"The Mercy of Gods" by James S. A. Corey

Finally, the aliens. Even though the aliens in "The Mercy of Gods" are somewhat underwhelming (not non-inertia traveling light-jellyfish or mysterious extra-dimension physics-altering entities like in Expanse), I'm somewhat satisfied with the authors exploring their minds for the new concepts, albeit way more relatable to humans.

I wanted to see the time-traveling aliens from The Arrival movie or the aliens from Blindsight by Watts. What I got were slave ships akin to the ones from the historical Atlantic slave trade, and another one of these "humanity is special" books. However, I'm nitpicking at this point: in "The Expanse," humanity was too small for my liking; in "The Mercy of Gods," it is too important.

I enjoyed the series' first book so much that I've picked up the short novella set in the same universe. I'd like to see something more action- and concept-heavy, like the writings of Watts and Liu Cixin, but the authors behind James S.A. Corey's pen have a different narrative style.

Well, let's see what's next. The first book raises many questions, and I'm excited to see their resolutions in the later issues.