Cibola Burn

The gates have opened the way to a thousand new worlds and the rush to colonise has begun. Settlers looking for a new life stream out from humanity's home planets, eager to begin anew in uncharted territories. Illus, the first human colony on this vast new frontier, is a land of both promise and peril. However, hope quickly turns to despair as the nascent colony is born in blood and fire.

Independent settlers, driven by determination, courage, and survival skills honed from the long wars at home, stand in defiance against the overwhelming power of a corporate colony ship. Innocent scientists trying to survey this alien world are slaughtered, pushing the colony into chaos that threatens to spiral beyond control.

Amidst this turmoil, James Holden and the crew of the Rocinante are dispatched with a mission: to bring peace to a brewing war and to impose a sense of order where there is only disorder. However, Holden soon suspects that the mission he and his crew are on might have been doomed from the start.

As tensions escalate, Holden is haunted by the whispers of a dead man, who reminds him of the once-great galactic civilisation that occupied this land. This ancient society vanished mysteriously, leaving behind ominous hints that something eradicated them. The threat that ended that civilisation looms over Illus, suggesting that the fate of these new settlers might be more precarious than anyone realised.

Cibola Burn is the exhilarating fourth novel in the acclaimed New York Times bestselling Expanse series, following the Hugo-nominated Leviathan Wakes, Caliban's War, and Abaddon's Gate. With its intense narrative, complex characters, and gripping suspense, this instalment continues to explore the far reaches of space and the resilience of humanity in the face of unfathomable challenges.