summerleighann7's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
fedak's review against another edition
5.0
First volume of the gargantuan 9 book "Expanse" series that was the basis for the SyFy/Amazon TV series.
Set in the intermediate future where humanity has achieved interplanetary travel but not interstellar ranges. (i.e. there's no technology that has advanced to the point of magic)
Physics, refreshingly, still exists. Acceleration causes g-force impacts (and humans have limits on what they can withstand). Coriolis effect comes into play with space station design.
Interplanetery communications is limited by the speed of radio waves, etc.
The characters are admittedly archetypes (one is an almost cartoon caricature of a noir detective) but the Game of Thrones style (switching protagonists/POV) chapters are exquisitely well paced.
Looking forward to the rest of the series.
Set in the intermediate future where humanity has achieved interplanetary travel but not interstellar ranges. (i.e. there's no technology that has advanced to the point of magic)
Physics, refreshingly, still exists. Acceleration causes g-force impacts (and humans have limits on what they can withstand). Coriolis effect comes into play with space station design.
Interplanetery communications is limited by the speed of radio waves, etc.
The characters are admittedly archetypes (one is an almost cartoon caricature of a noir detective) but the Game of Thrones style (switching protagonists/POV) chapters are exquisitely well paced.
Looking forward to the rest of the series.
bookswithbets's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
inlandempire's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
scottrick's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
samohtj's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
What an absolute behemoth of a story! This one took me a good few weeks to get through, and is definitely one of the more ambitious books I've read in a while. A solar-system-spanning epic, highlighting humanity's greatest flaws and virtues. Part noir mystery, part swashbuckling adventure, this really does cover all the aspects of a great space opera. As huge as the story was, I can tell it's about to get a lot bigger, and I'm very interested to see how the story expands over the course of the next 8 (!) novels.
saroreen's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia, Suicide, War, Body horror, and Violence
Moderate: Death, Blood, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Alcoholism, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, and Vomit
ornithopter1's review against another edition
4.0
You could call Leviathan Wakes a space opera in miniature, it's setting is not the usual galaxy spanning civilisation, we are instead restricted by the confines of our solar system. That's not to say the plot is small, there is plenty of excitement, epic events, and scope for much larger stories to come. Mankind's empire has a tripartite structure with human factions clearly divided into Earth, Mars, and those who subsist in the Asteroid Belt. At first this felt like an overly simplified piece of world-building, but it felt more authentic as the action progressed and in any case kept the focus where it needed to be.
The characters are engaging: the stereotypical, charming, moral, Captain Holden, offset by the more gritty detective Miller, with the enigmatic Julie Mao looming large as the key figure in the story. The science is definitely on the soft side, but that's no bad thing and the occasional blips which struck my inner physicist as being miscalculated weren't too heinous - mostly they were small details that could just as easily have gone unnoticed.
Overall this is an enjoyable piece of comfort-food sci-fi. I'm already looking forward to continuing with the series.
The characters are engaging: the stereotypical, charming, moral, Captain Holden, offset by the more gritty detective Miller, with the enigmatic Julie Mao looming large as the key figure in the story. The science is definitely on the soft side, but that's no bad thing and the occasional blips which struck my inner physicist as being miscalculated weren't too heinous - mostly they were small details that could just as easily have gone unnoticed.
Overall this is an enjoyable piece of comfort-food sci-fi. I'm already looking forward to continuing with the series.
fahotheguy's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5