What is the most hyped SF book you can think of? For me, I’ve been meaning to watch “The Expanse” probably ever since it was released. But I had never read Leviathan Wakes until now. I’m so glad that Joan He recommended this to me for my 12 Authors 12 Books project. Keep reading my full thoughts in this book review.
Summary
Humanity has colonized the solar system—Mars, the Moon, the Asteroid Belt and beyond—but the stars are still out of our reach.
Jim Holden is XO of an ice miner making runs from the rings of Saturn to the mining stations of the Belt. When he and his crew stumble upon a derelict ship, the Scopuli, they find themselves in possession of a secret they never wanted. A secret that someone is willing to kill for—and kill on a scale unfathomable to Jim and his crew. War is brewing in the system unless he can find out who left the ship and why.
Detective Miller is looking for a girl. One girl in a system of billions, but her parents have money and money talks. When the trail leads him to the Scopuli and rebel sympathizer Holden, he realizes that this girl may be the key to everything.
Holden and Miller must thread the needle between the Earth government, the Outer Planet revolutionaries, and secretive corporations—and the odds are against them. But out in the Belt, the rules are different, and one small ship can change the fate of the universe.
Review
In some ways, Leviathan Wakes feels like science fiction mixed with detective stories. There’s no way to separate it from the SF world. The explosions from ships, space races, and other planets. But at the same time, there’s also a solid core of detective story. Of having a slightly cynical detective who’s told to stay off a case, but can’t leave it alone and stumbles across something bigger. Sound familiar? In many ways, for readers new to SF or even to the TV show, I think it provides a recognizable path for them to follow.
And it’s easy to fall into the mystery. Into Miller’s perspective of being on the case. It provides readers an easy touch point to get hooked into. But what I found myself feeling at the end is, “what’s next?” Because while there are some serious conspiracies, mysteries, and action, I found myself more intrigued by the promise of the future. The “now that THAT has happened, what do we do now?” Leviathan Wakes is full of action which if you miss a page, you’ll want to go back.
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But for me, this is just a solid series starter. Something that’s given me a taste and now I want to follow that ball of string. There were some stand out moments – like this sudden sobering feeling of realizing that suddenly your life isn’t your won anymore – all combined with some cute character moments. However, upon finishing I felt more intrigued about what’s next than reflecting on what happened. Has that ever happened to you? Find Leviathan Wakes on Goodreads, Storygraph, Amazon, Indiebound, Bookshop.org, & The Book Depository.