Abaddon's Gate

Starred review from April 8, 2013
Corey (a shared pseudonym for Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck) delivers a politically complex and pulse-pounding page-turner to continue the Expanse space opera series. Not too long after the events of Caliban’s War, the alien matter-manipulating protomolecule that had taken over Venus catapults mysterious mechanisms out beyond the orbit of Uranus. Those mechanisms build a thousand-kilometer-wide ring that the governments of Earth, Mars, and the Outer Planets Alliance all race to investigate. Capt. James Holden of the Rocinante plans to be on the other side of the solar system during those investigations, but the government of Mars files suit to reclaim the Rocinante and forces Holden’s crew to schlep a news team out to the Ring. Meanwhile, Clarissa Melpomene “Melba” Mao, the daughter of disgraced tycoon Jules-Pierre Mao, sets up an intricate plan of revenge against Holden for his actions against her father. Corey perfectly balances character development with action and uses shifts in point of view to keep the large cast intimate. Politics, philosophical ideas, and humor mingle in a tale that will shock and surprise. New readers should start with book one; series fans will find this installment the best yet.

Starred review from May 15, 2013

When the alien artifact that has plagued the planets of the near solar system--Earth, Mars, the Moon and the Asteroid Belt--from its Venutian haven reveals its construction of a massive gate into the darkness within Uranus's orbits, a flotilla of military and scientific spaceships sets out to explore the artifact. Accompanying the mission on the Rocante is Capt. Jim Holden and his crew, who have had more interactions with the entity than anyone else in the galaxy. But Holden soon finds that he plays a crucial and deadly role in this gate's appearance. VERDICT High adventure equaling the best space opera has to offer, cutting-edge technology, and a group of unforgettable characters bring the third installment of Corey's epic space drama (after Caliban's War and Leviathan Wakes) to an action-filled close while leaving room for more stories to unfold. Perhaps one of the best tales the genre has yet to produce, this superb collaboration between fantasy author Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck should reawaken an interest in old-fashioned storytelling and cinematic pacing. Highly recommended.

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