Third book in a nine book set, Abaddon’s Gate by James S.A. Corey is a “hard science” fiction epic with a popular television show and is widely considered one of the best genre series to come along in a while. I read and enjoyed the first two, so it was an easy decision to spend a few days tackling this one.
Straight from the book jacket: “For generations, the solar system – Mars, the Moon, the Asteroid Belt – was humanity’s great frontier. Until now. The alien artifact working through its program under the clouds of Venus has appeared in Uranus’s orbit, where it has built a massive gate that leads to a starless space beyond.
Jim Holden and the crew of the Rocinante are part of a vast flotilla of scientific and military ships going out to examine the artifact. But behind the scenes, a complex plot is unfolding, with the destruction of Holden at its core. As the emissaries of the human race try to find whether the gate is an opportunity or a threat, the greatest danger is the one they brought with them.”
Realistic science (well, potentially); sharp writing and action scenes; a revolving cast of characters; and many well thought out political and philosophical viewpoints – all staples of the book series so far, and all present here too. Excitedly, Abaddon’s Gate introduces three new POV characters, all representing different sects of humanity, and they do a lot in further humanizing all three of those factions. Clarissa’s arc struck a chord with me – while her revenge plot was meticulously planned, her inner monologue was a bit repetitive, until she (spoiler) killed her new friend Ren. This action haunted her throughout the rest of the novel, in a way that I thought was realistic and heart-wrenching. The other two point-of-view characters are equally well thought out and interesting, with their own arcs that tie well into the existing themes and main characters.
This book does an excellent job of keeping the universe “fresh” while expanding it in interesting and sometimes unexpected ways – I absolutely recommend it to all readers, regardless of previous interest in the sci-fi genre.