There’s nothing here that’s going to challenge your mind or make you think about things in a new way. ![]() At the end of the day I don’t really care about the characters because I don’t know them well enough, so although the action is fast-paced and blinding it doesn’t mean anything. And this is the big problem with the series. We get a few hints at Amos’ background in Caliban’s War and we’re given morsels about Naomi in this one, but it’s never anything substantial. In fact I’d say over the course of the books they’ve actually become even less developed. But the characters that have appeared in all three books – Holden, Naomi, Amos and Alex – haven’t really changed from when they first appeared in Leviathan Wakes, and I barely know anything more about them. I feel like that’s part of the point of a series, to see how characters develop and grow over time, and as the books progress we delve more into their psyches. When I read a book series I want to feel involved with the characters. It’s flashy, stylish and there are some really cool moments, but now that I’ve put the book down I realize I wasn’t moved by it and there weren’t any moments when I engaged emotionally with the characters. It sometimes feels like the authors stitched together a loose framework that let them move from action sequence to action sequence with little thought to what it all means. There were times when the book felt like it was verging into something deeper but then it pulled away and went to another break-neck action set-piece. I’m not sure these answers were answered satisfactorily. The book starts off with a few big mysteries – how is Miller communicating with Holden? What is the object of the structure? What does it mean? I also liked the inclusion of Anna as a religious viewpoint had been missing from the previous two books, and I found it much more interesting than the discussions of politics in Caliban’s War.Īnd of course there’s the return of the co-star of Leviathan Wakes, Miller. I liked the dynamics between the different characters and what happened on the different ships, and how the different factions react to the emergence of this structure. The action moves along at a fast pace and unlike in Caliban’s War, where the climax felt glossed over, it’s given the proper treatment in Abaddon’s Gate. I also felt that there is less padding in this book. The new characters are far more interesting than their counterparts from the previous book and that feeling of excitement returns when they collide. The plot was more epic and the actions of the first book feel like they’re expanded upon. I’m happy to say that I enjoyed this one a lot more than Caliban’s War. The characters from the previous book are jettisoned and replaced by Anna, a priest who goes to the Ring to try and figure out what it means spiritually, Bull, an officer ordered by Fred Johnson to keep things steady on the OPA flagship, and Melba, a mysterious woman who has sworn vengeance on Holden. ![]() The three factions of humanity all rush out to investigate and they’re accompanied by, of course, the intrepid James Holden and the crew of the Rocinante. Following on from the events of the previous two books the protomolecule has left Venus and created a ring on the edge of the solar system. Now I come to Abaddon’s Gate with a feeling of trepidation. I enjoyed Leviathan Wakes a lot but I was sorely disappointed with Caliban’s War. So far I’ve had mixed feelings about this series.
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