Publishing Date: 2013
Genre: SciFi
Rating: 2.3/5
Review: Third in the Expanse series, Abaddon’s Gate moves this world through to the gate that the proto-molecule has created. As opposing factions race to claim a bastardized inheritance, humanity becomes the pawn in a life or death struggle.
Pretty dam riveting for about the first 30%. Then it was like someone else sat down at the keyboard and had a go (*wink). I don’t know which of the two authors wrote parts of this novel and you shouldn’t give a shjt either. Just know that the disparate voices are easily discerned by their focus. Most of the writing time spent on this novel was the double mutiny on the Behemoth and the battles that ensued. The characters become robot-like in presentation as the patterned script writing flops about. Amos becomes this aw shucks killer with a heart of gold, that will protect those that Holden deems worthy, with his life. Holden is now this battle hardened warrior that suddenly is able to lead marines while Naomi blushes and forgives transgressions while deus ex-ing her way through scenes with her vast engineering knowledge. They left Alex out of the Hollywood script as they have never really built his character to an appreciable degree. There’s the evilly and deranged Captain Langford that now is an executioner. Go figure why people follow this guy. No charisma, sociopathic and erratic in making cogent decisions. Oh, and lets not forget Anna. Holier than Pope spit while being hotter than a popcorn fart baked in twinkling sunshine. Oh, and she has a wittle gurl bwack on erf whom she wuvs with her “partner”. Yeah gotta cover all the orientations. The only character really worth a fuk was Tilly. The novel just would not be the same without an irascible older lady. Maybe I have mommy issues.
The weak premise that drives much of the novel is Melba. Why she does what she does is a mystery not worthy enough to ferret out. To put that much effort into a misguided ideal was a big stretch. She gets on a ship headed for the Ring as a technician that knows nothing in her field, yet she continues to work undiscovered. She uses these skills that she doesn’t have to win the day later on. Fug me. Another big hole in this plot is that the ship Roci’s core is dumped to prevent Melba from taking over, yet in the end there is no mention of how they get the core back and how they are moving through space without one.
The only reason to read on in this series is that one of the authors’ has a spot on eye to what character development and movement generates. This novel caters to the inter-personal made-for-Hollywood crap while hard SciFi sits in the corner, next to a door. And if you give a frik, Abaddon is the King of an army of locusts in the New Testament and the “gate” implies the sojourn into hell.
