Book Review – Leviathan Wakes by James S. A. Corey

I wish I had more time to read, as I really enjoy it.  In fact, much of my formative internet time as a kid on up was spent in the discussion boards and later websites/forums for my favorite author, Orson Scott Card.  It was awesome – here was a whole group of people who spoke my language, who loved Ender’s Game and Speaker for the Dead as much as I did.  Among them was a man whose name I now know to be Ty Franck, half of the writing duo who makes up James S. A. Corey, the other being fantasy writer Daniel Abraham.  I guess this is the long way of saying that unlike the majority who read this review, I was much more familiar with Ty’s writing style than Daniel’s.

The book (first in a trilogy) is set within our Solar System.  Earth and Mars are at an uneasy peace, while the inhabitants of the asteroid belt are just trying to survive in the harsh, unforgiving environment, where you are completely reliant on shipments of gasses and water to keep yourselves alive.  It’s within this delicate balance that we meet Jim Holden, XO of the ice hauler Cantebury on the return trip from the rings of Saturn.  When the Cantebury gets nuked while Holden is exploring a derelict ship, it becomes clear he has stumbled onto a mystery someone is willing to start a war to protect.

The other half of the story is belter Detective Miller, working security on the largest Belt settlement, the asteroid Ceres.  The drunk, divorced Miller gets all the shit assignments, including the Earther partner, but gets fixated on a case no one wants him to try to hard to solve – a missing corporate heiress who’s gone native and joined a belter revolutionary group.  When the detective’s search points him square at Jim Holden, the two men must learn to work together before the entire solar system shakes itself apart.

The book is a bit of a slow starter, but it builds up momentum constantly, with plenty of action to be the counterpoint to the deep thinking.  There’s a bit of a Lovecraftian bent to the writing, though I won’t go any further as to avoid spoilers.  I will tell you that I had to keep reading until I finished it, and there was a solid ending despite being the first book in a series.  I’m eagerly awaiting the second book.  And to re-read this one when my Nook comes.  If you wish to purchase Leviathan Wakes, either click the link on the right of the homepage to pre-order a real physical book you can smell and feel, or click this link for the Nook eBook: Leviathan Wakes. If you like Amazon, go here: Leviathan Wakes. You can get it right away by buying Daniel Abraham’s The Dragon’s Path eBook. I’ll be buying a paper copy when available though.