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  • The Captive's War
  • The Faith of Beasts

The Faith of Beasts

The Captive's War #2 / 3
by James S. A. Corey
The Faith of Beasts (The Captive's War #2) by James S. A. Corey
⧗ 9.40 / 10
1234567389710

From the multi-million-copy bestselling author of the Expanse comes the second book in the Captive's War series - a spectacular new space opera that sees humanity fighting for its survival in a war as old as the universe itself.

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. Its mission: 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 . . .

Also known as The Mercy of Gods Book 2.
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Science FictionSpace Opera
Release date: April 14, 2026

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James S. A. Corey

James S. A. Corey

In the vast universe of modern science fiction, few names have reshaped the genre quite like James S. A. Corey—a pseudonym that conceals a powerful creative duo: Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck. Their collaboration gave birth to The Expanse, a sweeping space opera that redefined political intrigue, interplanetary tension, and character-driven storytelling on a galactic scale. With its gritty realism, moral complexity, and vast yet intimate scope, the series captured the imagination of a generation hungry for science fiction grounded not in fantasy, but in plausible futures.

Read more ...

The partnership began with a world that wasn’t meant to be written—at least not at first. Ty Franck had developed an intricate science fiction universe as a setting for role-playing games, while Daniel Abraham, already an acclaimed fantasy author, saw the untapped potential in the world’s layered politics and grounded physics. The two joined forces to write Leviathan Wakes, the debut novel of The Expanse, and what started as a single book quickly evolved into a nine-volume epic spanning decades, factions, and the very question of what it means to be human.

Their writing is marked by a rare balance: hard science fiction rooted in realism, paired with fast-paced plotting and deeply human characters. While the books thrill with cinematic action, it's the moral weight behind each decision and the fragile alliances between Martians, Earthers, and Belters that leave a lasting impact.

Behind the pseudonym lies a name steeped in meaning—“James” and “Corey” taken from their middle names, and “S. A.” from Abraham’s daughter. Even this choice was deliberate, a subtle nod to the golden age of 1970s space opera authors. And yet, their work feels distinctly modern, wrestling with the same social, political, and ecological anxieties we face on Earth, but magnified through the lens of a colonized solar system.

The series’ popularity soared beyond the page when it was adapted into a critically acclaimed television series, praised for its fidelity to the books and its compelling ensemble cast. In 2022, the final novel, Leviathan Falls, earned the Dragon Award for Best Science Fiction Novel, cementing their legacy as one of the defining voices of contemporary sci-fi.

James S. A. Corey may be a shared name, but what Abraham and Franck have created together is singular—a deeply immersive, politically charged, and emotionally resonant vision of humanity’s future among the stars.

The Captive's War

On a distant world, generations of humans have lived without any memory of how they got there. Their society—isolated, quietly advanced, and curiously untouched—unfolds beneath the looming question of origin. And then the Carryx arrive.

Everything changes the moment this insectoid empire descends. Alien in every sense, the Carryx don’t seek war in the way humanity understands it. They don’t conquer with brutality—they absorb, repurpose, and twist. Their captives become tools, their cultures become resources. When a group of scientists and scholars from Anjiin are taken, they’re not imprisoned behind bars—they're immersed in the machinery of an empire that doesn’t believe it’s doing anything wrong.

Read more ...

The Captive’s War peels back the traditional layers of alien invasion and reframes them through quiet horror and psychological unease. It’s not about planetary battles or fleets in the sky—it’s about cultural survival, about what happens when resistance looks less like rebellion and more like remembering who you are in a world determined to erase that knowledge.

The atmosphere is dense with tension—intimate, unsettling, and occasionally darkly beautiful. Fans of intelligent science fiction will find themselves caught between awe and dread as the Carryx civilization is revealed: not evil, but incompatible. It’s a conflict rooted in the fundamental disconnect of what it means to be alive, sentient, and free.

Written with the precision and human depth that defined The Expanse, this series opens a new frontier—one where the most devastating wars are fought not with weapons, but with assimilation, ideology, and memory.


The Captive's War consists of one book and series is set to expand with the upcoming release of two more books. The current recommended reading order for the series is provided below.

The Mercy of Gods (The Captive's War #1)
★ 8.34 / 3
The Faith of Beasts (The Captive's War #2)
⧗ 9.40 / 10
The Captive's War Book 3 (The Captive's War #3)
⧗ 8.00 / 1


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