Helpful Score: 3
And then the shit got real. Yeah. the book starts with this sweeping, fantastic colonized solar system with interesting people and complicated politics. But then the fates throw in something unforeseen and it just takes this book to the next level. This was one of my favorite books of the year and it is because of what happens in the second half of the book.
i also enjoyed the few nods to other science fiction greats, like a few lines about fear from Frank Herberts Dune and a reference to voices in the whirlwind (Walter Jon Williams). Not only that, but sometimes the dynamics and the back and forth dialogue between Holden and his crew were reminiscent of Firefly. While none of these things were so prominent to make me say, oh, try this because it is just like.., there were these little hat tips or chin nods to other works and I loved that. Now I wonder if I missed some. Perhaps this will turn into an annual read.
If I have any criticism with this book, it is that there were few female characters. Julie and Naomi (from Holdens crew) appear more than 2-5 times but are still secondary characters. There are a handful of other ladies that make brief appearances (by turns they are competent and /or ruthless).
Now that I got that out of the way, I can continue to gush about this book. I read a lot of epic fantasy because I love the detailed character development, the depth of world building, and the intricate plots. So take those three elements and squish them together with a space opera and you get the magnificence that is Leviathan Wakes. Yeah, its that damn good.
i also enjoyed the few nods to other science fiction greats, like a few lines about fear from Frank Herberts Dune and a reference to voices in the whirlwind (Walter Jon Williams). Not only that, but sometimes the dynamics and the back and forth dialogue between Holden and his crew were reminiscent of Firefly. While none of these things were so prominent to make me say, oh, try this because it is just like.., there were these little hat tips or chin nods to other works and I loved that. Now I wonder if I missed some. Perhaps this will turn into an annual read.
If I have any criticism with this book, it is that there were few female characters. Julie and Naomi (from Holdens crew) appear more than 2-5 times but are still secondary characters. There are a handful of other ladies that make brief appearances (by turns they are competent and /or ruthless).
Now that I got that out of the way, I can continue to gush about this book. I read a lot of epic fantasy because I love the detailed character development, the depth of world building, and the intricate plots. So take those three elements and squish them together with a space opera and you get the magnificence that is Leviathan Wakes. Yeah, its that damn good.
Pretty good! Well paced and HUGE at over 500 pages. the characters are nicely done, if the 'Miller' character is a bit too much like James Lee Burke's Cletus Purcel to miss noticing.
I'll pick up the next one to see how they resolved the BEM problem but I'm just a little shy of it given the ending in this one.
I really prefer Bova for near-term stuff. I saw an article online someplace quoting the two guys who wrote this saying 'nobody else is doing this era', and was disappointed they didn't know their own genre' very well.
I'll pick up the next one to see how they resolved the BEM problem but I'm just a little shy of it given the ending in this one.
I really prefer Bova for near-term stuff. I saw an article online someplace quoting the two guys who wrote this saying 'nobody else is doing this era', and was disappointed they didn't know their own genre' very well.
This, the first installment in the "Expanse" series, is described as a space opera, a term which i've heard but had never looked up ( per Wiki). After reading Leviathan Wakes, i concur that this engaging and fast paced tale has most if not all the characteristics of the definition. I teetered toward giving this one 5 stars because frankly, i had a hard time putting it down. Unexpected action and peril waited at nearly every turn, and i wanted to know what was next and how it would "end". I was thoroughly engaged for the entire story. I appreciated the character development, the reasonably believable and consistent technology and setting within our solar system. It had a feeling which i appreciate in SciFi, that is it felt like it could happen someday. I enjoyed this book very much, and look forward to continuing the series, as well as watch the TV series on Amazon, which has been recommended to me by several people i know. This was a wild, breathtaking and fun ride.
I really enjoyed this. Not, by any stretch, deep, but very readable and -- I would argue-- intelligent eye-candy. This was a second reading for me: I want to carry on with the novels, and not get hijacked by the TV series, but I needed to start again, and I'm not sorry that I did.
Some random observations.
* With all due respect to George R R Martin's blurb on the cover, this is not "space opera." What it is, is a very solidly constructed "planetary romance," set in a middle-distance future (date never specified, unless I missed something) in which humankind has colonized anything than can be adapted for human habitation in the solar system. And enough time has passed that political, social and even physiological cracks have become yawning gulfs between the various regions of settlement.
* Not as grounded as Kim Stanley Robinson, but more plausible than, say, John Varley. The future depicted by "Corey" feels real, dirty and "used." This is not a Star Trek future, with near instantaneous travel and communication: human bodies suffer for their time in space, and sacrifices have to be made. The food sounds appalling. The characters' delight at little luxuries like a decent coffee maker really resonates.
"Corey" has allowed an almost-light-speed drive, and some "tight beam" communication to speed things up. Magical medical advances allow characters to bounce back from whatever the plot throws at them, in an almost cartoonish style. But apart from that, there are suggestions of the potential limitations and frustrations of space travel.
* Hardly original. Take "Firefly," and move it to our solar system. Add a dash of "Alien" (especially the first one, but actually bits of all of them ...), a large dollop of Greg Bear's "Blood Music" and, as I said, generous nods to Kim Stanley Robinson and John Varley. Oh, and Iain M. Banks. (Now, he's Space Opera, but he also has the tremendous capacity for making it all feel very real and, er, down to earth ...) So, put it all together, and .. hey, presto! This is not a criticism: if you're going to steal, you might as well steal from the best. And, it's not stealing if you rattle those borrowed components around, and do something interesting and fun with them.And this is interesting and fun.
* Great structure. "Corey" works the alternative POVs of Holden and Miller very well, for maximum coverage of a broad canvas, and for maximum suspense. Nicely sewn together at moments when the last line of one chapter becomes the first line or paragraph of the next, as the baton is passed. "Corey" also shows a satisfying willingness to shake things up, from time to time.
Only other thing to say -- reading this now, as an American who lives in the UK, the tensions, and outright hostilities between the inner planets and the Belters feels .. .familiar. Scarily familiar ...
But, a good read -- there are much, much worse ways to pass your leisure time ...
Some random observations.
* With all due respect to George R R Martin's blurb on the cover, this is not "space opera." What it is, is a very solidly constructed "planetary romance," set in a middle-distance future (date never specified, unless I missed something) in which humankind has colonized anything than can be adapted for human habitation in the solar system. And enough time has passed that political, social and even physiological cracks have become yawning gulfs between the various regions of settlement.
* Not as grounded as Kim Stanley Robinson, but more plausible than, say, John Varley. The future depicted by "Corey" feels real, dirty and "used." This is not a Star Trek future, with near instantaneous travel and communication: human bodies suffer for their time in space, and sacrifices have to be made. The food sounds appalling. The characters' delight at little luxuries like a decent coffee maker really resonates.
"Corey" has allowed an almost-light-speed drive, and some "tight beam" communication to speed things up. Magical medical advances allow characters to bounce back from whatever the plot throws at them, in an almost cartoonish style. But apart from that, there are suggestions of the potential limitations and frustrations of space travel.
* Hardly original. Take "Firefly," and move it to our solar system. Add a dash of "Alien" (especially the first one, but actually bits of all of them ...), a large dollop of Greg Bear's "Blood Music" and, as I said, generous nods to Kim Stanley Robinson and John Varley. Oh, and Iain M. Banks. (Now, he's Space Opera, but he also has the tremendous capacity for making it all feel very real and, er, down to earth ...) So, put it all together, and .. hey, presto! This is not a criticism: if you're going to steal, you might as well steal from the best. And, it's not stealing if you rattle those borrowed components around, and do something interesting and fun with them.And this is interesting and fun.
* Great structure. "Corey" works the alternative POVs of Holden and Miller very well, for maximum coverage of a broad canvas, and for maximum suspense. Nicely sewn together at moments when the last line of one chapter becomes the first line or paragraph of the next, as the baton is passed. "Corey" also shows a satisfying willingness to shake things up, from time to time.
Only other thing to say -- reading this now, as an American who lives in the UK, the tensions, and outright hostilities between the inner planets and the Belters feels .. .familiar. Scarily familiar ...
But, a good read -- there are much, much worse ways to pass your leisure time ...
I really enjoyed this. Not, by any stretch, deep, but very readable and -- I would argue-- intelligent eye-candy. This was a second reading for me: I want to carry on with the novels, and not get hijacked by the TV series, but I needed to start again, and I'm not sorry that I did.
