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The Vital Abyss

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The Vital Abyss is a novella in The Expanse series announced on 15 May, 2015[1] (with the working title "The Necessary Abyss") and was released on October 15th, 2015.[2]

The story is told through a combination of present-day events (from the character's point of view) as well as flashbacks to events that take place prior to and during Leviathan Wakes.

"Present-day" in this context is sometime between Abaddon's Gate and Cibola Burn.

Synopsis[]

Somewhere in the vast expanse of space, a group of prisoners lives in permanent captivity.

The only company they have is each other and the Belters who guard them. The only stories they know are the triumphs and crimes that brought them there. The only future they see is an empty life in an enormous room.

And then the man from Mars came along . . .

Viewpoint Characters[]

  • The Vital Abyss is the first novella or novel to be written in the first person from a single character's perspective, former Protogen researcher Cortázar.
  • The working for the book was "The Necessary Abyss" until it was changed to the final title.
  • The physical setup of the jail is a reference to E. E. Cummings' autobiographical novel, The Enormous Room, which is about his time as a political prisoner in France during the First World War.

References[]

  1. ↑ Icon-twitter-22x22 @JamesSACorey 8:33 PM · May 14, 2015: So we turned a new novella today. We call this one The Necessary Abyss, and it's based on the very first novella Idea I pitched years ago.
  2. ↑ little, brown BOOK GROUP - The Vital Abyss by James S. A. Corey

See also[]

External links[]

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