Pilot of the Rocinante and former MCRN officer. A Martian with a warm, garrulous personality that masks genuine melancholy about his failed family life. One of the finest pilots in human space, with an instinctive feel for orbital mechanics and ship handling.

Mechanic and general muscle aboard the Rocinante. A man who grew up in the worst conditions Baltimore had to offer and emerged without the capacity for moral judgment most people take for granted - he outsources that function to people he trusts. Straightforwardly violent when necessary, and deeply loyal to those he considers his people.

Former XO of the ice freighter Canterbury who becomes captain of the salvaged Martian gunship Rocinante after witnessing the destruction of his ship. A relentless idealist with a compulsion to broadcast the truth regardless of the political consequences, Holden repeatedly finds himself at the centre of events that define the course of human history.

A Belter detective working for Star Helix Security on Ceres Station. Burnt out, underpaid, and living in his hat. Assigned to find a missing girl named Julie Mao, he becomes obsessed with the case long after it stops being a job. The investigation costs him everything and leads him to the heart of the greatest conspiracy in human history.

Chief engineer and executive officer of the Rocinante. A Belter of exceptional intelligence and technical skill who carries a painful past involving the Free Navy. The moral conscience of the crew, she is also one of the most capable engineers in the solar system.

Head of security for Royal Charter Energy (RCE) on the Ilus/New Terra expedition. A ruthless and calculating former soldier who believes the frontier demands brutal pragmatism, willing to kill colonists and manipulate situations to establish corporate dominance.

A Ganymede refugee and father who relocated to the colony world of Ilus (New Terra). A welder by trade, he is protective of his family and deeply mistrustful of the corporate and UN interests that follow settlers to the new world.

Martian marine gunnery sergeant who witnesses something on Ganymede that her government wants buried. One of the most physically formidable characters in the series, she is also one of its most principled - a soldier who cannot stop asking whether the orders she follows are worth following.

Colonial coordinator and leader of the Ilus/New Terra settlement. Represents the colonists in negotiations with RCE and mediator Holden, working to protect the settlers' rights to the planet they have claimed.

RCE security officer assigned to the surface team on Ilus/New Terra. Serves under Murtry and follows his orders loyally, including monitoring the Belter ship Barbapiccola.

UN Deputy Undersecretary of Executive Administration and one of the most powerful politicians on Earth. Foul-mouthed, brilliant, and utterly clear-eyed about how power works. She plays the long game better than almost anyone in the solar system and genuinely cares about the billions of people whose lives depend on her getting it right.

An Earther and security officer on Ceres station, partnered with Josephus Miller. His off-world background makes him an outsider in the predominantly Belter station.

A scientist who travels to Ilus as part of a Royal Charter Energy survey team and becomes caught in the colony conflict. In the later books she becomes the Laconian Empire's leading expert on the alien gates and the entity that destroyed their builders - a role that places her at the centre of the series' most fundamental questions.

A geologist and scientist who joins the expedition to Ilus (New Terra). Good-humoured and easygoing, he provides a grounding presence among the research team studying the alien world.

Former UN Marine colonel who became the most wanted man in the Belt after Anderson Station, and then - through a long process of reckoning with what he had done - became the most important non-Belter leader in the OPA. A man trying to build something better out of the wreckage of his own history.

Doctor and medic for the Ilus/New Terra colony, wife of Basia Merton and mother of Felcia and Jacek. A former Ganymede refugee who provides emergency medical care to both colonists and RCE personnel.

Documentary filmmaker and journalist who first joins the Rocinante crew for the Ring expedition, using Freedom of Journalism Act protections. Later operates Radio Free Slow Zone broadcasts from the Behemoth during the crisis inside the ring space.

Daughter of Basia and Lucia Merton, a bright young woman who dreams of leaving Ilus/New Terra to attend university. She eventually departs for the Barbapiccola to pursue her education despite her father's initial objections.

Son of Basia and Lucia Merton, a young boy growing up on the Ilus/New Terra colony. Struggles with his father's arrest and imprisonment aboard the Rocinante.