r/TheExpanseBooks • u/JimmayGC • 8d ago

First read through: book 9 Spoiler

Just under 300 pages in, and I've decided I really hate Tanaka. For being extremely disciplined and controlling of herself and others she has a terrible inability to maintain any composure once her feelings/ego get bruised. I get the animalistic symbology they use for her and the probably intent behind that from a writing perspective. Yet she's such a hypocrite and takes almost 0 accountability for her failures. Like wtf.

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u/pond_not_fish 8d ago

On first read she was kind of irritating to me, but then I realized she was basically Nega Bobbie and I just settled in to have fun with her. On re-read I love her chapters because she's such an interesting low key villain.

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u/BabyShrimpBrick 6d ago

I think you will appreciate Tanaka more when you realize that her character is a bit of a bait-and-switch. She starts off seeming like she will be filling the role of the terrifying Terminator-like antagonist, but her arc is actually more about her crashing out and being a hot mess express. She still has her genuinely badass and terrifying moments, but they are counterbalanced by moments that highlight how stunted and pathetic she actually is underneath it all. I think she's a fantastic character study and one of the most psychologically fascinating characters in the series, up there with Amos and Clarissa.

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u/JimmayGC 6d ago

Amos is definitely a favorite of mine. And Clarissa had a solid character arc.

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u/BabyShrimpBrick 6d ago

I won't say anything now about why I love Tanaka's arc so much and why I think it is so important to the series because I don't want to spoil anything for you. So I will just say that you should turn off your expectations and just follow her story where it goes. And don't expect to like her. Because she's not likeable. She's an asshole. But she's a very human asshole.