Leviathan Wakes
Ratings1,214
Average rating4.2
A Great First in a Series that You'll want to Finish
You grow to love the crew and become invested in all the characters. The minimum you need to know abot the world while leaving SO much more to build on.
Holy shit.
Let me start this review off by saying – I'm not a huge sci-fi fan. I much prefer high or modern fantasy, but Leviathan Wakes is so, so good. What a story. It starts off with an emergency beacon going off and a ship getting exploded into a million pieces, and ends with a space station crashing into Venus. There's vomit zombies, a missing girl, a protomolocule, a noir detective, and a space mechanic with a sailor mouth. The characters all weave together in really, really interesting ways and damn if I didn't want to just plow right into the next book already.
If you've seen the show and enjoyed even a single second of it, you'll enjoy the book.
Five really huge stars.
Came to the books after the TV show. I suppose which you prefer might depend on where you started but I think some of the changes made in the series were very much for the better. Not saying the book is bad, far from it, but think the authors having another look at it for the show enabled them to tighten up some of the ideas.
Good book, good story. I'm still trying to digest all that happened. I'm sad about a couple of characters and want to know more of what happens to them. I'll probably go on to the next one.
Something about the writing kept me from fully enjoying this book. It felt a bit empty and lacking in personality. Perhaps that's due to having two authors... neither got to give their full style or writing voice. But I enjoyed the characters and thought the overall story was an interesting set-up for the rest of the series. So overall, not bad, not great, but I'm looking forward to the next one and will definitely watch the TV series.
This was a tricky one for me... I have tried reading science fiction before and (usually) didn't like it. It was all too often dark, gritty and bleak, set in a dystopian universe in which pretty much everyone acts completely self-absorbed. Thus, I disavowed science fiction in books because I'm a closet optimist: I've subscribed early on to the philosophy, the idealism and optimistic view of the future as imagined in “Star Trek: The Next Generation”.(And, in fact, while we're far from it yet I do believe we will get there one day. We're going to overcome today's egotism, the Pathological Orange Trickster of the United States (POTUS), we will find lasting and sustainable solutions for global warming, water scarcity, hunger and all the challenges humanity is and will be facing. Even if it's only for the simple reason that it's that or extinction - and I refuse to accept the latter.)“Leviathan Wakes” is (mostly) the former kind of sci-fi: We witness a beginning war between several factions (Earth, Mars, the Belt), we see “vomit zombies” and, in general, some parts of this book were so gruesome and almost depressing that I considered to give up on it entirely. I understand the grit and grime to be essential explanations of the condicio humana, the human condition, as it is in the fictional universe of “Leviathan Wakes” but I don't want or need them. I need to believe I can improve my world a little bit for as long as I'm here at least.There's a general grittiness to the entire setting that is far from what I prefer in sci-fi. In addition, I'm not really a fan of the “noir” genre by which “Leviathan Wakes” obviously was inspired by as well. The story is great, though: Due to acts of brutality in order to instigate a war, we meet Miller, a down-trodden cop, and Holden, first an officer on a ship that becomes a victim of the afore-mentioned provocations, later on serving as captain of his own ship. Whereas Miller is disillusioned by his work, the general state of the world and life as such, Holden is an incurable idealist. Holden unwaveringly tries to do everyone justice and wants to be a force of good in his world and acts accordingly.“One bad mistake on either side and both planets might be radioactive rubble by the end of dinner. But right now they were just friends having a meal together. It was right. It was what Holden had to keep fighting for.”Together (albeit not always voluntarily), Holden and Miller try to unravel the mystery of cloaked ships and their attacks, the intentions of an aggressive alien protomolecule and, ultimately, to save humanity as a whole.As can be derived from these broad topics, “Leviathan Wakes” features a long, complex story that plays out over many months.The narrated point of view switches between those of Holden and Miller respectively which is, especially at the beginning of the book, somewhat tiresome because until they finally meet (after about one third of the book!), both their storylines don't obviously overlap and it's sometimes hard to get back into the reading flow. Once the storylines merge, though, the switches turn from nuisance to elegant pleasure.At times, I was basically fighting my way through this book because I felt a complete absence of hope for the situation and our heroes whom I found extremely convincing and relatable. Each and every character was masterfully created - even those on the sidelines - and the developments among them felt so real and plausible that I just couldn't bring myself to give up. Plus: Right after a major turning point (Eros Station...) a tiny spark of hope appeared. This, too, was brilliantly orchestrated by Corey and helped me get over the reading-induced blues I was feeling.Holden's idealism, the antithesis to Miller's abjectedness, to what Miller calls his “death-self”, also helped a lot to get me through this book. This area of conflict between both men was at times almost painful and stressful to witness but so fascinatingly written that I found it entirely, almost overwhelmingly so, believable and plausible.The great writing, the suspense (sometimes hardly endurable!), the interesting setting and the richness of the universe in which I even liked someone aptly nicknamed “the Butcher of Anderson Station” - they all made this book an unforgettable experience.Ultimately, “Leviathan Wakes” is challenging, long, complex and dark but of an overall quality that makes it feel like it pretty much plays in its own league.If you're even slightly into science fiction and can make it past what happens on Eros Station, give “Leviathan Wakes” a try. Highly recommended - especially considering the amazing ending!If you lean more to the whacky side of sci-fi, give [a:Tony James Slater 5005420 Tony James Slater https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1326400289p2/5005420.jpg] and his “The Ancient Guardians” series a spin which I actually enjoyed, too. Blog Facebook Twitter Instagram
I can't tell if I liked this book because I saw the first season of the show first and could visualize it better or if it was actually good. I do think the book went on one plot beat too much. Like he just needs to break 1k pages or something. Something could have been cut down.
It's a decently entertaining sci-fi read but it's pretty bad with women and that only becomes more apparent as the book goes on. Three men of varying degrees of gruffness race to save the universe and also obsess over women who have no real agency except as motivators and plot devices.
4.5 stars
I haven't read very much sci-fi, and I thought this was great. I listened to the audiobook and would definitely recommend it. I loved these characters. Holden and Miller are so different from each other, but I love them both. Very interested to see where the series goes. I think I will read the next one before I try the tv show.
J'ai eu le temps de regarder les trois premières saisons de The Expanse avant de commencer à lire les romans dont la série a été adaptée. Pourtant, les premiers tomes m'attendent sur mon Kindle depuis que j'ai terminé la première saison. J'ai enfin pris la peine de me plonger dans le premier volume, intitulé Leviathan Wakes.
Il faut d'abord préciser que James S.A. Corey est un pseudonyme : derrière ce nom de plume se cachent en réalité deux auteurs, Daniel Abraham et Ty Franck, qui ont entrepris ensemble l'écriture de cette grande saga de science-fiction baptisée The Expanse.
L'action se déroule dans un futur plus ou moins proche : suffisamment proche pour que l'environnement nous soit familier, avec la Terre, Mars, la ceinture d'astéroïdes, bref notre système solaire ; mais suffisamment éloigné dans le futur pour que la science-fiction soit bien présente : l'humanité a colonisé le système solaire et est désormais plus ou moins divisée en trois blocs à la fois concurrents et interdépendants : la Terre, a priori dotée d'un gouvernement mondial sous l'égide des Nations Unies ; Mars, une république qui dispose d'une technologie plus avancée que celle de sa planète soeur-mère ; et la ceinture d'astéroïdes, sorte de colonies dépendants de la Terre mais dont les habitants méprisés par les Terriens aimeraient prendre leur indépendance.
C'est dans ce contexte que nous faisons la connaissance de deux personnages très différents :
- James Holden est l'officier en second et l'un des rares rescapés de l'équipage de son vaisseau-mineur de glace abattu par une mystérieuse navette furtive après avoir tenté de porter secours au Scopuli, un autre navire en détresse
- Joe Miller est un détective sur l'astéroïde Ceres, dont l'une des affaires dont il est en charge est de retrouver Julie Mao, fille d'un puissant homme d'affaires terrien, qui s'est engagée pour l'indépendance de la ceinture d'astéroïdes
Les chapitres alternent les points de vue des deux personnages et si les deux récits sont d'abord indépendants, on se rend vite compte qu'ils sont liés et que Holden et Miller sont destinés à se rencontre à un moment ou un autre. Cela finit évidemment par arriver, et c'est là que le livre devient passionnant, d'autant que les auteurs ont la bonne idée de ne pas attendre les derniers chapitres pour en arriver là.
Le récit lui-même est intelligent, captivant à suivre, avec des enjeux forts. On ne s'ennuie pas du début à la fin, grâce à des chapitres courts et un sens du rythme évident. On peut parfois se demander si cela n'a pas été écrit dans l'optique d'être adapté sur le petit ou le grand écran, mais c'est suffisamment efficace pour que je ne n'en fasse pas un défaut impardonnable.
Ce premier volume est en tout cas riche de promesses pour la suite de la saga, je ne vais clairement pas tarder à me lancer dans le deuxième tome.
I absolutely love dark sci-fi stories, Hyperion is my favorite within the science fiction genre, so jumping into The Expanse universe was damn good fun.
I may have rated Leviathan Wakes higher if I had not watched Season 1 of The Expanse first.
I picked up Leviathan Wakes because one of my book clubs suggested it, and I thought it would be an interesting foray into the world of science fiction. Previously I've read both Andy Weir books currently out and not much else that could be classified as science fiction so I was excited for this book.
I knew almost instantly I was going to love this book. This book steals aspects from various genres; science fiction, crime fiction, and horror mainly. I personally feel that it takes the best parts of each genre for this book and builds a complex story out of them. The world felt expansive and really well designed, and it really gradually pushed the boundaries of the world we were aware of over the course of the book so I never felt lost. The cast also gets fairly large, but I similarly felt that we were never introduced to too many people too fast.
I want to make a special mention of the characters in this book, because it was how developed and how real the characters were that made me really fall for the book. The book is told from alternating perspectives of two characters that felt to me like best friends separated by lifestyle and moral compasses. Like Doug Judy and Jake Peralta. I really enjoyed the two opposite sides to this story.
I found this book to be funny, engrossing and quite thrilling in a slow burn kind of way. I would highly recommend reading these, especially on audio book. The audio book experience could have easily earned an extra star on its own.
A fantastic space epic that truly lives up to a science fiction story. There are some great mysteries involving many great characters in a truly believable futuristic world! Would highly recommend for all sci-fi fans