Abaddon’s Gate, James S.A. Corey
If you’ve enjoyed the books up to this point, then this is more of the same — and I mean that in the good way. If you’ve been numbed by scientific inaccuracies and maddened by stupid things the characters do, then you’re not going to want to continue, because this very much continues in the same vein as the previous books. I find it enjoyable; it’s brain candy, but there’s a place for that on my shelves.
There is an element of sameness about these books in the way that it focuses on Holden and co, and therefore Holden never quite learns and he always somehow gets into trouble, dragging his crew with him. It is nice that the narrative is aware of this, though, and his crew call him out — and he’s forced to remember that he’s not in fact all that important by the events of the book. Still. Sometimes Holden gets a little too much for me, much as I love his crew.
It remains an entertaining mindfuck if you’ve enjoyed what Corey’s done so far. It widens up the world and brings in more sci-fi elements — not just humanity expanding out of the solar system, but more signs of what might be encroaching from outside. I’m still intrigued.
Rating: 4/5
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I’m glad you’re still enjoying these – I’m curious to see how you get on with the next one (…which frustrated me immensely and which I’ll actually skip if I reread the series in future), but I’m glad I stuck with it for books 5 and 6.
imyril recently posted…Confessions of a bad SF fan: Flowers for Algernon
Interesting! My wife’s started it, but I haven’t yet. I’ll keep in mind I might have to be a bit patient if I’m not enjoying it.
Honestly, Nemesis Games makes up for EVERYTHING. It’s not just a ‘welcome back, all is forgiven’ as much as an ‘AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH’ in every way. I’ve totally failed to review it in a timely fashion, which just makes me think I’ll ‘have’ to reread it to do it justice. Which is absolutely fine by me. Easily my favourite in the series, can you tell? 😉
imyril recently posted…Top Ten Tuesday: worlds to visit
Ooooh, good to know!
I agree with Imyril above, some of the early books in this series were so-so, but 5 and 6 really shine! I’m on the 7th now, and it’s a blast so far as well.
Mogsy @ BiblioSanctum recently posted…Audiobook Review: All Those Explosions Were Someone Else’s Fault by James Alan Gardner
Good to know!