Book 7: Leviathan Wakes
This hefty book appeared mysteriously on my desk at work, my assumption being that it was left there by my boss who is regularly referring me to science fiction books and authors. The back cover, which described it as a bit of a science fiction mystery, hooked me right away. A mystery! In space!!
The story takes place in the future, when humans from Earth have colonized Mars as well as several of the solar system moons, and have established mining stations in the asteroid belt. Humanity has divided itself into factions of Earthers, Martians and Belters, who barely tolerate each other, existing in a cold-war state that threatens to collapse at any moment. The portrayal of life in the Belt, in particular, is beautifully handled, with insightful references to what existence would be like in rotation-generated low-gravity for people who are born and raised there. I loved the way the secondary story of life in the Belt is told, with beautifully in-laid references to everything from hot-bunking, advanced medical treatments, skeletal adaptations, high-g drug therapy and life support management.
The main narrative itself alternates between the story of Jim Holden, a spacecraft captain who makes a grisly and puzzling discovery in the outer reaches of the Belt, and Miller, a washed-up middle-aged detective who is assigned to locate a missing girl for a wealthy inner planets family. The two story lines eventually weave their way together until Holden and Miller find themselves on the same side of an unexpected fight against a common enemy. There is great character development, even of the lesser players, which frankly I would expect from a book of this size that doesn’t introduce a George R. R. Martin-sized cast. (The point is ironic, in the sense that “James S. A. Covey is actually a pseudonym for co-authors Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck, and Franck is, in fact, an assistant to Martin).
Leviathan Wakes is the first book of The Expanse, a 5-book series, however it can stand on it’s own quite well. I will eventually read the remaining books, but I’m grateful there is no cliff-hanger that demands that I do so immediately. The book, or possibly the set of books, has also been made into a TV series which I will be keen to watch, now that I have read the book.
Rating: Buy it. If you are super-keen, you may want to re-read it as you tackle the remaining books in the set.