Persepolis Rising

Persepolis Rising by James S. A. Corey, 549 pages.

In the seventh book of the Expanse we lose or have lost a couple of the almost-main characters. It's not totally unexpected; we've been through a few civil wars, and alien battles, and now it's three decades since the end of the last book.
The Laconian gate was last used by the mutineers of the Martian Navy, fleeing the war they had helped the self-styled Free Navy start and taking with them the last sample of the protomolecule. Duarte and the rest of his Martian troops have made good use of their time and when they come back through the gate, things at the ring and beyond take another turn. Things get weird again. Bobbie, Naomi, Alex, Amos, and Holden get separated for an extended time, and the conflict in this book extends into book eight.
The two writers who make up Corey do a wonderful job of moving the story along through the long improbable arc of this series.