Caliban's War

James Holden is a protagonist and one of the four point-of-view characters.

Holden grew up on Earth in the state of Montana. He was born to a collective of eight adults who collaborated to have a baby, which is an expensive undertaking due to overcrowded Earth’s baby tax. Holden served in the UN Navy but was dishonorably discharged. He is described as having “the stocky bones of an Earther, unkempt dark hair, and a peculiar brand of boyish good looks” (98). Bobbie thinks he is cute but “a little too full of himself” (470).

In the first novel in the series, he was involved destroying Eros Station, where the protomolecule had turned the human inhabitants into zombie-like creatures. Holden partnered with Detective Jim Miller, who was trying to locate Julie Mao, daughter of tycoon Jules-Pierre Mao. In the process, he commandeered a Martian corvette and renamed it the Rocinante. Holden was deeply affected by the loss of human life he witnessed on Eros, which is why he panics when he sees signs of the black filament in the Ganymede lab in this novel.

While Holden can be self-righteous, he is genuinely motivated to remedy injustice and stop aggression.