Persepolis Rising

Persepolis Rising marks a dramatic turning point in The Expanse, leaping three decades into the future to show how time, progress, and complacency reshape humanity—and how old battles never truly end. With the ring gates open to a thousand new worlds, humanity has spread across the stars. The tumult of war between Earth, Mars, and the Belt has settled into a fragile peace, and the Rocinante crew—James Holden, Naomi Nagata, Amos Burton, and Alex Kamal—have aged into elder statesmen of sorts, still bonded but far from the reckless youth of their early adventures. This uneasy stability is shattered when a new power emerges: the Laconian Empire. Born from a splinter group of Martians who defected decades earlier, Laconia has built itself into a formidable force using alien protomolecule technology and the genius of scientist Paolo Cortázar. Under the leadership of High Consul Winston Duarte, the Laconians return with fleets of warships more advanced and devastating than anything the inner planets or the Belt can muster. Their mission is clear: to impose order and unity on humanity—by force if necessary. The sudden reappearance of Laconia is not merely a political shock; it is a technological revolution. Their warships, equipped with alien-inspired “magnetar” weapons, render the combined forces of Earth, Mars, and the Belt obsolete almost overnight. The dream of a balanced, multipolar system collapses as Laconia asserts dominance, sweeping aside resistance and reestablishing empire on a scale never before seen. Duarte frames his conquest as salvation, a chance to guide humanity to greatness, but beneath the rhetoric lies authoritarian control. Caught in the middle are the Rocinante crew and their allies, many of whom now serve in the newly formed Transport Union, the body responsible for regulating trade and travel through the gates. Holden and Naomi in particular find themselves grappling with questions of morality and pragmatism: should they resist Laconia and risk annihilation, or attempt to adapt and preserve what little autonomy remains? Their age and experience bring wisdom, but also weariness, as they face yet another war in lives already scarred by conflict. Meanwhile, Camina Drummer, now President of the Transport Union, becomes a central figure in the struggle. Fierce and uncompromising, she tries to hold the system together in the face of Laconian might, knowing that open war may doom the fragile gains the Belt has made. Her leadership embodies the novel’s theme of resistance: the refusal to bow to empire, even when defeat seems inevitable. Beneath the human conflict looms a larger danger. The alien entities that destroyed the protomolecule’s creators are still present, watching from beyond the ring gates. Every use of alien technology risks provoking them, and Duarte’s ambition to harness that power threatens to awaken forces far beyond humanity’s control. Persepolis Rising is both an intimate character study and a grand political drama. It examines the cost of empire, the fragility of peace, and the resilience of ordinary people caught between history’s gears. By pushing the timeline forward, Corey reinvigorates the series, showing how age tempers but does not diminish courage, and how the fight for freedom is never truly finished.