you want some clarity 😀😀😀.
The writing of this series is worth checking it out!
December 4, 2017
It's like a really good after school special.
November 7, 2021
I'm not sure whether this story adds anything to the main series.
Sure, we see a bit of life on Mars, as we follow David Draper, Bobbie's nephew, getting his ass into trouble. He's a talented teenager, that is earning some extra money working as the chemist for a drug dealer. He's also having a crush on one of the drug dealer's girls and gets it in his head to save her from ... everything. That's a great idea, of course, and to my immense surprise did not go over particularly well with the bad guy.
This reads very young adult, was a little too predictable and suffers from a lack of strong characters. I mean, Bobbie is in this story too, but even she was kinda weak.
On the plus side, it's decently written and the ending did offer the surprise the story was lacking otherwise. And not only that, I also found it very cool. The ending, I mean. The rest was somewhat boring.
Sure, we see a bit of life on Mars, as we follow David Draper, Bobbie's nephew, getting his ass into trouble. He's a talented teenager, that is earning some extra money working as the chemist for a drug dealer. He's also having a crush on one of the drug dealer's girls and gets it in his head to save her from ... everything. That's a great idea, of course, and to my immense surprise did not go over particularly well with the bad guy.
This reads very young adult, was a little too predictable and suffers from a lack of strong characters. I mean, Bobbie is in this story too, but even she was kinda weak.
On the plus side, it's decently written and the ending did offer the surprise the story was lacking otherwise. And not only that, I also found it very cool. The ending, I mean. The rest was somewhat boring.
January 10, 2018
3.5*'s
Of all the novellas in this series this one took me the longest to get into. All of the characters were detached and thus it was hard to really connect with them. Even Bobby who I really liked in the last book. At the end it picked up and was a decent read in a great series.
Of all the novellas in this series this one took me the longest to get into. All of the characters were detached and thus it was hard to really connect with them. Even Bobby who I really liked in the last book. At the end it picked up and was a decent read in a great series.
July 6, 2018
This fourth novella is a bit different as it's not an "origin story", which means it's not showing events from the past.
Instead, it takes place immediately after book 2. We follow Bobbie (freshly out of the Martian Marines) home to Londres Nova, where she is staying with one of her brothers and his family for now. Thus, we also meet her nephew David, who is a cook - and not in the culinary way. While the situation on Mars gets more and more critical thanks to terrorists blowing structures and people up, David and the girl he's in love with get into trouble and David has to come up with a way to get them out of it (chemistry-style ... think Breaking Bad on another planet *lol*).
Thus, we now also get a glimpse at what living on Mars is like - through the different viewpoints of people of different age groups (Bobbie, her older brother, the 16-year-old nephew, some other Draper family members). We see how people think and feel about the on-going conflict, but also the general culture that has developed on Mars, and the private life of a single family.
Once again, the story was written very well, the authors' writing style simply is superb. There was suspense and even full-on action and enough development to the charcters, but I enjoyed David's idea (science for the win) and the family ties (blood is thicker than water) most of all. More than even that, however, it's another piece in a mosaic breathing yet more life into the Expanse universe and giving the people populating the Solar system faces, making it all more real.
Instead, it takes place immediately after book 2. We follow Bobbie (freshly out of the Martian Marines) home to Londres Nova, where she is staying with one of her brothers and his family for now. Thus, we also meet her nephew David, who is a cook - and not in the culinary way. While the situation on Mars gets more and more critical thanks to terrorists blowing structures and people up, David and the girl he's in love with get into trouble and David has to come up with a way to get them out of it (chemistry-style ... think Breaking Bad on another planet *lol*).
Thus, we now also get a glimpse at what living on Mars is like - through the different viewpoints of people of different age groups (Bobbie, her older brother, the 16-year-old nephew, some other Draper family members). We see how people think and feel about the on-going conflict, but also the general culture that has developed on Mars, and the private life of a single family.
Once again, the story was written very well, the authors' writing style simply is superb. There was suspense and even full-on action and enough development to the charcters, but I enjoyed David's idea (science for the win) and the family ties (blood is thicker than water) most of all. More than even that, however, it's another piece in a mosaic breathing yet more life into the Expanse universe and giving the people populating the Solar system faces, making it all more real.
December 12, 2019
David Draper is a hard working chemistry student who has started a sideline cooking up narcotics for a shady dealer. Since this is happening in the future on Mars I guess we can finally declare defeat in the War on Drugs, right?
It’s weird that I only realized while reading this that while Mars has been a big part of The Expanse series with a couple of major characters being born on the red planet, that we actually haven’t spent much time there in the books. The most interesting aspect of David’s story is how it gives us a taste of a society in which the long term goal is terraforming the planet, and everyone has a very defined role to play. David isn’t a bad guy, and we realize that what he’s doing is one of the only ways he can rebel within a rigid structure where he has precious few moments of free time. With his Aunt Bobbi back on Mars and living in his house after leaving the Marines, he is growing increasingly frustrated at the life that’s been laid out for him.
This gives us a big of background on what Bobbi dealt with after the second book, and while the David story isn’t anything fantastic it’s an interesting deeper look at a part of The Expanse story that we don’t see much of elsewhere.
It’s weird that I only realized while reading this that while Mars has been a big part of The Expanse series with a couple of major characters being born on the red planet, that we actually haven’t spent much time there in the books. The most interesting aspect of David’s story is how it gives us a taste of a society in which the long term goal is terraforming the planet, and everyone has a very defined role to play. David isn’t a bad guy, and we realize that what he’s doing is one of the only ways he can rebel within a rigid structure where he has precious few moments of free time. With his Aunt Bobbi back on Mars and living in his house after leaving the Marines, he is growing increasingly frustrated at the life that’s been laid out for him.
This gives us a big of background on what Bobbi dealt with after the second book, and while the David story isn’t anything fantastic it’s an interesting deeper look at a part of The Expanse story that we don’t see much of elsewhere.
January 15, 2015
"You're a tough guy, but I'm a nightmare wrapped in the apocalypse."
I've slowly but surely been making my way through this series, and I'm loving it. These little side stories do add a little something to the main series, and in this case, that something was a deeper liking of Roberta Draper. I liked her in Caliban's War well enough, but not as much as I wanted to. But now I've had some distance from Caliban's War, and in my mind, she's taken on kind of a mythical badassery, and that, combined with the line I quoted above, kind of makes for a whole lot of YESSSSS! in my book. She's awesome, and I wish she had more than a tiny little role in this story. But, at least there are more main stories for me to get to, which will hopefully continue to contain her, because I LIKE her.
The rest of the story was... not bad, but it wasn't amazing either. David Draper is Bobbie's nephew, and she's staying with him and his parents for a while until she decides what she wants to do with the rest of her life now that she's kind of fucked her career. David is in school full time, and cooking drugs for a dealer on the side... Not because he needs to, necessarily, but because he's good at it and the money is a bonus - and I think because he likes the tiny rebellion of it.
When his friend LeeLee gets into trouble (because of course, on par with both LW & CW, there's got to be a damsel in distress to carry the plot - this is really one of my only gripes about this series), he does whatever he can to try to help her resulting in things not going quite as planned, because David is very book-smart, but he is anything but street-savvy.
Anyway, this was a good little story for the filler/bridge between books 2 and 3, and I'm looking forward to getting into Abaddon's Gate soon!
I've slowly but surely been making my way through this series, and I'm loving it. These little side stories do add a little something to the main series, and in this case, that something was a deeper liking of Roberta Draper. I liked her in Caliban's War well enough, but not as much as I wanted to. But now I've had some distance from Caliban's War, and in my mind, she's taken on kind of a mythical badassery, and that, combined with the line I quoted above, kind of makes for a whole lot of YESSSSS! in my book. She's awesome, and I wish she had more than a tiny little role in this story. But, at least there are more main stories for me to get to, which will hopefully continue to contain her, because I LIKE her.
The rest of the story was... not bad, but it wasn't amazing either. David Draper is Bobbie's nephew, and she's staying with him and his parents for a while until she decides what she wants to do with the rest of her life now that she's kind of fucked her career. David is in school full time, and cooking drugs for a dealer on the side... Not because he needs to, necessarily, but because he's good at it and the money is a bonus - and I think because he likes the tiny rebellion of it.
When his friend LeeLee gets into trouble (because of course, on par with both LW & CW, there's got to be a damsel in distress to carry the plot - this is really one of my only gripes about this series), he does whatever he can to try to help her resulting in things not going quite as planned, because David is very book-smart, but he is anything but street-savvy.
Anyway, this was a good little story for the filler/bridge between books 2 and 3, and I'm looking forward to getting into Abaddon's Gate soon!
July 7, 2018
Decent story on Mars featuring Bobby's nephew and a little of Bobby, too.
It's good for context, worldbuilding, and a bit of a thrill for any of us missing our Breaking Bad... on Mars. :)
It may not be my favorite side-story in the Expanse series, but it's definitely written fun and pulls off a feel-good twist.
Of course, it might have been a bit more appropriate to have it turn into a tragedy. But. Alas. That's how the meth dropped.
It's good for context, worldbuilding, and a bit of a thrill for any of us missing our Breaking Bad... on Mars. :)
It may not be my favorite side-story in the Expanse series, but it's definitely written fun and pulls off a feel-good twist.
Of course, it might have been a bit more appropriate to have it turn into a tragedy. But. Alas. That's how the meth dropped.
December 13, 2022
Gods of Risk doesn't add much to the overall plot of the series regarding the protomolecule.
It does give the reader some context of life on Mars with Bobbie Draper and her family.
Her nephew David is a talented chemist but he’s living a secret life. While going to school, David makes drugs on the side and this involvement of sketchy people is going to backfire.
I’m not sure if you need to read Gods of Risk if you’re reading this series.
If you are wanting to get a bigger picture of the world building on Mars or more background with the character of Bobbie, this might be worth your time.
It does give the reader some context of life on Mars with Bobbie Draper and her family.
Her nephew David is a talented chemist but he’s living a secret life. While going to school, David makes drugs on the side and this involvement of sketchy people is going to backfire.
I’m not sure if you need to read Gods of Risk if you’re reading this series.
If you are wanting to get a bigger picture of the world building on Mars or more background with the character of Bobbie, this might be worth your time.
September 2, 2016
Well that was anti-climatic and rather "meh". Bobbie is barely in the story and you don't really gain any insight about her. You can safely skip this one and not miss out on anything in the main novels.
September 23, 2017
[3.5 stars] Probably my least favorite Expanse novella so far (I only have the newest one left. I read them out of order), but I ended up appreciating it more than I thought I would.
January 22, 2018
Interesting window into a bit of Mars life, through David’s (Bobbie Draper’s nephew) experiences as a drug dealer’s chemist. David has a good working relationship with the drug dealer and is frustrated by his family, and particularly by Bobbie’s presence in their home, with some odd and possibly embarrassing situation hovering over her. David is also close to getting into a good program in higher education, when he decides to help a young woman who has a relationship of some sort with the drug dealer.
While interesting, I would have preferred to see much more Bobbie in this story.
While interesting, I would have preferred to see much more Bobbie in this story.
June 29, 2022
This was awful. I couldn’t get into this at all and it took me two days to finish this short. Two days!
I hated David and a slightly good thing is that we get to see a little of Bobbie but it’s not enough.
I hated David and a slightly good thing is that we get to see a little of Bobbie but it’s not enough.
August 5, 2019
[7/10]
“They don’t hate us,” Bobbie said, her voice tired. “They’re afraid of us.”
“Then why do they act like they hate us,” David’s father said with something like triumph.
“Because that’s what fear looks like when it needs something to go.”
Prophetic words that remind us science-fiction is often about seeing trends in current societies and ringing the alarm bells. This novella was written in 2012, when signs of the problems created by growing fascist movements in Western countries were already clear to see. In only the last weekend (aug 2019), three mass killings took the lives of innocent people whose only crime apparently is their skin colour.
I didn’t start reading the Expanse novellas to search for confirmation of political agendas. I did it because I got distracted in the candy store by too many attractive new sweets on display (new books, new series), and I let too much time pass since my last read. To get back into the groove, I am trying to read all the tie-in short stories before I start on the big novels.
“Gods of Risk” is a game show on Mars, some sorts of alpha males fighting it out, no holds barred. But the story has little to do with this game, other than a poster in the room of David, a teenage boy on the Mars colony with a very special talent for biochemistry.
Teenagers don’t change much from one generation to the next, even if they live on a recently terraformed planet in the Solar System. They define themselves by rebelling against the previous generation. And usually they get in trouble by trying to get some street credit or rying to impress the girls with daredevil acts. David gets his kicks from doing illegal cooking of synthetic drugs for a mysterious crime overlord. There’s also a damzel in distress to plunge him even deeper into the soup.
His one piece of good luck in this sordid affair is that he is the nephew of Bobby Draper, the ex-marine sergeant from the main series. You know who:
‘You’re a tough guy, but I’m like a nightmare wrapped in the apocalypse.’
Even if the story works better for readers who are already familiar with the universe, I would also recommend it for new recruits who only want to dip their toes in before taking the plunge. The piece has all the qualities of the main storyline in a condensed form: excellent worldbuilding, tight storytelling and a focus on the human element in the context of the larger geo-political games.
>>><<<>>><<<
Drive
Chronologically, ‘Drive’ is the first story in the Expanse universe, a prequel several generations before the arrival of the protomolecule. I read it, and I liked it, but it feels too short to merit its own separate review (I’m not trying to pad my number of read books for the end of the year list)
The importance of ‘Drive’ in the larger universe of the Expanse cannot be denied. It all starts here, this is the seed of the conflict between Earth, Mars and the Outer Planets Alliance. Although in a later novel the authors will offer diferent views of history as a balancing act between political personalities, economic pressures and scientific development, the first story ties it all to a single event:
Can one man change the course of history? Solomon Epstein is a regular guy on the recently terraformed Mars colony. He is a mechanical engineer/researcher who likes to unwind in the company of his peers with a beer and endless political discussions (The tensions between Earth and Mars are just starting to get serious, as the home planet exhausts its limited resources). Solomon seems more interested in falling in love than in revolution, but he has an idea and, since he is a practical man, he buys a small space ship to test his new efficiency booster for space engines.
The rest, as they say, is history!
Note: the story is told in alternating between flahbacks and a slowly developing personal disaster. Very good storytelling, but bery bad engineering from a man who is supposed to be a top researcher.
“They don’t hate us,” Bobbie said, her voice tired. “They’re afraid of us.”
“Then why do they act like they hate us,” David’s father said with something like triumph.
“Because that’s what fear looks like when it needs something to go.”
Prophetic words that remind us science-fiction is often about seeing trends in current societies and ringing the alarm bells. This novella was written in 2012, when signs of the problems created by growing fascist movements in Western countries were already clear to see. In only the last weekend (aug 2019), three mass killings took the lives of innocent people whose only crime apparently is their skin colour.
I didn’t start reading the Expanse novellas to search for confirmation of political agendas. I did it because I got distracted in the candy store by too many attractive new sweets on display (new books, new series), and I let too much time pass since my last read. To get back into the groove, I am trying to read all the tie-in short stories before I start on the big novels.
“Gods of Risk” is a game show on Mars, some sorts of alpha males fighting it out, no holds barred. But the story has little to do with this game, other than a poster in the room of David, a teenage boy on the Mars colony with a very special talent for biochemistry.
Teenagers don’t change much from one generation to the next, even if they live on a recently terraformed planet in the Solar System. They define themselves by rebelling against the previous generation. And usually they get in trouble by trying to get some street credit or rying to impress the girls with daredevil acts. David gets his kicks from doing illegal cooking of synthetic drugs for a mysterious crime overlord. There’s also a damzel in distress to plunge him even deeper into the soup.
His one piece of good luck in this sordid affair is that he is the nephew of Bobby Draper, the ex-marine sergeant from the main series. You know who:
‘You’re a tough guy, but I’m like a nightmare wrapped in the apocalypse.’
Even if the story works better for readers who are already familiar with the universe, I would also recommend it for new recruits who only want to dip their toes in before taking the plunge. The piece has all the qualities of the main storyline in a condensed form: excellent worldbuilding, tight storytelling and a focus on the human element in the context of the larger geo-political games.
>>><<<>>><<<
Drive
Chronologically, ‘Drive’ is the first story in the Expanse universe, a prequel several generations before the arrival of the protomolecule. I read it, and I liked it, but it feels too short to merit its own separate review (I’m not trying to pad my number of read books for the end of the year list)
The importance of ‘Drive’ in the larger universe of the Expanse cannot be denied. It all starts here, this is the seed of the conflict between Earth, Mars and the Outer Planets Alliance. Although in a later novel the authors will offer diferent views of history as a balancing act between political personalities, economic pressures and scientific development, the first story ties it all to a single event:
Can one man change the course of history? Solomon Epstein is a regular guy on the recently terraformed Mars colony. He is a mechanical engineer/researcher who likes to unwind in the company of his peers with a beer and endless political discussions (The tensions between Earth and Mars are just starting to get serious, as the home planet exhausts its limited resources). Solomon seems more interested in falling in love than in revolution, but he has an idea and, since he is a practical man, he buys a small space ship to test his new efficiency booster for space engines.
The rest, as they say, is history!
Note: the story is told in alternating between flahbacks and a slowly developing personal disaster. Very good storytelling, but bery bad engineering from a man who is supposed to be a top researcher.
December 9, 2015
"It was like his parents had suddenly realized he wouldn't be there forever, and now their love was like a police state; he couldn't escape it."
David Draper, the sixteen year old nephew of Bobbie Draper, is a self-entitled little piece of shit.
I have very little patience for intelligent children with loving families who live in stable economic situations, and yet they still insist on being angry little assholes. This is David, a gifted chemist who lives on Mars, and who is headed for great things. Meanwhile, he's decided to rebel out of a combination of stupid anger and laziness, and he somehow ends up cooking drugs for a local drug kingpin. He's also got his head entirely up his own ass. He sees girls as things, and only does nice things in the hopes that he will be rewarded with sex. He is extremely immature yet book smart. It's a bad combination.
This novella is set after book two in The Expanse series, Caliban's War. After the events of that book, Bobbie is home on Mars living with her brother and his family while she's on "psychological leave." David resents her and her presence because it gets in the way of what he wants to do. He also ignores almost entirely the monumental things happening around him, including domestic terrorism, and the fact that his very own aunt is heavily involved in the politics of the solar system.
Thankfully by the end of the book he's learned some hard lessons and grown up, but man he's insufferable for most of it. I just wanted to punch him.
[3.5 stars]
David Draper, the sixteen year old nephew of Bobbie Draper, is a self-entitled little piece of shit.
I have very little patience for intelligent children with loving families who live in stable economic situations, and yet they still insist on being angry little assholes. This is David, a gifted chemist who lives on Mars, and who is headed for great things. Meanwhile, he's decided to rebel out of a combination of stupid anger and laziness, and he somehow ends up cooking drugs for a local drug kingpin. He's also got his head entirely up his own ass. He sees girls as things, and only does nice things in the hopes that he will be rewarded with sex. He is extremely immature yet book smart. It's a bad combination.
This novella is set after book two in The Expanse series, Caliban's War. After the events of that book, Bobbie is home on Mars living with her brother and his family while she's on "psychological leave." David resents her and her presence because it gets in the way of what he wants to do. He also ignores almost entirely the monumental things happening around him, including domestic terrorism, and the fact that his very own aunt is heavily involved in the politics of the solar system.
Thankfully by the end of the book he's learned some hard lessons and grown up, but man he's insufferable for most of it. I just wanted to punch him.
[3.5 stars]
February 27, 2022
Re-read: Feb 26th, 2022.
BOBBIE DRAPER, YOU ABSOLUTE BADASS. You deserve better and I still stand by my original review. So far, David is the worst PoV character The Expanse has to offer.
Original Review:
Have you ever wanted to punch a character? Like reeeally punch a fictional character in the face and tell them to shut the fuck up and grow up?
Yeah, that was me. And I know David was a 16 years old angsty hormonal teenager, but he might not only be the worst character written in this series so far, this is one of the worst teenager character I've ever read. And guys... I've read my fair share of YA. So that's saying a lot.
This novella does practically nothing to expand (ha-ha, get it? cause the series is called The Expanse) the universe. In fact, because our character was such a self-centred, petty, unconscious, and asshole kid, everytime there was some dialogue about the state of the universe, the martian position against Earth and the fragile peace between Mars and Earth, this guy just turned around and ignore everything about the real world to go whine about his dumb crush. Guys, HE DIDN'T EVEN KNOW ABOUT THE LEGEND HIS AUNT WAS, he knew she was in Ganymede and didn't give a fuck. I mean, what????
Ugh. It was 76 pages of pure angst and a moody teenager so no, I was expecting much more, especially after Caliban's War.
This novella gets two stars just because of one reason: Bobbie Draper.
She was a really minor character, but this gave me a lot more insight about her and seeing the treatment she is given by Mars, but also by her family. She's also lost, stuck on a cycle of physical exercise and watching the news, with no one to talk about what she's dealing after Ganymede and with no sympathy for her. After the events of the second book, I'm excited to see what she will do. Plus, she did some kickass shit here and that was fun to read.
I'm not sure if David will ever appear again in this series... but if I'm being honest here, just skip this one, unless you have some spare time and wanna see how Bobbie is dealing with her stuff back in Mars. If you don't, then to be honest you really aren't missing well... anything.
BOBBIE DRAPER, YOU ABSOLUTE BADASS. You deserve better and I still stand by my original review. So far, David is the worst PoV character The Expanse has to offer.
Original Review:
Have you ever wanted to punch a character? Like reeeally punch a fictional character in the face and tell them to shut the fuck up and grow up?
Yeah, that was me. And I know David was a 16 years old angsty hormonal teenager, but he might not only be the worst character written in this series so far, this is one of the worst teenager character I've ever read. And guys... I've read my fair share of YA. So that's saying a lot.
This novella does practically nothing to expand (ha-ha, get it? cause the series is called The Expanse) the universe. In fact, because our character was such a self-centred, petty, unconscious, and asshole kid, everytime there was some dialogue about the state of the universe, the martian position against Earth and the fragile peace between Mars and Earth, this guy just turned around and ignore everything about the real world to go whine about his dumb crush. Guys, HE DIDN'T EVEN KNOW ABOUT THE LEGEND HIS AUNT WAS, he knew she was in Ganymede and didn't give a fuck. I mean, what????
Ugh. It was 76 pages of pure angst and a moody teenager so no, I was expecting much more, especially after Caliban's War.
This novella gets two stars just because of one reason: Bobbie Draper.
She was a really minor character, but this gave me a lot more insight about her and seeing the treatment she is given by Mars, but also by her family. She's also lost, stuck on a cycle of physical exercise and watching the news, with no one to talk about what she's dealing after Ganymede and with no sympathy for her. After the events of the second book, I'm excited to see what she will do. Plus, she did some kickass shit here and that was fun to read.
I'm not sure if David will ever appear again in this series... but if I'm being honest here, just skip this one, unless you have some spare time and wanna see how Bobbie is dealing with her stuff back in Mars. If you don't, then to be honest you really aren't missing well... anything.
March 8, 2017
This is a short story that is part of a series. The other books before this one must be read before this one. In this one, Bobbie is back home living with her brother and his family. Bobbie's nephew, David, is a "cook" for a local drug lord and he gets into trouble.
I believe this short story isn't vital to the overall arc that takes place in this universe. For the overall story arc it does provide the atmosphere of Mars which we haven't really touched upon so far in this series. As for the characters I would be surprised if anyone besides Bobbie makes a return visit in this series. The story isn't anything remarkable either as there is nothing new here. We have the young kid who gets into trouble with illegal activities as he attempts to rescue the damsel in distress. There is one terrific scene with Bobbie but she is relegated to a minor role.
I might be mistaken but it is my belief that one can skip this short story and not miss a thing. That being said, it is a quick read and I enjoy any of my time in this amazing universe.
I believe this short story isn't vital to the overall arc that takes place in this universe. For the overall story arc it does provide the atmosphere of Mars which we haven't really touched upon so far in this series. As for the characters I would be surprised if anyone besides Bobbie makes a return visit in this series. The story isn't anything remarkable either as there is nothing new here. We have the young kid who gets into trouble with illegal activities as he attempts to rescue the damsel in distress. There is one terrific scene with Bobbie but she is relegated to a minor role.
I might be mistaken but it is my belief that one can skip this short story and not miss a thing. That being said, it is a quick read and I enjoy any of my time in this amazing universe.
December 13, 2022
A little different than the main storyline, but it kept my interest. No great leaps of knowledge though, so don't expect to be blown away. My rating is really 3.5/5.0 stars, but rounded up.
January 3, 2023
The protomolecule is breaking loose, the solar system has been at war, and on Mars a teenager is...
...brewing drugs and dealing with the pressures of school.
That's the gist of Gods of Risk.
The story in this novella - Of a Martian relative of MCRN Marine Bobbie Draper named David - isn't world shaking. David is studying the sciences, hoping to gain entry to a hotly contested spot on Mars' generations-long terraforming project. He lives at home with his family, and their current houseguest Bobbie, where he deals with the usual pressures of teen life - parents pushing him to succeed, the stress of school, etc.
David has more than a normal schoolkid's worries, however - he has been using his school lab to brew drugs for a shady local dealer, whose cute lady friend has drawn David's horny-teen eye. When David realizes that his crush is effectively the property of his employer, he starts planning to free both her and himself from the seedy world he has found himself mired in.
This book is billed as novel 2.5 in The Expanse, so it fits in between Caliban's War and Abbadon's Wake. Stakes wise, it isn't on the same level as the major novels. In terms of The Expanse and its potentially civilization killing protomolecule, gates to other worlds, etc. a Martian teenager negotiating school study with a bit of drug manufacturing on the side is pretty tame.
Despite this the story is engaging, and provides some interesting background color to the main events of the series involving Holden and his crew. It's a bit of a slice of life novella, showing the pressures and realities of growing up in the underground cities of Mars.
I enjoyed it, but on reflection, there isn't much in here for anyone but superfans of Corey's novels. Stripped of its location on Mars the story could be anywhere (which I get might be the point - humans are the same on both red planets and blue) and isn't particularly original.
This is really for the completionists among us, who are driven to gobble up everything and anything related to The Expanse. I count myself among that number, and so for me, Gods of Risk was worth the small investment of time for the insights into Corey's Martian society. If you're not a superfan though, stick with the main novels in the sequence - this one probably won't do much for you.
Three horny teens doing horny teen things (on Mars!) out of five.
...brewing drugs and dealing with the pressures of school.
That's the gist of Gods of Risk.
The story in this novella - Of a Martian relative of MCRN Marine Bobbie Draper named David - isn't world shaking. David is studying the sciences, hoping to gain entry to a hotly contested spot on Mars' generations-long terraforming project. He lives at home with his family, and their current houseguest Bobbie, where he deals with the usual pressures of teen life - parents pushing him to succeed, the stress of school, etc.
David has more than a normal schoolkid's worries, however - he has been using his school lab to brew drugs for a shady local dealer, whose cute lady friend has drawn David's horny-teen eye. When David realizes that his crush is effectively the property of his employer, he starts planning to free both her and himself from the seedy world he has found himself mired in.
This book is billed as novel 2.5 in The Expanse, so it fits in between Caliban's War and Abbadon's Wake. Stakes wise, it isn't on the same level as the major novels. In terms of The Expanse and its potentially civilization killing protomolecule, gates to other worlds, etc. a Martian teenager negotiating school study with a bit of drug manufacturing on the side is pretty tame.
Despite this the story is engaging, and provides some interesting background color to the main events of the series involving Holden and his crew. It's a bit of a slice of life novella, showing the pressures and realities of growing up in the underground cities of Mars.
I enjoyed it, but on reflection, there isn't much in here for anyone but superfans of Corey's novels. Stripped of its location on Mars the story could be anywhere (which I get might be the point - humans are the same on both red planets and blue) and isn't particularly original.
This is really for the completionists among us, who are driven to gobble up everything and anything related to The Expanse. I count myself among that number, and so for me, Gods of Risk was worth the small investment of time for the insights into Corey's Martian society. If you're not a superfan though, stick with the main novels in the sequence - this one probably won't do much for you.
Three horny teens doing horny teen things (on Mars!) out of five.
April 4, 2020
A solid little side story told from a young adult POV. It doesn't shy away from the hardships and ugly truths of being a kid in an uncertain world. It reminded me quite a bit of my teenage years growing up in a small town, with nothing to do but get into all sorts of trouble.
November 19, 2021
Review of the audiobook narrated by Erik Davies.
I will stand corrected if David Draper shows up in a future book, but other than for the development of his character, this is a novella that doesn't feel necessary. Sure, we do get a snapshot of how humans have colonized Mars which is interesting and thought provoking, but there are no real new insights into the one character we already know, Bobbie, due to her limited role.
As with the rest of the series, I love the writing. The style and prose just work for me, striking the perfect balance between describing the environment, smart and witty dialog, examining the character's thoughts and well timed action. In the end though, the story here doesn't quite live up to the high standards of the series. (I may reassess that if David appears in a future novel and will update this review accordingly.)
Erik Davies doesn't miss a step compared to the main narrator of the series (Jefferson Mays) and gives a great performance.
Final verdict: 3.5 star story, 5 star narration, 4 stars overall
I will stand corrected if David Draper shows up in a future book, but other than for the development of his character, this is a novella that doesn't feel necessary. Sure, we do get a snapshot of how humans have colonized Mars which is interesting and thought provoking, but there are no real new insights into the one character we already know, Bobbie, due to her limited role.
As with the rest of the series, I love the writing. The style and prose just work for me, striking the perfect balance between describing the environment, smart and witty dialog, examining the character's thoughts and well timed action. In the end though, the story here doesn't quite live up to the high standards of the series. (I may reassess that if David appears in a future novel and will update this review accordingly.)
Erik Davies doesn't miss a step compared to the main narrator of the series (Jefferson Mays) and gives a great performance.
Final verdict: 3.5 star story, 5 star narration, 4 stars overall
March 24, 2021
This was a very underwhelming read, and the first thing from The Expanse universe that I haven't enjoyed.
I had forgotten that Bobbie had a family on Mars and honestly I kind of wish it had stayed that way, they all suck. Our protagonist here, David, is particularly irritating as his inner monologue is mainly him whining about how much stuff on his plate and thinking about getting frisky with this girl he knows.
I expected the story to tie in with some bigger world building elements but apart from mentioning events from the main book that wasn't really present and it didn't expand on the worldbuilding much either. The premise of the kid cooking drugs for a crime boss type guy could have worked really well but ended up not being all that interesting, and the use of chemical names for the drugs irked me for some reason.
I also think that the quality of the writing was fairly sub-par compared to the rest of the series. It won't stop me from reading the other novellas but I would really recommend reading this, even if you're a fan of the rest of the series.
I had forgotten that Bobbie had a family on Mars and honestly I kind of wish it had stayed that way, they all suck. Our protagonist here, David, is particularly irritating as his inner monologue is mainly him whining about how much stuff on his plate and thinking about getting frisky with this girl he knows.
I expected the story to tie in with some bigger world building elements but apart from mentioning events from the main book that wasn't really present and it didn't expand on the worldbuilding much either. The premise of the kid cooking drugs for a crime boss type guy could have worked really well but ended up not being all that interesting, and the use of chemical names for the drugs irked me for some reason.
I also think that the quality of the writing was fairly sub-par compared to the rest of the series. It won't stop me from reading the other novellas but I would really recommend reading this, even if you're a fan of the rest of the series.
July 22, 2018
A superb back-story from The Expanse series. The author has written back-stories to most of the main characters and events, and each of them is wonderful and insightful. A must-read if you love The Expanse.
This is a very good back-story for Bobbie Draper. Quite wonderful.
This is a very good back-story for Bobbie Draper. Quite wonderful.
December 14, 2022
David is definitely a hormone-driven idiot teenager, but he has a good heart and this story gave us more Bobbie Draper, so, WIN! It was great seeing a bit of Bobbie's family and a bit of life on Mars.
May 13, 2021
Good short story (novella?) about a Martian student involved in the drug trade, with a little bit on Sargent Draper from Caliban's War thrown in...
February 20, 2021
3.5 stars
This was fine; mostly good for just filling out worldbuilding and giving a picture of life for regular people on Mars. Bobbie is a side character, but retains her awesomeness.
This was fine; mostly good for just filling out worldbuilding and giving a picture of life for regular people on Mars. Bobbie is a side character, but retains her awesomeness.
August 23, 2022
2.8 stars
November 20, 2023
An exciting tale of a young nephew of Bobbie Draper's who gets in over his head with the wrong people in the Martian underworld. Not too sure what others were expecting here but, for what it was, it worked well.
Crime fiction set on Mars used to be so much more plausible, right?
Crime fiction set on Mars used to be so much more plausible, right?
March 21, 2020
This is a novella set in the Expanse universe, during the time period between Caliban's War and Abaddon's Gate. It adds the flavor but isn’t essential for the larger story. I’ve read is as a part of Expanse Buddy read at Hugo & Nebula Awards: Best Novels group.
The protagonist of the story is 17-year old David Draper, a nephew of former marine Roberta "Bobbie" Draper from Caliban's War. He is good with chemistry and biochemistry and a nefarious person tries to make him a drug maker, Breaking Bad style. The boy is ‘honeypot trapped’ by a beautiful girl working for the pusher. At one moment the pusher decides to break the ties and use the girl for other needs and the protagonist has to save her.
A nice but not especially deep story, a good add-on to the series.
The protagonist of the story is 17-year old David Draper, a nephew of former marine Roberta "Bobbie" Draper from Caliban's War. He is good with chemistry and biochemistry and a nefarious person tries to make him a drug maker, Breaking Bad style. The boy is ‘honeypot trapped’ by a beautiful girl working for the pusher. At one moment the pusher decides to break the ties and use the girl for other needs and the protagonist has to save her.
A nice but not especially deep story, a good add-on to the series.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,266 reviews