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“The Expanse: Leviathan Wakes” – James S.A. Corey.

May 17, 2016 book review, sci-fi
The first book in “the Expanse” series.

"Leviathan Wakes" - James S A Corey.

This is another science fiction book I picked up in our library. It was written by James S.A. Corey (unknown to me) in 2011.

Turns out ‘James S.A. Corey’ is actually a collaboration between two American authors : Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck. Together, they have now written six books in the ‘Expanse’ series, of which ‘Leviathan wakes’ is the first one. The other volumes are : ‘Caliban’s War’ (2012), ‘Abaddon’s Gate’ (2013), ‘Cibola Burn’ (2014), ‘Nemesis Games’ (2015), and ‘Babylon’s Ashes’ (to be published in 2016).

What can I say ?!
‘Leviathan wakes’ is a GREAT book (and you should all read it) !

The story is set in a not so far away, rather gritty future. The plot unfolds through the voices of two protagonists : the ship’s captain Holden, and the security officer Miller.
For Holden, it all begins with a distress signal from the Scopuli, a deserted ship with a breached hull. For Miller, it begins with the search for Julie Mao, the missing daughter of a wealthy corporate executive.
When both story lines come together, a truly horrific secret is unveiled.


In summary :

  • negative : … can’t think of anything …
  • positive : The characters feel like people of flesh and blood, with flaws and all. Yet, you cannot help but really care for them. The secret is intriguing ; deadly and beautiful at the same time. The atmosphere is very ‘film noir’ ; I love it.

So. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves a good sci-fi story.
In fact, if you’re like me, you will want to start book two right after finishing book one …


Note : I just learned that ‘the Expanse’ has been made into a Syfy Original series! No idea if this can be watched in Europe …
edit : I've watched some bits and pieces on Netflix and ... it's not for me (just another one of those dark, flashing camera, superficial 'thingies' that seem to be representative of sci-fi these days).


Note : I did not care much for books 2 and 3 (unbelievable characters and uninteresting plot), but book 4 was good again. To me, books 1 and 4 feel so very different from books 2 and 3 that it made me wonder if perhaps they were written by different authors (James S.A. Corey being a duo after all). I started reading book 5 as well, but I just couldn't get into it.