I know this is probably a common topic. For me, I’m not sure if it’s a “trope” or just totally misinformed writing, but it’s how many authors approach alcoholism. Some examples are Girl on the Train and The House Across the Lake, among HUNDREDS. If anyone else here has struggled with alcoholism, you know it’s not just "i woke up after downing an entire bottle of whiskey but was able to shower, down a cup of coffee, and solve a murder. "
I literally threw my copy of Absolution Gap across the room at one point. I love Alastair Reynolds, but the last two books in the revelation space series just threw all hard sci-fi restrictions out the window and it was magic quantum tech after perpetual motion machine for the rest of the story. Hell of an anticlimactic ending too. (Galactic North was good though.)