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The Captive's War #2
The Faith of Beasts
Not yet published
Expected 14 Apr 26Win a free kindle copy of this book!
13 days and 06:10:06
100 copies available
U.S. only
James S. A. Corey's Expanse series has sold more than 12 million copies worldwide and has been translated into more than 23 languages, establishing itself as a modern masterwork of science fiction. Now, the Hugo-award winning author returns with the second volume in their New York Times bestselling and critically acclaimed space opera trilogy, The Captive’s War.
★ “Masterful . . . . This is space opera at its best.” – Publishers Weekly (starred review) on The Mercy of Gods
The monstrous Carryx empire was built by subjugation and war. Thousands of species are bound to their Sovran's command in an endless, blood-soaked test: be useful in the eternal conflict or be slaughtered.
Dafyd Alkhor, highest among their human captives, is feared and despised by the very people he champions. Ruthless in carving out his niche in the eternal war machine of the empire, he will reshape human nature itself as a tool for their alien masters’ use. But Dafyd’s loyalty is not what it seems.
The Swarm, an agent of the Carryx’s deathless enemy, has been smuggled into the Carryx world-palace along with the human slaves. It’s discover a way to bring down the empire’s eternal reign. But the longer it lives among and within humanity, the more it forgets that it is a weapon.
As the human captives spread through the battlefronts of empire, the awesome power of the Carryx becomes clear. And with it, a desperate plan for their destruction.
But empires hide secrets, and even the deathless enemy may not be what it appears…
"The start of something truly epic." ― Fonda Lee on The Mercy of Gods
"Corey is always one of the most engaging voices in the genre." ― Adrian Tchaikovsky, author of Children of Time
For More from James S. A. Corey, check
The Captive's War
The Mercy of Gods
The Faith of Beasts
The Expanse
Leviathan Wakes
Caliban's War
Abaddon's Gate
Cibola Burn
Nemesis Games
Babylon's Ashes
Persepolis Rising
Tiamat's Wrath
Leviathan Falls
Memory's Legion
The Expanse Short Fiction
Drive
The Butcher of Anderson Station
Gods of Risk
The Churn
The Vital Abyss
Strange Dogs
Auberon
The Sins of Our Fathers
★ “Masterful . . . . This is space opera at its best.” – Publishers Weekly (starred review) on The Mercy of Gods
The monstrous Carryx empire was built by subjugation and war. Thousands of species are bound to their Sovran's command in an endless, blood-soaked test: be useful in the eternal conflict or be slaughtered.
Dafyd Alkhor, highest among their human captives, is feared and despised by the very people he champions. Ruthless in carving out his niche in the eternal war machine of the empire, he will reshape human nature itself as a tool for their alien masters’ use. But Dafyd’s loyalty is not what it seems.
The Swarm, an agent of the Carryx’s deathless enemy, has been smuggled into the Carryx world-palace along with the human slaves. It’s discover a way to bring down the empire’s eternal reign. But the longer it lives among and within humanity, the more it forgets that it is a weapon.
As the human captives spread through the battlefronts of empire, the awesome power of the Carryx becomes clear. And with it, a desperate plan for their destruction.
But empires hide secrets, and even the deathless enemy may not be what it appears…
"The start of something truly epic." ― Fonda Lee on The Mercy of Gods
"Corey is always one of the most engaging voices in the genre." ― Adrian Tchaikovsky, author of Children of Time
For More from James S. A. Corey, check
The Captive's War
The Mercy of Gods
The Faith of Beasts
The Expanse
Leviathan Wakes
Caliban's War
Abaddon's Gate
Cibola Burn
Nemesis Games
Babylon's Ashes
Persepolis Rising
Tiamat's Wrath
Leviathan Falls
Memory's Legion
The Expanse Short Fiction
Drive
The Butcher of Anderson Station
Gods of Risk
The Churn
The Vital Abyss
Strange Dogs
Auberon
The Sins of Our Fathers
448 pages, Hardcover
Expected publication April 14, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
This book is just as strong as the first one.
The story picks up right after the events of the first book, following the main characters in their separate journeys.
The plot is just as captivating, the stakes are getting higher, and the writing is absolutely excellent. I especially loved the evolution and development of the characters as they face new challenges and form new relationships.
I can't wait for the next one!
Thank you so much Orbit Books for this ARC.
The story picks up right after the events of the first book, following the main characters in their separate journeys.
The plot is just as captivating, the stakes are getting higher, and the writing is absolutely excellent. I especially loved the evolution and development of the characters as they face new challenges and form new relationships.
I can't wait for the next one!
Thank you so much Orbit Books for this ARC.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
An alien invasion is one thing. An invasion of highly advanced, sentient, and hierarchical alien arthropods called Carryx conquering and subjugating multiple worlds and species is super freaky. What am I doing to myself. This is the stuff of nightmares. I have been tandem reading books one and two of The Captive's War trilogy by James S.A. Corey (authors Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck)—Mercy of Gods and The Faith of Beasts—and Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky. Both have insects as sentient alien life forms and I am fairly bug phobic.
The Carryx of The Captive's War series are so fascinating as xenophobic space imperialist overlords of humans and other groups within the entire scope of the entirety of the Carryx space dominion (referred to as ‘moieties’) that I am compelled to read it anyway. The Faith of Beasts, book two of the series, begins with cleverly written mythos that and some fantastic insights into the human moiety before being absorbed into the Carryx empire. As the book progresses and you read more of the snippets of mythos, you will start to get more of the picture.
Readers and watchers of The Expanse Series will find similarities between the protomolecule and the Swarm, which are networked nanomachines that serve the purpose of espionage against the Carryx. Both assimilate the minds of other human life forms into their own network. Therefore, this part of the world building in the second book will feel familiar.
If you’ve been wondering what the heck is this Swarm network thing doing?? What’s the plan?? You will get some answers. Also, there is a crazy part of The Faith of Beasts where you get a little bit of insight into how this weird Swarm nanomachine network starts questioning the nature of its own consciousness.
And what the heck are the humans up to? Yes, they’ve got a sort of group Stockholm syndrome going on, trying not to be rendered extinct by pissed off space bugs but at the same time trying to figure out how the hell to escape captivity and restore autonomy. Well, you’re going to get some answers and new developments. Then, of course you’re going to be left wondering what happens next.
That’s for book three.
Thank you very much, Orbit Books, Hachette Book Group, James S.A. Corey, and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book. You spin me right round, baby, right round like a record, baby, right round, round, round.
The Carryx of The Captive's War series are so fascinating as xenophobic space imperialist overlords of humans and other groups within the entire scope of the entirety of the Carryx space dominion (referred to as ‘moieties’) that I am compelled to read it anyway. The Faith of Beasts, book two of the series, begins with cleverly written mythos that and some fantastic insights into the human moiety before being absorbed into the Carryx empire. As the book progresses and you read more of the snippets of mythos, you will start to get more of the picture.
Readers and watchers of The Expanse Series will find similarities between the protomolecule and the Swarm, which are networked nanomachines that serve the purpose of espionage against the Carryx. Both assimilate the minds of other human life forms into their own network. Therefore, this part of the world building in the second book will feel familiar.
If you’ve been wondering what the heck is this Swarm network thing doing?? What’s the plan?? You will get some answers. Also, there is a crazy part of The Faith of Beasts where you get a little bit of insight into how this weird Swarm nanomachine network starts questioning the nature of its own consciousness.
And what the heck are the humans up to? Yes, they’ve got a sort of group Stockholm syndrome going on, trying not to be rendered extinct by pissed off space bugs but at the same time trying to figure out how the hell to escape captivity and restore autonomy. Well, you’re going to get some answers and new developments. Then, of course you’re going to be left wondering what happens next.
That’s for book three.
Thank you very much, Orbit Books, Hachette Book Group, James S.A. Corey, and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book. You spin me right round, baby, right round like a record, baby, right round, round, round.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
BEASTS is the 2nd entry in The Captive's War series by James S.A. Corey, AKA Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck. Thanks to Orbit, NetGalley, and the authors for this advanced copy. Again, all my thoughts are independent of Corey's other series The Expanse, as I have neither read nor watched it.
So, my first question is: did you enjoy THE MERCY OF GODS? If you didn't, and you're waiting to see if book 2 is going to be what sells you on this series, I am here to tell you that this will not be the case. BEASTS is not the book that is going to convince you that you like this series. It is more of what we got in MERCY, but doubled down.
If it seems like I'm dogging on this, I'm not. It's excellent. But it's excellent in what it's setting out to do, which is continue the story begun in book 1. Here again, we are with the human moeity, with Dafyd at the top as the liaison between them and the Carryx. Where this book excels is not the gripping character work that a die-hard Abraham fan might come to expect or the action of a sci-fi space opera, but in the continued exploration of survival. How do survivors adapt to their new--and deadly--environment? Who are those who willingly collaborate with their overlords? Unwillingly? How does the human mind make sense of its surroundings by categorizing everything in human terms and sociology because that's what's understandable?
What the authors continue to excel at here is just how alien the Carryx and their society feel. When the humans make the mistake of acting like their alien overlords are human, we understand because they're just so incomprehensible as a species--desires, purpose, raison d'etre--that even when we're flat out told, we don't believe it because it's just so inhuman. The entire endeavor looks so bleak, even as we learn more about the Carryx's enemies. Allies come from unexpected areas, but the unfeeling violence of the Carryx comes out of nowhere and it is brutal and chilling and completely in line with the survival horror game that this series is.
This series continues to be a fascinating exploration of ideas into the human psyche and there were some moments I had to set it down and process some of the decisions made thereby. Some (read: all) of the romance stuff could have just been cast to the side and I'd been perfectly fine. Worldbuilding here is top-notch. I hope this is longer than a trilogy because I'd stay in this world forever.
So, my first question is: did you enjoy THE MERCY OF GODS? If you didn't, and you're waiting to see if book 2 is going to be what sells you on this series, I am here to tell you that this will not be the case. BEASTS is not the book that is going to convince you that you like this series. It is more of what we got in MERCY, but doubled down.
If it seems like I'm dogging on this, I'm not. It's excellent. But it's excellent in what it's setting out to do, which is continue the story begun in book 1. Here again, we are with the human moeity, with Dafyd at the top as the liaison between them and the Carryx. Where this book excels is not the gripping character work that a die-hard Abraham fan might come to expect or the action of a sci-fi space opera, but in the continued exploration of survival. How do survivors adapt to their new--and deadly--environment? Who are those who willingly collaborate with their overlords? Unwillingly? How does the human mind make sense of its surroundings by categorizing everything in human terms and sociology because that's what's understandable?
What the authors continue to excel at here is just how alien the Carryx and their society feel. When the humans make the mistake of acting like their alien overlords are human, we understand because they're just so incomprehensible as a species--desires, purpose, raison d'etre--that even when we're flat out told, we don't believe it because it's just so inhuman. The entire endeavor looks so bleak, even as we learn more about the Carryx's enemies. Allies come from unexpected areas, but the unfeeling violence of the Carryx comes out of nowhere and it is brutal and chilling and completely in line with the survival horror game that this series is.
This series continues to be a fascinating exploration of ideas into the human psyche and there were some moments I had to set it down and process some of the decisions made thereby. Some (read: all) of the romance stuff could have just been cast to the side and I'd been perfectly fine. Worldbuilding here is top-notch. I hope this is longer than a trilogy because I'd stay in this world forever.
December 21, 2025
Returning to the story of Dafyd, the Carryx and a space opera that hooked me from the start of The Mercy of Gods, I can clearly state that The Faith of Beasts does not suffer from the plague of so many second books of a series. First books have the novelty of introducing a new world and characters, new dilemmas, new villains; last books wrap up the story and hold the key to answers that keep readers turning pages through all the prior books; but the middle children of a series are where an author must work to keep us as interested as we were in the hook, add new problems or complexities, lead us toward the ending without giving it all away. This book actually gave us more world building than we saw in the first, delved deeper into conflict, and succeeded in making me want even more. Readers that enjoyed the start of The Captive's War should enjoy this continuation.
I received access to this ARC thru NetGalley (for which I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher, Orbit Books) for an honest review. The opinion expressed here is my own.
I received access to this ARC thru NetGalley (for which I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher, Orbit Books) for an honest review. The opinion expressed here is my own.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
I enjoyed the first book in the Captive’s War series, Mercy of Gods, as well as Livesuit, set in the same epic alien-conquest universe. The alien hierarchy reminds me of Walter Jom Williams’ Praxis series but more brutal.
Everyone is bitter about Dafyd Alkhor’s betrayal, even as survivors struggle to make humans useful to the overlords. He plans for future generations. From those scattered, we encounter a lot of introspection on the way to the front lines. Their only hope is the spy known as the swarm, who is by far the most interesting sci-fi character in years. It evolves this book into more than a weapon. My favorite quote about the humans it observes: so many levels of misunderstanding.
In part two, things ignite when human servants on an unburned conflict world discover other humans…fighting against the aliens. If this got back to their overlords, all humans in captivity might be wiped out. Later, human science experiments on the Carryx homeworld lead to both deaths and possibilities. According to Dafyd, “All the pieces are there to make a plan,” which will be the next book.
Everyone is bitter about Dafyd Alkhor’s betrayal, even as survivors struggle to make humans useful to the overlords. He plans for future generations. From those scattered, we encounter a lot of introspection on the way to the front lines. Their only hope is the spy known as the swarm, who is by far the most interesting sci-fi character in years. It evolves this book into more than a weapon. My favorite quote about the humans it observes: so many levels of misunderstanding.
In part two, things ignite when human servants on an unburned conflict world discover other humans…fighting against the aliens. If this got back to their overlords, all humans in captivity might be wiped out. Later, human science experiments on the Carryx homeworld lead to both deaths and possibilities. According to Dafyd, “All the pieces are there to make a plan,” which will be the next book.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Honestly, wow. I was looking forward to this but it exceeded all my expectations. I'm not a big science fiction, at least not of the sorta space opera variety, but found The Faith of Beasts gripping and affecting. I believe this is to be a trilogy but I can hardly imagine how it will wrap up on one more book. But for now, this second book - revelations, action, a sober examination of feeling powerless, even a few flashes of humor. A great read.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews