Leviathan Wakes

Fantastic science fiction. ( )

Damn. I was expecting some light space opera to help me kill time. I wasn’t prepared for superb writing that would put Tolstoy to shame.

“The beautiful thing about losing your illusions, he thought, was that you got to stop pretending. All the years he’d told himself that he was respected, that he was good at his job, that all his sacrifices had been made for a reason fell away and left him with the clear, unmuddied knowledge that he was a functional alcoholic who had pared away everything good in his own life to make room for anesthetic.” ( )

I found it really refreshing to encounter a Sci-Fi story that felt so new. Taking place in a near-ish future, it has a plausible amount of cultural shift compared to the present. Mars has domed cities and the asteroid belt is a Wild West of small settlements, but in the world of Leviathan Wakes humans are solidly limited to much-slower-than-light travel.

There are a two plot-lines running through this book; a story of political intrigue featuring a space cowboy and a mystery starring a Noire detective. They intersect in the prologue, and again later on, in a way that owes a great deal to the "Alien" film franchise.

In spite of being the first book in a series, I felt like this story stood very well on its own. I'm going to jump straight into the sequel because I'm hooked, but if there were no sequels to come I'd still recommend "Leviathan Wakes". ( )

Great summer read for a science fiction lover, but I did have the feeling that I had read it before. Despite this I did enjoy it. Although you can just read this book and be happy it is definitely set up for a follow up book. ( )

It often takes me a while to engage with a new science fiction series, but this one sucked me in immediately. The dash of horror Corey built this book with, alongside stupendous characters who felt I could keep reading about forever, made the book one of the most engaging sci-fi works I think I've ever come across. If not for the size of the book tiring out my wrist, I suspect I would have finished it far sooner, but savoring it over the last few weeks was such a pleasure that I can't wait to dive into the next book. Corey's writing is fast, smart, and powerful, and the characters and world are fantastic. If you like space opera that's more character-based than universe-based, and sci-fi with just a bit of horror thrown in, you'll love this.

Absolutely recommended. ( )