📚心得【Expanse #6：Babylon's Ashes】 by Daniel Abraham & Ty Franck, 2016

#Space_Opera #以寡擊眾 #登陸戰 #虎頭蛇尾

去年10月就看完了，一直沒有機會寫心得啊 😓

若第5集是講述Free Navy的快速崛起，第6集則是其自我崩壞。這集有點aftermath的感覺，講述僅懂得利用自身魅力操縱因長期以來資源分配不均而衍生的狂熱民粹、只懂耍短線權謀的Marco Inaros是如何因為對治理組織一無所知而把自己的好牌全丟光的；他也完全想不出海盜般掠奪外的生存方式，導致能夠預料到組織秩序崩壞的手下們喪失團結力，即使受幸運之神眷顧也救不了他。

這集最後將整個Free Navy Conflict做了完整收尾，但我個人不是很喜歡作者們在最終戰時的解決方式，感覺像是知道這戰不太好解決、也許會犧牲太多角色才合理，因此找了個觀察到、類似天災的「現象」來把反派收掉。

第6集也不是全然沒有厲害的地方，不少片段也顯然能看出是接下來Laconia帝國的伏筆：明顯將Marco Inaros作為掩護自己撤退、發展的棋子；資助Slow Zone核心的多個電磁加速砲防禦設施；被盜走的protomolecule活體顯然是被Laconia拿去研究等，都是為接下來劇情上更大的人類衝突鋪墊，下集一開頭就會是Free Navy Conflict的幾十年後了。

除了劇情外，思想、科技上這集基本上沒什麼進展，角色也有不少過場龍套用的"立場人型立牌"；角色成長上，Holden開始變得油條，不再把"透明化"作為中心思想，也算是有所成長吧。

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IMO總分：69分，除了劇情量上不錯外，老實說非常普通的一集，只是第5集的延伸。

核心思想：★★☆☆☆ 核心討論議題是否有趣*5

劇情細節：★★★★☆ 綜觀整體劇情的質與量*4

角色刻畫：★★★☆☆ 角色群的必要性與深度*3

科學軟硬：★★★☆☆ 是否符合現實物理現象*3

結局滿意：★★★☆☆ 結局滿意度與有無餘韻*3

易讀程度：★★★★☆ 閱讀時章節是否難消化*2

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#Space_Opera #Guerrilla_Warfare #Boarding_Actions #Strong_Start_Lean_End

I finished it last October, but I've never had the chance to write my review 😓

If Season 5 was about the rapid rise of Free Navy, Season 6 is its self-destruction. This episode feels like an aftermath, telling the story of Marco Inaros being the charismatic leader while manipulating the populist frenzy on long-standing resource inequality, only cares about short-term political tactics. Ignorant of governance, he squanders all his strengths, not knowing any alternative survival methods besides pirate-like plundering and leading Free Navy's economy into free fall. Some of his subordinates foreseeing the collapse of his order start losing unity. Even some strokes of luck aren't enough to save him.

This episode wraps up the entire Free Navy Conflict nicely, but personally, I'm not very fond of how the authors resolved the final battle. It felt like they knew the fight was too complicated or would require too many sacrifices, so instead, they found a "phenomenon" similar to a natural disaster to eliminate the antagonist. It just feels like petering out a bit.

Volume 6 isn't entirely without merit. There are clear foreshadowing of Laconia Empire's future plot points: Marco Inaros is used as a shield for their retreat and development; Slow Zone core facilities with multiple electromagnetic railguns are supported; the stolen protomolecule organisms are obviously being researched by Laconia, these all lay the groundwork for larger human conflicts in the next episodes. The next season will jump decades after the Free Navy Conflict.

Aside from the plot, there's not much progress in ideas or technology here. Many characters feel like generic "talking heads" who just serve a purpose or viewpoint. In terms of character growth, Holden becomes more cynical and no longer centers his philosophy around transparency — that's some sort of development at least.

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IMO Rating: 69. Honestly, it's not bad in terms of plot quantity, but it feels like a very ordinary episode after book 5.

Core Theme: ★★☆☆☆ (*5)

Plot Quality: ★★★★☆ (*4)

Character Development: ★★★☆☆ (*3)

Science Validity: ★★★☆☆ (*3)

Ending Satisfaction: ★★★☆☆ (*3)

Readability: ★★★★☆ (*2)