Violence is what people do when they run out of good ideas. It’s attractive because it’s simple, it’s direct, it’s almost always available as an option. When you can’t think of a good rebuttal for your opponent’s argument, you can always punch them in the face.

Abbandon’s Gate is the third book in the space saga The Expanse, where the action is, this time, in a space bubble built by an alien civilisation. The alien protomolecule built a gate next to Uranus, in the far future of humanity, which conquered our solar system, but not the stars. The humanity is still divided into Earth, Mars and the humans in the asteroid belt, united in the Outer Planets Alliance. All three factions are driven into the gate, and the space bubble, by the running protagonist, the adventurer and captain James Holden.

As in other books of the series, the story follows 4 characters, which gradually reunite in an epic finale. Carlos “Bull” de Baca is the security officer of the Belters’ flagship, the largest ship in the system. Anna Volovodov is a preacher of the Methodist church, volunteering in a United Nations (of Earth) ship to go into the gate. Clarissa Mao, daughter of the rich and powerful Mao (now imprisoned) plots against James Holden, whom she believes created her father’s downfall. Finally, the four story is following James Holden, the captain of Rocinante and its ragtag crew of four.

The gate created by the alien protomolecule opens to a space bubble with thousands of other gates, to other stars, controlled by a central machine. The machine reduces speed and gravity by its will, defying physics. James Holden finds, guided by the mysterious, form that appears as detective Miller (Holden’s dead companion from the first book) that the Godlike alien civilization, spanning hundreds of stars, was destroyed by an even bigger force. And that was 2 billion years ago. But what stays behind those gates? What planets or alien forces?

Interestingly, Abbadon appears in the Hebrew Bible and means destruction or the realm of the dead. This is a reference to the destruction that the gate may bring.

Overall, while a bit weaker than the other book, this is still great storytelling, world building and memorable characters. What a series!