Abaddon’s Gate by James S. A. Corey

Abaddon’s Gate by James S. A. Corey
Book 3 of The Expanse
Published by Orbit UK, June 2013
ISBN: 978 1 84149 992 5
544 pages

Review by Mark Yon

When we left the Expanse series in Book 2 (Caliban’s War, SFFWorldreview HERE) things were setting themselves up for SOMETHING BIG to happen.

(And this might be a good place to point out that there may be SPOILERS for the previous books below).

So, when we get to Book 3 it is rather expected that SOMETHING BIG will happen. And we do seem to start on an epic scale. The enigmatic aliens of previous novels have adapted Venus and are now building some sort of stargate in Uranus’s orbit – that leads to a place without stars.

At the same time, our hero, Jim Holden and the motley crew of the Rocinante are where we left them, travelling to the artifact. As too are fleets from Earth, Mars and the Outer Planets, some of which are scientific, others are military.

At the beginning of Abbadon’s Gate it’s not clear whether the gate is going to be an opportunity or a threat to the human race. Much of the first half is to do with this, and the events developing whilst travelling to the Ring, the second is what happens afterwards. Along the way we have heroes and heroines, events of valour and cowardice, good guys and bad.

Much of the characterisation throughout Abaddon’s Gate is focused on Holden and the Rocinante team of Naomi, Amos and Alex. Now that we’re starting to get to know the characters in this series, I was pleased how quickly I was able to pick up the plot from where we last left it. Much of this book is about the consequences of these BIG events on Holden and his group of compadres, in a way that reminded me very much of Chris Wooding’s Retribution Falls books, or Firefly. The empathy of the writing is such that you engage as a reader with the characters and relate to their dilemmas. Holden is a leader who cares very much about his crew, but is still haunted by events in his past – the death of Julie Mao, which has consequences here, and the often present protomolecule version of detective Miller, which seems to act as a link between humans (Holden) and the alien ‘thing’.

As is fairly typical of this series, whilst we have characters like Holden who we recognise from before, there are new ones who broaden the scope of the plot. Of the newer characters now brought into the spotlight, we have Pastor Anna Volovodov, from Europa, one of the religious group sent to The Ring as part of a humanitarian committee. Anna’s religious role is one of increasing importance through the novel, although she is sorely tested by events on-board the fleet. There’s a news crew sent to record events, and there’s the mysterious Melba, with a secret past.

In particular I liked Carlos c de Baca, aka ‘Bull’, security officer on the OPA (Outer Planets Alliance) ship, the Behemoth is a curmudgeonly yet likeable character whose ‘tough love’ approach to problems has gained him respect and a reputation amongst fellow officers. He has to deal with the politics of the changing situation as well as the rather diverse needs of a gaggle of people, all demanding different things. His methods are at times unusual but effective.

The book takes a little while to get going, setting up the plot, but once you are past the halfway mark the pages kept turning. James SA Corey manages to throw a good plot twist or two into the mix, as we would perhaps rather expect with one of the co-writers being Daniel Abraham (of The Dragon and the Coinseries), another series known for such events. But they are quite good, and not always expected.
There’s also a nice mix of humour and drama throughout. Pleasingly, the alien ‘thing’ still remains steadfastly enigmatic at the end, in much the same way that it did in 2001: A Space Odyssey. There is more of a cliff-hanger ending here than in the previous books that may annoy some readers.

It is a book that happily revels in its old-fashioned action-SF style. At times I was reminded a little of Algis Budrys’s Rogue Moon, or perhaps Lem’s Solaris. There is even a touch of Arthur C Clarke’s Rendezvous with Rama here, as we see what is on the other side of the Gate.

However, in summary, this is an exciting, thrill-ride of a read that matches up nicely with previous two novels in the series and keeps you entertained until the very end. Most of all, Abaddon’s Gate’s winning point is that, in the end, it is about the human characters and their dilemmas that keep you reading.

Caliban’s War was one of our SFFWorld SF Books of 2011. Is Abaddon’s Gate a book for 2013’s list? On the strength of this: very likely.

Mark Yon, June 2013