Abaddon's Gate

Why it’s on the list: The third volume of The Expanse, and the one that changes the map: an alien ring opens onto a hub connecting more than a thousand systems, policed by machinery that enforces hard limits on speed and energy, and three fleets arrive at once with no jurisdiction and no protocol and get themselves trapped. A capacity-and-rate-limit story wearing a space-opera coat.

Where I heard about it

• The a16z infrastructure team — on the a16z Infra Reading List, A tier in the “Sci-fi — Very good books” section, third of the nine volumes listed under The Expanse.

About this edition

The series is best read in order — this book presumes Leviathan Wakes and Caliban’s War.

Connections

• a16z Infra Reading List — the list this came from.
• James S.A. Corey — the author.
• Leviathan Wakes — volume one.
• Caliban’s War — volume two.
• Cibola Burn — volume four, the first one set past the gate.
• Science Fiction — the genre page.
• a16z — the firm whose infra team curates the list.