Leviathan Wakes (James S. A. Corey)

29 April 2020

Leviathan Wakes

Humanity has colonised the solar system - Mars, the Moon, the Asteroid Belt and beyond - but the stars are still out of our reach.

Jim Holden is an officer on an ice miner making runs from the rings of Saturn to the mining stations of the Belt. When he and his crew discover a derelict ship called the Scopuli, they suddenly find themselves in possession of a deadly secret. A secret that someone is willing to kill for, and on an unimaginable scale. War is coming to the system, unless Jim can find out who abandoned 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 Scopuliand Holden, they both realise this girl may hold the key to everything.

Holden and Miller must thread the needle between the Earth government, the Outer Planet revolutionaries and secret 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.

Average Rating:

James Strong (27 January 2021 21:39)

Ended up reading the series

Sinclair Manson (1 May 2020 11:56)

This was an enjoyable thriller, fast paced, easily read and tightly plotted. Jumping between the two central characters, designed to contrast each other and each written by a different author, is an interesting idea. For me it was badly undermined by the shallowness of the characterisation. Despite spending half the book from Miller's point of view and with him contemplating how he became than man he is, yet we know almost nothing about how he grew up. Holden's character seems designed to fit the plot and to contrast with Miller but doesn't seem firmly rooted. When we discussed the book, there was general agreement that it reads close to a screenplay. I don't plan to read more of the novels in the series but I may try to catch up with the television show.