Abaddon's Gate

The Expanse, #3

by James S.A. Corey

Paperback, 566 pages

English language

Published June 2013 by Orbit.

ISBN:: 978-0-316-12907-7
OCLC Number:: 968177159
ISFDB ID:: 1533869

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(276 reviews)

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 dark.

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.

10 editions

Woile reviewed Abaddon's Gate by James S.A. Corey (The Expanse, #3)

Review of "Abaddon's Gate" on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Another excellent adventure

qboq reviewed Abaddon's Gate by James S.A. Corey (The Expanse, #3)

Entertaining, but not as strong as the previous two books

3 stars

Same formula as Leviathan Wakes and Caliban's War. The story revolves around and is told from the perspective of a number of main characters, whose storylines come together eventually. However, in this case, the main characters were a lot less relatable than in the previous two books.

It took some buildup for the story to gain some traction, but once that happened, ithe book became hard to put down.

I would have given it 3.5 out of 5. It was not as good as the first two books (which were both solid 4/5s), but it was still a thoroughly enjoyable read.

scmbradley reviewed Abaddon's Gate by James S.A. Corey (The Expanse, #3)

Forgettable

4 stars

I finished reading this a few weeks ago, and I'm already struggling to remember much about it. It didn't annoy me, but nothing really stood out about it. It's the third in a series and I guess by this stage, you know whether it's the sort of thing you'll enjoy or not.

ridel reviewed Abaddon's Gate by James S.A. Corey (The Expanse, #3)

Serious Funny Business?

3 stars

I've had a complex relationship with The Expanse series, disliking its TV series and yet giving it a second chance via the novels. Abaddon's Gate has a lot of what I like about the series: the action is excellent, and it has a decent mystery (though not a police procedural) that adds a thrill to the times when the guns aren't firing. Holden is the glue that keeps the series anchored, and while he's an enjoyable presence, I'm also happy that his flaws are called out in-universe.

And yet... none of these books have been stand-out hits for me.

Abaddon's Gate is just serious enough to give the universe a sense of gravitas. But it never fully commits to either being serious business or a fun, easy read for the evening. The series is filled with high stakes (the fate of human civilization) and plenty of treacherous moments. I get a sense of loss, and the scope of what's going on doesn't allow me to turn off my brain, but the moment the going gets tough, we hit a patch of comic relief. Nowhere is this more obvious than the recurring joke about how Amos is a cold-blooded murderer but at least he's on our side.

Humor is fine, but the series is already short of dramatic tension. It's been a long time since Shed's demise, and nothing since then has made me worry for our heroes in the slightest. The antagonists in this series rarely appear on-screen, and if they do appear, are impotent. A constant stream of new POV characters allows us to stay emotionally uninvolved. When all these elements come together, I'm left with a novel that was entertaining, but forgettable.

Recommended with reservations.

Robin Marx reviewed Abaddon's Gate by James S.A. Corey

Review of "Abaddon's Gate" on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

The Expanse continues to be engaging and high quality SF. As a viewer of the show, it felt like this volume was the first to significantly diverge from the TV series. Not only does it elaborate on events that were only depicted in fairly abbreviated form on-screen, the characterization also differed. The Captain Ashford depicted in this book was vastly different than the one we got on the show, for example.

I enjoyed this book thoroughly and look forward to continuing the book series.

Coalford reviewed Abaddon's Gate by James S.A. Corey

Review of "Abaddon's Gate" on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Still think this is one of the rare cases where the television show is better than the source material, but still a fantastic read.

𝖂𝖗𝖆𝖙𝖍 reviewed Abaddon's Gate by James S.A. Corey (The Expanse, #3)

Review of "Abaddon's Gate" on 'LibraryThing'

4 stars

This is more like a 3.5? Definitely closer to a 4 than a 3 though.

Last book's strength was characters, but unfortunately it wasn't the same here. I wasn't particularly thrilled by any of the POVs. But the adventure inside the ring? Hell yes!

Now to my usual comparison to the TV series: I found Clarissa a bit more convincing as a character here. Ashford isn't as much of an asshole in the TV series. Also, so far this one had the most differences between the mediums!

𝖂𝖗𝖆𝖙𝖍 reviewed Abaddon's Gate by James S.A. Corey (The Expanse, #3)

Review of "Abaddon's Gate" on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Sean Gursky reviewed Abaddon's Gate by James S.A. Corey (The Expanse, #3)

Review of "Abaddon's Gate" on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

Show a human a closed door, and no matter how many open doors she finds, she'll be haunted by what might be behind it.

The branch between the Syfy/Amazon show and the books had to happen but I didn't expect it to happen in Abaddon's Gate. The first half of the book I was cruising along, following with my memories of the TV show and the thought "this doesn't seem familiar" occurred more and more and then I realized I was in new-to-me territory.

Looking back on the book it didn't feel like much happened: Ring is established, people go through the Ring, Holden learns things, everyone leaves the Ring. Of course so much more happened between those peaks and they made the story fly by.

Heroism is a label most people get for doing shit they'd never do if they were really thinking about it.

The destruction of the Ring fleet when the Slow Zone changed the rules was brilliant. The physics of gravity have been central to the plot of the series and it was an excellent tool here again. Maneuvering, fighting, medial care all change when there is no gravity and the chapters on the Behemoth have been the highlight of the series.

"Well," Miller Said. "Now you're asking me to explain microwaves to a monkey."

The book was a great read but it didn't fit the really liked it classification but I can't justify my rating one way or another. Even though the story is rooted in sci-fi the coup and counter-coup may have worn on me. What I enjoyed from Expanse #2 may have been the different locations and having the story merge together, or perhaps I missed Bobbie and Chrisjen.

Like Bobbie and Chrisjen the opportunity to dive in to the character of Melba/Clarrisa was a huge win for the book. Her character felt a bit one dimensional in the TV series but through the book we learn her motives, understand her grief and the monsters she carries with her when she survives. Unfortunately the Anna chapters didn't impress as much but Amos likes her so she can't be that bad, right?

His words were full of hope and threat.

Like the stars.

I don't expect anything to happen to the cast of the Rocinante so when they are involved in the coup or counter-coup activities there doesn't seem to be high stakes. I'm sure there was a time when readers thought all Starks were safe in Song of Ice and Fire so I may be surprised with unexpected fatalities but that was missing here.

Yes, there were thousands of casualties and some primary characters that perished in this book but for some their fate was decided before the halfway point of the book and they were finishing out their improbable missions.

There's a difference between tragedy and evil, and I am that difference.

I'm holding off on watching the fourth season of The Expanse until I read all the books and I crossed the line where I have no preconceptions of characters or plot, so going forward the books will have to survive on their own merit and I think they're up for the task.

That humans only have so much emotional energy. No matter how intense the situation, or how powerful the feelings, it was impossible to maintain a heightened emotional state forever. Eventually you'd just get tired and want it to end.

ManyRoads reviewed Abaddon's Gate by James S.A. Corey (The Expanse, #3)

Review of "Abaddon's Gate" on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Yet another entertaining book in the Expanse series. It was a bit rocky at the beginning but things smoothed out and the tale proceeded rapidly, ending with an expected & typical high-end crescendo (that means, it ended with a bang). ;)

Bodo reviewed Abaddon's Gate by James S.A. Corey (The Expanse, #3)

Review of "Abaddon's Gate" on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

A little bit slower than the last ones. Also some of the fight scenes are a bit confusingly written. Hard to follow. But other than that still a great sci fi book. Will read the next one asap.

Balise reviewed Abaddon's Gate by James S.A. Corey (The Expanse, #3)

Review of "Abaddon's Gate" on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

This was still good, but I liked it somewhat less than the previous one. I liked the newly introduced characters, but I missed a few from the previous books. The plot rhythm stayed on par with the previous one, even if the plot itself was less to my liking. The latest chapters did make me raise an interested eyebrow and I'm looking forward to the fourth book (I'll have a break before I start with the fourth one, though :) ).
But I was bothered by the "mysticism" that shrouded parts of the plot, and I cringed a lot at some characters' sudden demise.

Minotaur reviewed Abaddon's Gate by James S.A. Corey (The Expanse, #3)

Review of "Abaddon's Gate" on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

I'm not sure about this one, still interested enough to keep going but.

Thriveth reviewed Abaddon's Gate by James S.A. Corey (The Expanse, #3)

Review of "Abaddon's Gate" on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

As a big fan of the TV show, I was a bit underwhelmed by the first book, Leviathan Wakes, but they certainly have picked up speed since. Caliban's War was really good, and Abaddon's Gate is better. I like how the authors can keep widening the scope of the grand narrative so that every time you think you've gotten the plot pinned down, they "zoom out" and reveal that it was just a part of the greater picture.

If the writers keep up this stride, it'll be very interesting to read a few books from now.

Alex Keane reviewed Abaddon's Gate by James S.A. Corey

Review of "Abaddon's Gate" on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

The plot is definitely one we've seen before, mankind finds unexplained thing left behind by a long-gone civilization. But the duo behind the Expanse books manage to do something much bigger and show the humans on the ground struggling to understand their place in the universe in connection with the things bigger than themselves that they find out there.

Overall, a really good book and a fun read.