
Strange Dogs An Expanse Novella
Reviews

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Reread March 2019: I read this again in preparation for the release of Tiamat's Wrath, after having re-listened to Persepolis Rising. Not so disappointed now. We get a bit more information on how things went on Laconia. The first colonists were researchers, and the second set were the soldiers. This is a bit of a lead-up to Laconia exploiting some of the aspects of the protomolecule, I think. One of the characters from Persepolis Rising, Santiago Singh, has a minor role in the story. It'll be interesting to see if more references show up in Tiamat's Wrath. _________________________________________________ Honestly, I was disappointed. I love this series, so I was excited for a new novella. I pre-ordered it without even checking to see what it was about. The novellas often give a little more info about characters or situations going on elsewhere in the series. They're really good for that. This novella takes place on one of the settlements beyond the gates. The colony has been established for about 10 or 11 years, and is doing pretty well. They don't have contact with earth now, and that's a concern. The planet itself sounds like a wonderland, with all kinds of life both animal and vegetable. Cara, daughter of a pair of the original colonists, has a secret place where she goes to play. Then things start to happen. Ok, spoilers. (view spoiler)[Cara accidentally kills one of the indigenous life forms by feeding it earth food. She supposedly did this because she'd seen illustrations of a woman doing this in one of her books. But we're told she understands that humans can't eat things indigenous to the planet. Why would she assume, especially at her age, and especially since we're told she likes to go to this pond and watch the critters, that she could feed earth food to the indigenous wildlife? Cara's distraught. She feels responsible for the sunbird's babies. She wants to Make It Right. Things don't work out exactly as she expected. This is the point where I thought "Ok, it's Pet Sematary in space" and rolled my eyes. A little later I thought "Nope, The Monkey's Paw -- IN SPAAAACE". And rolled my eyes a LOT more. Jeezopete. (hide spoiler)] The strange "dogs" (Cara's term) that appear to have been activated when some unidentified platforms in orbit come to life are interesting and have possibilities. The protomolecule is mentioned briefly in passing by the parents. The writing seemed not up to the usual standard too. Oh well, no one hits it out of the park every time. Still looking forward to the next book.

Interesting but don't know if it was needed

It was nice to learn more about Laconia and the origin of the two kids. Although it ended up being a tragic story but like the other novellas it filled some wholes and gave more life to the world in The Expanse.



















