Review: Abaddon’s Gate by James S. A. Corey

A while ago I had surgery. Nothing really major, but enough to put me in bed for several days. During this time, I read Abaddon’s Gate and loved it.

A number of spaceships, representing different groups of humans, arrive at a mysterious alien megastructure out on the edges of the solar system. Of course, humans can’t look at anything for more than a couple minutes without starting to fight each other. This upsets the megastructure and nastiness ensues.

Abaddon’s Gate is the third book in the Expanse series, a big, smart, and highly entertaining space opera. It’s written by James S. A. Corey, which is the pen name for collaborators Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck.

Nerd note: many of the books in the Expanse series are named after mythical monsters.

• Leviathan Wakes: Leviathan is a monstrous sea creature mentioned in the Bible. It’s often connected with Behemoth, a huge land creature, and Ziz, a gigantic bird.
• Caliban’s War: Caliban is a feral, sullen, misshapen creature in Shakespeare’s The Tempest.
• Abaddon’s Gate: Abaddon is an angel of destruction who shows up at the end of the world.
• Cibola Burn: Cibola is one of the mythical Central American cities of gold.
• Nemesis Games: Nemesis is the ancient Greek goddess of retribution, visited upon those guilty of hubris (arrogance before the gods).

Recommendation: Either clear off a whole shelf for the planned nine Expanse books in total, or get them at the library.