Auberon: An Expanse Novella (The Expanse #7.5), by James S.A. Corey

  Nice of the two authors pen-named James S.A. Corey to publish a novella to assuage the thirst for a new The Expanse novel. Auberon is pretty good, but on a human level, rather than on a science-fiction one. You could imagine the same story in a French or Belgian colony in Africa with minimal changes.

  The main focus is on the new Laconian governor of planet Auberon, arriving all smart and proud as the almighty representative of a regime that is rooted in discipline at all levels. Can he keep that up? No plan survives contact with the enemy, but how will things change?

  Bottom line: short, fresh, easy to empathize characters. A win.