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A review by mediaevalmuse
Abaddon's Gate by James S. A. Corey
4.0
This book is the third in The Expanse series, following Leviathan Wakes and Caliban’s War. Abaddon’s Gate continues to impress with its racial and gender diversity, though my major complaint this time around has to do with focus and pacing as opposed to anything I found inherently bothersome with the story itself. Overall, this book was an enjoyable read, and The Expanse is quickly becoming one of my favorite sci-fi series ever.
Things I Liked
1. Women: Just as in Caliban’s War, the balance between POV characters is half and half. Two of them are male and two are female. Although we no longer follow Avasarala or Bobbi, The characters we meet in this novel are interesting in their own ways. Anna is a pastor who is travelling to the Ring (”gate”) for the purpose of moral support and spiritual guidance in the face of the unknown, while Melba is a woman intent on revenge.
2. Diversity: Not only does the racial diversity of the series continue into Abaddon’s Gate, but we also get more sexual orientation diversity. Anna is a lesbian, though her sexuality is not the focus of her storyline (which is refreshing).
3. Change in Plot: My big complaint from reading Caliban’s War was that it seemed to follow too much in the footsteps of Leviathan Wakes in terms of plot. This installment, however, gets more away from that. The previous two books can be called a mash up of sci fi and horror with some politics thrown in. This book, while obviously still sci fi, focuses less on the horror aspect and presents us instead with more political negotiations, scientific exploration, and revenge plots. The politics are a bit different than what we saw with Avasarala, but still, they give readers a sense that the universe is much bigger and complicated than what we might originally believe.
Things I Didn’t Like
1. Not Enough Focus on the Gate/Ring: The central “problem” in this novel is that a portal has opened up and all human forces are struggling to study it while avoiding all-out war on one another. While I do like that Corey spends a lot of time on the characters and their lives, there wasn’t really a sense of “holy sh*t, a portal just opened up in our solar system.” It’s more treated like a curious new planet - benign until something terrible happens. There’s no sense of urgency or desire to maybe close the portal. I would have liked to see more people freaking out about this phenomenon, since most of us would probably react the same way.
2. Deaths: There were a couple deaths in this book that I wasn’t quite sure how to feel about. Without giving them away, I will say that I think there are enough women and people of color in this novel where if one dies, the representation does not diminish. However, that still didn’t prevent me from questioning whether or not I was comfortable with the deaths of the characters that did occur.
Recommendations: I would recommend this book only if you’ve read the first two books in the series. Without them, this novel wouldn’t make much sense.
Things I Liked
1. Women: Just as in Caliban’s War, the balance between POV characters is half and half. Two of them are male and two are female. Although we no longer follow Avasarala or Bobbi, The characters we meet in this novel are interesting in their own ways. Anna is a pastor who is travelling to the Ring (”gate”) for the purpose of moral support and spiritual guidance in the face of the unknown, while Melba is a woman intent on revenge.
2. Diversity: Not only does the racial diversity of the series continue into Abaddon’s Gate, but we also get more sexual orientation diversity. Anna is a lesbian, though her sexuality is not the focus of her storyline (which is refreshing).
3. Change in Plot: My big complaint from reading Caliban’s War was that it seemed to follow too much in the footsteps of Leviathan Wakes in terms of plot. This installment, however, gets more away from that. The previous two books can be called a mash up of sci fi and horror with some politics thrown in. This book, while obviously still sci fi, focuses less on the horror aspect and presents us instead with more political negotiations, scientific exploration, and revenge plots. The politics are a bit different than what we saw with Avasarala, but still, they give readers a sense that the universe is much bigger and complicated than what we might originally believe.
Things I Didn’t Like
1. Not Enough Focus on the Gate/Ring: The central “problem” in this novel is that a portal has opened up and all human forces are struggling to study it while avoiding all-out war on one another. While I do like that Corey spends a lot of time on the characters and their lives, there wasn’t really a sense of “holy sh*t, a portal just opened up in our solar system.” It’s more treated like a curious new planet - benign until something terrible happens. There’s no sense of urgency or desire to maybe close the portal. I would have liked to see more people freaking out about this phenomenon, since most of us would probably react the same way.
2. Deaths: There were a couple deaths in this book that I wasn’t quite sure how to feel about. Without giving them away, I will say that I think there are enough women and people of color in this novel where if one dies, the representation does not diminish. However, that still didn’t prevent me from questioning whether or not I was comfortable with the deaths of the characters that did occur.
Recommendations: I would recommend this book only if you’ve read the first two books in the series. Without them, this novel wouldn’t make much sense.