The books in The Expanse series have all been terrific read . Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck , who compose under the pseudonym James S.A. Corey , have said their writing style is fundamentally “ make it awing . ” The modish Bible in the series , Abaddon ’s Gate , more than attain that end , adding to the reputation they ’ve achieved thus far .
mollycoddler below …
Abraham and Franck have a tendency to open with a disgraceful hook that pulls you in and refuse to get go . In Leviathan Wakes it was a captured crewmember who escapes to find the horrible remains of her crew . In Caliban ’s War , a fearsome attack kidnaps a young child on Ganymede .
In each novel , Corey start out off small and ends big , and that ’s exactly what happens in Abaddon ’s Gate . In this latest sashay in the rapidly growing Expanse series , a gung - ho Belter taste to slingshot through an alien artefact known as the annulus , turning himself into a liquid when it abruptly stop him . From there , we ’re off to the race , and it ’s utterly fantastic to be catapulted through Corey ’s solar system once again .
Abaddon ’s Gatepicks up a twelvemonth after the events of Caliban ’s War , when an alien protomolocule constructed a major artifact : a ring that was take flight beyond Neptune ’s area . When the Belter tries to thread the ring with his spaceship , it sets into motion a major interplanetary incident that brings each of the major Solar System factions ( Earth , Mars and the Outer Planets Alliance ) to the Ring , where they get down to study the construct , and keep tabs on one another .
Along for the ride are the serial protagonists , James Holden and the gang of the Rocinante . They ’ve recently hit some hard times : the Martian government is attempt to get their war vessel back and they ’re confront an uncertain future among the planets . That change when they get a job to bring in a documentary film crew out to the Ring , only to find that they ’ve been set up by someone seek to take revenge for the prior actions of Holden and his crew . On top of all that , Holden has been seeing his long - dead friend Miller , who appears with some mysterious content when he ’s not expecting it .
As they find themselves out at the end of the Solar System with the rival fleet , a situation arises that threatens the fragile peace of the solar scheme , and disclose the nature of the protomolocule and the civilization behind it . As the survivors issue forth to adhesive friction about their situation , they must contend with sect that could spell the remainder of humanity .
After each al-Qur’an in this series , I ’ve encounter myself sitting back and wondering how it ’ll be potential to top the last one — and each time , I ’ve been impressed at how they handle to escalate the latent hostility , natural action and play in each installing . Abaddon ’s Gate further escalates the scourge level that the protomolocule posed in the early books , but Abraham & Franck hedge the macrocosm of a Lovecraftian monster from beyond the Solar System . Rather , the menace come from within , with a single actor ’s drive for revenge and the human knee - jerk reactions that follow .
The human play is where The Expanse has always been peculiarly strong , and this latest installment really slams the report home . The assembled fleet first abide an act of sabotage , and Holden , accused of the offense , takes the only option usable to him : through the ring and to whatever ’s on the other side , close follow by component of three governments . There , they find themselves and their actions at the brink of disintegration , facing two possible choices : strain to destroy their captor , or take to heart what ’s happened to the fleet , and function out a means to escape . The culminating actions are among the most exciting minute put down to newspaper publisher in this serial , with the stakes raised to their high spirit level yet . Throughout , however , the characters that we follow have to total to terms with the furiousness around them , and realize that action is n’t always what ’s needed to fix the problems face up them : it ’s understanding and forgiveness . They ’re hard lessons to swallow for most of the fellow member of the fleet as the organic structure count climbs and the clock lento counts down .
Abaddon ’s Gate further develops the epic coiffe that Abraham and Franck have created , principally in putting the political ties between Earth , Mars and the OPA front and snapper . A major motif for this book is the estimation of cooperation amongst factions . Throughout the series , the governing of Earth and Mars have been at odds , with the OPA struggling for recognition as a major power on the spare-time activity .
With the three groups stuck in the midsection of an alien artifact , each theatrical role finds themselves facing an unenviable pick : work with the people that they do n’t get along with , or die alone , cut off from their homes . In a pile of shipway , the fleet have their existence put into perspective , and that only by working together , they ’ll survive . In a fate of ways , they almost do n’t make it as the volume hotfoot to a truly stunning ending that go away me hanging on page by Thomas Nelson Page that ’s adequate to the last thirty minute of any SF adventure you ’ll find at the movies .
Like Caliban ’s War , Abraham and Franck introduce a raw age bracket of characters in addition to the central crew of the Rosinante : Anna , a pastor , Melba / Carissa , a member of the Mao family bent on retaliation , and Bull , an Earther working for the OPA ’s large spacecraft . These three main characters congratulate Holden and his crew , and are at points a more interesting collection of personalities . They represent all a wide range of the solar system , and through their eye , we see an almost comprehensive view of the action that carry them along . A couple of character from the predate novel , Bobbie , the Martian Marine and Avasarala , the UN official , are remark , but do n’t actually look . It ’s a spot of a disgrace , because they were both fascinating character , but it does show a fleck of discipline on the part of the authors to avoid overdoing it with the character — a charge often pull down against George R.R. Martin ’s Song of Ice and Fire novel .
Abaddon ’s Gate find like the finale of a major spark : originally , the generator were contracted for three , but that ’s since been doubled , bringing us to the midriff of the series , but with enough of an arc to get what feel like closure to some major elements that made up the preceding novel . carry together , Leviathan Wakes , Caliban ’s War and Abaddon ’s Gate are an explosive , exciting adventure that smash the hinges off the door and keeps going .
The source of this serial have their antecedent as a biz , and there are points where this really has the feel of a kick - behind TV game crossed with an equally awing Hollywood smash hit . The world of The Expanse and the scale of the history would make any adaption difficult ( HBO , that ’s a challenge to you ) , and the authors recognize that any constraints that they have are to be taken out back and shoot . This is literary space opera house at its right-down best , and already , I ’m eagerly numerate down the months until the as - of - yet - unnamed 4th book in the series will make its manner to bookstall shelves . In the meantime , however , I ’m going to try and visualize out how they ’re going to top this one .
book reviewBooksDaniel AbrahamJames s.a . coreySpace
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