Abaddon’s Gate by James S.A. Corey (The Expanse #3)

        The novel begins with a short prologue introducing the physical Macguffin when a young cocky Belter takes it upon himself to test the Ring which appeared near Uranus. After the prologue, the main action of Abaddon’s Gate picks up the story about a year after the events of Caliban’s War and focuses once again on James Holden and his crew of Rocinante. As has become custom with Corey’s novels, the chapters rotate through four point of view characters: Holden; Melba, also known as Clarissa Mao, sister of the late Julie Mao who died in Leviathan Wakes; Anna Volovodov, a new character, a Pastor from Europa who is sent to the Ring as a part of a larger humanitarian committee; and Bull, the security officer on the Behemoh, a ship of the Outer Planets Alliance (OPA for short, a governing body of the Solar System) sent to the Ring.

        Each of these POVs has their own narrative to tell; Melba blames Holden for her sister’s death and as a result, the girl who once went by the name Clarissa goes through some physical changes to alter her appearance and name change to enact her plan of revenge. Bull has the unenviable task of keeping peace on his ship while following Holden. He’s about as grizzled and tough a character in the series as we’ve seen.

        In Anna, Corey’s come up with one of the more intricately woven and complex characters in the series thus far. As a pastor, she is our main view into how religion still exists in a solar system where humanity has expanded beyond the confines of earth and found itself to no longer be the oldest and only space-faring species. The conflict of how certain religions/faiths would survive and endure in the face of a greater cosmic scale where the concept of God could be moot has long been a fascinating theme tackled in SF, from Clarke’s seminal story “The Star” to George R.R. Martin’s “The Way of Cross and Dragon,” to Sagan’s Contact to Mary Doria Russell’s The Sparrow. Corey doesn’t provide easy answers, but raises such questions through the narrative with alacrity. Oh yeah, another layer to Anna’s character – she has a same sex relationship and is a mother. The depiction of Anna’s yearning to be with her family is another powerful aspect of the character, it doesn’t come across as whingy/whiny but rather a strength of love.

        Holden is still haunted by Miller’s apparition, much to the dismay of the captain of the Rocinante. James often doubts his own sanity because Miller disappears whenever another person, usually his crew including for example his love interest/girlfriend Naomi, enters the room. He is the driving force as the consistent protagonist over the course of these three books; his actions and his sense of right pulls his crew to him like a magnet.

        The character who comes into conflict the most with Holden, is of course Melba aka Clarissa Mao. Her thoughts of revenge through much of the early portions of the novel pay off in an event which drives much of the action towards the novel’s conclusion. She was the character with whom I identified the least and her POV was the one to which I felt least connected. This isn’t to say she’s a bad character because despite her outwardly facing actions, Corey manages to at the very least build empathy in her character which allowed me to understand her position.

        If I have any gripes with this book (and it is slight) it is this: I miss the character of Chrisjen Avasarala. She was a standout for me in the previous volume, Caliban’s War and I understand Corey’s aims to bring in new characters in each volume, but perhaps I was (very unfairly, I admit) comparing her to the new characters who replaced her.

        Over the course of these three books, Abraham & Franck aka Corey have produced essential space-based science fiction. They’ve built up mystery, intrigue and human characters coming to grips with the solar system and now even more so in Abaddon’s Gate, a universe that is much vaster in size and with a history more far flung than they initially thought. Each novel ups the ante and stretches the bounds of where Corey can take this tale, giving the feel that while big events do occur, these events might just be scratching the surface. Abaddon’s Gate might work for newer readers since it tells a complete story in itself, conflict introduced early and resolution reached by novel’s end. However, the great enjoyment is the familiarity of the characters and the solar system in which they live.

        I give both the novel Abaddon’s Gate and The Expanse series very high recommendation.