It has been quite a long time since I explored The Expanse, but it is not for lack of desire. The first two books in the series, Leviathan Wakes and Caliban’s War, are outstanding galaxy-sweeping adventures. Continuing the main story involving the mysterious protomolecule introduced in the first novel and the escalating situation in the second, Abaddon’s Gate swaps out some major faces for new blood but maintains the fast pace and great characters that impressed me in the inaugural installments.
In this third volume, the story manages to be both congested and expansive simultaneously. Where the first two books included scenes on Earth, on Mars, on Ceres and other asteroid belt stations, and on various spaceships traveling between, the action in Abaddon’s Gate mostly occurs at The Ring, a gigantic structure built in space but not by any of the three known governmental bodies of Earth, Mars, or the Outer Planets Alliance. To determine the purpose of The Ring, the three warring factions must form an uneasy allegiance. Even then, and to nobody’s surprise, not everyone intends to play fairly. The resulting events are as exciting as any sci-fi action film I have ever watched.
As with the first two novels in The Expanse series, author James S. A. Corey (a conflation of authors Ty Franck and Daniel Abraham) crafted characters who fascinated me, inspiring me to read well past bedtime because I just had to know what they were up to next. The primary hero of the series, Captain James Holden and the crew of his ship The Rocinante are back and just as rich and disfunctional-family as they always have been. I love the Roci’s crew so much. Now, here is where my viewing of the streaming series — itself a phenomenal piece of science fiction entertainment every bit as good as the novels — gets me into trouble because I know the character of Anna was in season two of the series but if I recall correctly, she is new to the novels in Abaddon’s Gate. In the streaming series, she is introduced during the events of Caliban’s War so when she is introduced in book three, I already had an image of actress Elizabeth Mitchell in my head. She is great on the show so no worries there, but I tend to always prefer to read the book first so I can form my own image of a character. I love the novel’s Anna. She is a pastor to her congregation on Europa, the sixth moon of Jupiter. She embodies compassion, a trait so much in need in both the fictional world of The Expanse and in our challenging reality. I hope she appears in future novels. Newcomers Bull and Melba are wonderful, strong characters, one looking to right a wrong and the other looking to do the right thing, and both of them willing to die for their causes.
Science fiction is, by nature, progressive and so to say James S. A. Corey have written progressive elements into their stories is par for the genre course. I do, however, particularly enjoy the matter-of-fact nature of these elements as included. Body modification, homosexuality and same-sex parents, a variety of political ideologies, religious faith without fundamental extremism are all explored without judgment or condemnation. It is so incredibly refreshing and I cannot wait for these subjects to be commonplace in our own reality as well. Over the decades, science fiction has predicted many aspects of what have become our daily lives. I hope it too comes to pass that people are left to be who they are without the rejection, hatred, and demonization we see today.
The Expanse is truly one of my favorite things right now, both the books and the streaming series, and I am so excited for the opportunity to continue this amazing adventure with book four, Cibola Burn, this year.