#Review: LEVIATHAN WAKES by James S.A. Corey

LEVIATHAN WAKES

Author: James S.A. Corey
Series: The Expanse #1
Source: Audiobook via Audible
Publisher: Orbit
Publication Date: June 2, 2011
Rating: 4/5 stars

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.

Purchase:

Amazon | Chapters | TBD

I really liked this one. I liked looking at what the future would be for us once we start expanding into space and what that means for us as a human race. I had some minor issues with this one but overall I would recommend checking it out! And now I can watch the TV show :)

 One thing that I wanted more of was nuance to why the Belters don't like everyone else and what it really means for there to be differences between Martians and Earthians. I felt like we were only seeing the surface but there SHOULD have been more considering everything is weighing on that difference for this plot. I thought that we started to see more of it as the plot progressed but we should have been told about this at the beginning of the novel so that we could understand where battle lines would be drawn, especially with the way Holden handled finding the different pieces.

I am still not quite sure how this one is a series because even though there was some closure and some open ending, I don't think there is enough for more books (especially not 8 more plus novellas). I am going to continue on with the series but I'm hoping it doesn't turn into a Wheel of Time situation where the middle books mean nothing.

However, I LOVED the characters. This is one big character study and they did not disappoint. I liked seeing the politics behind everything and how different characters interacted differently depending on who they were talking to. I think it was really interesting to see the difference between someone who has been in space their whole life and someone born on Earth. I thought that Miller was the most interesting but also the most awkward. I did like that he acknowledged that he was more in love with the idea of Julie than Julie herself but I still was very meh about their "relationship"

I definitely recommend this one and the audiobook is awesome. This is a great science fiction novel and one I would recommend if you are getting into the genre or already a huge fan.