Abaddon’s Gate (The Expanse #3), by James S.A. Corey
Summary
After the excellent “Leviathan Wakes” and the almost equally great “Caliban’s War” here I’m sitting and wondering what to write about this more than worthy successor… When I first encountered the “The Expanse” series, I was sceptical: – I do not like science fiction literature. What I came to realise, though, is that James S.A. Corey has extremely interesting stories to tell and the means to seemingly effortlessly tell them in a way that keeps me coming back for more. As in its predecessors, in “Abaddon’s Gate” the alien protomolecule plays a major role and, of course, Holden, Naomi, Alex and Amos are with us again, too. As if all that wasn’t yet enough to make this book a pretty much instant favourite of mine, there are major human topics that get addressed in a very decent and remarkably unobtrusive way: From complex and, oftentimes, difficult subjects like forgiveness and redemption to somewhat easier ones like our insatiable curiosity (which tends to kill the proverbial cat…) and many others. Just like the books before it, “Abaddon’s Gate” is to quote myself “challenging, long, complex and dark but of an overall quality that makes it feel like it pretty much plays in its own league.” Here’s to hoping the series goes on like that!
