The Vital Abyss by James S A Corey

The Vital Abyss is the most recently published instalment in The Expanse, another novella and possibly one of my favourite bits of writing in the setting. The authors try something a bit different here and explore the backstories of a group of characters who had seen pretty much irredeemably evil.

The Vital Abyss is told, unlike anything else in the series, in the first person, from the point of view of Cortazar, a researcher for Protogen who was partially responsible for the protomolecule test on Eros all the way back in Leviathan Wakes. After their capture by the OPA, they have been held for years in a small dormitory, entirely cut off from the outside world, desperate for any change of scenery and dangerously competitive for any potential opportunity. Alongside the main narrative, flashbacks fill in Cortazar’s backstory and explain how a seemingly affable young man reached the point of being able to slaughter an entire space station in the most horrific manner imaginable.

The titular ‘Vital Abyss’ is the necessary ability to separate yourself from other people to be capable of the kind of horrors Cortazar and his group are guilty of creating. They may have ambitions to save humanity from all future illness and suffering, but to put even a single human through the agony they do requires a mental re-adjustment and a sacrifice of basic empathy; the abyss of the title. The backstory for Cortazar is unlike anything else we’ve really seen in the series and is movingly told, although the actual jump from the sensitive young man seem in the flashbacks to the calculated and cold scientist in the present is done in a rather clunky and convenient manner.

There are some gorgeous turns of phrases in The Vital Abyss, which certainly feels like an experiment and a deviation from the usual formula. It’s the most floridly written piece in the entire series and this is actually done very well. With the main series tending very much towards being stale, it was a breath of fresh air to read Abraham and Franck doing something so different.

The Vital Abyss is joint with Gods of Risk four my favourite Expanse novella and one I definitely wouldn’t recommend skipping. Arguably the series has never really topped the horror of Eros Station so seeing this event returned to is a macabre pleasure.

The Churn by James S A Corey

I’m about to catch up with The Expanse novels so warmed myself up with another one of the novellas.  This one is easily the most grounded and least ‘sci-fi’ so far. I didn’t like it quite as much as the Martian set Gods of Risk, but The Churn is nonetheless a pretty interesting insight into one of the most interesting but dangerous characters in the series; Amos Burton.

The Churn is a prequel, taking place in Baltimore prior to Burton’s first trip into space and, eventually, to the Canterbury. At this point, Burton is a gang leader with a ruthless reputation. The story primarily follows Timmy, an enforcer for Burton who at the beginning of the story is pulled up for misinterpreting an order and killing someone he was meant to be extorting. Baltimore frequently goes through what the locals call the churn, a police crackdown on crime in the city, so the private contractors Star Helix are bought in to overturn the tables on the gang, throwing Timmy into danger.

Although this is a story set in the future, The Churn’s Baltimore doesn’t feel a million miles away from where we are now. It captures rather nicely a divide between the rich and poor; the science fiction excitement available for some doesn’t amount to much for the penniless down in Baltimore. There’s a greater sense of authorial intrusion in The Churn, with a tone which feels markedly different to anything else I’ve read so far in The Expanse. It’s a neat little experiment. Obviously the main draw of this is to get a feel for the origin of Amos, always my favourite of the Rocinante crew. It’s interesting and well-handled and is easily our closest examination yet of a character who’s often been something of a cipher.

The Churn doesn’t necessarily feel ‘essential’ in any way, but it’s a good read and one which fans of Amos should definitely give a go.

 

 

 

Abaddon’s Gate by James S A Corey

Abaddon’s Gate is the third book in The Expanse and clearly represents a pivot in what the series is all about, shifting in an interesting new direction. Abaddon’s Gate is concerned with the pivot itself and in some ways feels awkwardly caught between what the series was and what it is going to become. That said, the quality of writing is strong enough that the flaws never stop this book being good fun.

After the events of Caliban’s War the protomolecule superstructure around Venus has transported itself to the orbit of Uranus, constructing itself into a vast gate with a mysterious starless void behind it. The arrival of ‘The Ring’ presents a crisis both practical and existential to the governments of Earth and Mars, as well as the OPA. All three major powers in the system send a group of ships to investigate. There are four point of view characters. The OPA have sent the Behemoth, a massive ship built from the salvaged Nauvoo, the Mormon ship which pushed Eros onto Venus in Leviathan Wakes. Bull is the head of security on the Behemoth and must keep the ship together under the leadership of an increasingly unstable captain. Anna Volovodov is a priest who has been chosen to join a delegation of cultural figures who have been sent to examine The Ring and what it might mean for humanity’s place in the universe. Melba Koh is an unstable and violent young woman who has hidden her true identity to get to The Ring and extract a personal vengeance at any cost. Finally, James Holden is back, being haunted by the protomolecule construction of Miller and avoiding The Ring at all costs. Events conspire him to bring the crew of the Rocinante there anyway and all four storylines collide and intertwine at The Ring.

Where Leviathan Wakes and Caliban’s War encompassed a variety of settings, Abaddon’s Gate is much more focused, taking place almost entirely at The Ring. Where previous books had multiple storylines which gradually converged, here all storylines are in the same rough place very early on. This means that Abaddon’s Gate feels a bit slower paced than the previous books. It hints at being the most epic of the series so far, but in the end it feels a bit smaller. There’s nothing wrong with turning towards being more focused, but considering the scales at play in the previous books Abaddon’s Gate doesn’t get quite as tense. It rattles along fairly well, but a fair bit of this book feels like stalling before we get to the interesting place the next book seems to be headed.

The two authors remain very good at straightforward, compelling and readable prose. The world building is less interesting by the simple fact that it primarily takes place on space ships, without the interesting sojourns onto planets or space stations. The setting doesn’t quite come alive and this make the closing action beats feel a little hollow. The good prose helps carry the, at times, slow pace of the storytelling.

All three of the new characters are interesting and good to follow, but I think it’s fair to say that none of them appealed to me as much as Bobbie and Avasarala from Caliban’s War, two characters who do not appear in this book and that I missed greatly. Jim Holden and the crew of the Rocinante are as charming as ever, although I would have liked to see more of them spending time together. The easy relationship between the crew is a joy. I liked the priest Anna a lot, but Bull is a bit straightforward and I never really bought Melba’s motivation. They’re decent characters, but I can’t say that I’m left clamouring to see more of them.
This review likely reads quite negative, but that’s largely because the positives are simply those elements which build on the strengths of the first two books. There isn’t much to say about them that I haven’t previously. Abaddon’s Gate is a good book and an enjoyable read, but I hope that Abrahams and Franck do justice to the compelling place at which this book is left off. This may not be the strongest book in the series, but it sure as hell isn’t weak enough to make me want to stop.

Leviathan Wakes by James S. A. Corey

So, to keep things interesting I try not to have two series by the same author on the go at once. I like the variety that comes from reading a range of different voices. I kind of messed that up when I picked up Leviathan Wakes, a novel I’ve heard very good things about, which it turns out was co-written by Daniel Abraham, author of The Dragon’s Path, the book I’d read immediately preceding this one. James S. A. Corey is the pseudonym for the writing team of Abraham and Ty Franck. I can’t get too upset however; I loved Leviathan Wakes. 

Leviathan Wakes takes place in a future where humanity conquered the Solar System, colonising Mars, the Asteroid Belt and the moons of Jupiter and Saturn, but not beyond. The people of the Asteroid have adapted to low gravity, becoming taller and more spindly and now known as Belters. Tensions between the high gravity inner planets and the Belters has led to the formation of the OPA (Outer Planets Alliance), which seeks independence from Earth control. James Holden is the second in command of a vessel carrying ice from Jupiter to the Belt when his ship, The Canterbury, come across the abandoned ship Scopuli. In the process, Holden and his crew are thrown into a conspiracy which stretches the system and threatens to plunge it into war. Meanwhile, on the Belt dwarf planet of Ceres, Detective Miller is given a new case, to find the missing Julie Mao, the daughter of a wealthy inner planet family who fled her life of luxury to rough it in the Belt. His search soon connects him to Holden’s conspiracy as the two slowly uncover what is really going on.

Leviathan Wakes pulls off that tricky balance between being exciting and interesting. The actual setting is more original than it first seems, focusing on that awkward middle point between vast galactic empire and Earth bound near future stuff. It’s plausible, but not too focused on scientific rigour. This is a book intended to be fun; the ‘fiction’ is much more important than the ‘science’, as all good sci-fi should be. Leviathan Wakes is genre hopping, with strong element of horror thrown in. All of it is done well. The action scenes are particularly well done, particularly towards the end with an utterly relentless pace. One sequences towards the middle goes on rather too long and begins to lose tension, but otherwise this is a masterfully paced work which makes it compulsively readable from beginning to end. Leviathan Wakes is just plain fun.

Now, that isn’t intended to sound dismissive; this kind of tone isn’t easy! The story alternates between Holden and Miller; I don’t know how Abrahams and Franck wrote this together and whether they alternated chapters. Either way, the whole thing feels seamless. They do a great job of creating a strong world and characters quickly and efficiently, without a single world wasted. The writing style isn’t flashy and is very much there to serve the story, which is fine, because it’s a damn good story.

The characterisation is generally strong, but not perfect. Holden and Miller are likable protagonists, but not quite different enough. We’re told about their personality traits rather than really experiencing them and I wonder if this book would have benefited from a wider gap between the two. Don’t get me wrong, they’re good characters and the supporting cast is great, but we get a bit too much telling rather than showing.

All said and done however, Leviathan Wakes is a hugely entertaining read which sets up an interesting universe I can’t wait to wallow in during future books. It isn’t perfect, but it’s just so damn enjoyable that I don’t care. I can’t wait to read the next one.