Leviathan Wakes by James S A Corey.
Leviathan Wakes by James S A Corey, Book #1 of The Expanse Series.
Introduction
Leviathan Wakes by James S A Corey is the first book in The Expanse series. It is a space opera set entirely within the solar system. I liked the non-stop action and the execution of the police procedural plot.
Summary
Each chapter is titled and narrated by the viewpoint character. The prologue introduces Julie Mao, who starts the plot rolling. Each subsequent chapter, except for the epilogue, is told by the two protagonists. First is Jim Holden the executive officer of the water hauler the Canterbury. He is sort of a jerk. His command philosophy tends to be wishy-washy. The author could have written him as a type-A hero, but I appreciate that the author chose a different path for him.
The real star of this novel is Detective Miller. He feels like a direct descendant of Philip Marlowe, first written by Raymond Chandler in The Big Sleep. He is the ultimate film noir detective but based on the asteroid of Ceres. Miller wears a pork-pie hat to prove it. His case is to find Julie Mao and how he grows as a character is what drives this story. I started to read this novel as a companion to watching the SyFy series called The Expanse.
Recommendation
The novel is great. The show starts slowly but delivers toward the end. The first season of the show ends just before the climax of the novel Leviathan Wakes. I am looking forward to seeing how the showrunners depict the end of the novel and continue the story. Caliban’s War is the name of the second novel. I plan on reading the novel in conjunction with watching season two of The Expanse, airing in January 2017.
Links
This is the link to the Goodreads page of Leviathan Wakes by James S A Corey.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8855321-leviathan-wakes
My review of Caliban’s War by James S.A. Corey Book #2 of The Expanse Series. They send Jim Holden to Ganymede to investigate. We meet new characters and learn about what happened to Julie Mao.