[BOTM] - MOD PICK - Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey

[Anna]

Greetings Space Opera Fans!

Every month, after the nominations in each category are run through the Random.org randomizer, your Borg Queen picks a rabbit out of the hat based on a combination of 1) balancing out the group reads so there is hopefully something for everybody to read; 2) clusters of books you guys have expressed an interest in; and 3) what -I- want to read. This month I wanted to inject a little 'hard' sci-fi into the mix, so...


Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey

"Humanity has colonized the solar system - Mars, the Moon, the Asteroid Belt and beyond - but the stars are still out of our reach. Jim Holden is XO of an ice miner making runs from the rings of Saturn to the mining stations of the Belt. When he and his crew stumble upon a derelict ship, The Scopuli, they find themselves in possession of a secret they never wanted. A secret that someone is willing to kill for - and kill on a scale unfathomable to Jim and his crew. War is brewing in the system unless he can find out who left the ship and why.

Detective Miller is looking for a girl. One girl in a system of billions, but her parents have money and money talks. When the trail leads him to The Scopuli and rebel sympathizer Holden, he realizes that this girl may be the key to everything.

Holden and Miller must thread the needle between the Earth government, the Outer Planet revolutionaries, and secretive corporations - and the odds are against them. But out in the Belt, the rules are different, and one small ship can change the fate of the universe..."

Are you reading Leviathan Wakes? Shout it out in the comments thread below to find out who else is reading it and discuss what you think about the book. Just remember to be kind ...use the spoiler .html (view spoiler)[so you don't ruin the fun for other people (hide spoiler)] or open your own spoiler-filled discussion thread in the Book Buddies Club folder located w-a-y at the bottom of the main community page where you can discuss the book in spoilery goodness.

[Kirsten]

I read that last year and loved it. I think maybe Corey has seen the movie LEVIATHAN with Peter Weller. But that doesn't detract from the book at all. I really need to get to the sequel one of these days.

[Stephen]

I agree with Kirsten--I read the first one and thought it was great, and now I have to get around to reading more of them...as soon as I can get the time. Superb hard sf.

[Tom]

I read Leviathan Wakes this summer and really enjoyed it. I'm looking forward to discussing it and also to reading the next book.

[Kirsten]

Anyone else ever see the movie with Peter Weller? My dad really liked the movie, and I think he would've loved THIS book if that nasty cancer hadn't gotten to him.

[Anna]

I haven't seen the movie, but somewhere in the bowels of my icky, dusty spider closet I have the paperback of this. It's time to dig it out and re-read it :-)

[Chris]

Leviathan Wakes is absolutely one of the best novels I have ever read. I finally got ahold of Cibola Burn yesterday and am really excited about that! Leviathan Wakes is my favorite of the series so far, but the others are not far off in terms of quality.

[C.S.]

I thorougly enjoyed Leviathan Wakes, it had all the necessary elements of a good space opera. I especially enjoyed the character of Detective Miller.

In case someone has not heard of this yet, Syfy is apparently making a tv-series based on the book. However, I have a bad feeling they will mess things up and lose the subtleties of the story (such as the slightly dubious relationship Miller has with Julie).

[Whitney]

I started reading it. That beginning kinda freaked me out have to read during the day I guess.

[Jonathan]

I thoroughly enjoyed the book. It took me a little bit to get into it but by halfway through the book, I got bummed when I had to stop reading and pretend I had a job.

Fantastic book and the second one is even better. I've told everyone in my family I want the next three books for Christmas, so I have to wait and find out; but I am definitely buying if I don't get them as gifts.

[Ed]

FYI: There is a novella between the 2nd and 3rd books called "The Churn"

[Anna]

Jonathan wrote: "I got bummed when I had to stop reading and pretend I had a job..."

Hah! Yeah ... hazard of diving into a good book :-)

[Chumofchance]

Probably my favorite science fiction series after Revelation Space and The Culture, and bonus points for being written by a team of Americans. Kind of reminds me of Aliens, in the way it's sort of 'working class' sci-fi, also a throwback to the 70's and 80's. Love the series, read all Daniel Abraham's fantasy because of it too.

My one complaint is with the somewhat cliche, monocultural United Nations of Earth government, so boring! But we see more development of the UN in later books, with interesting results. I do wonder if it was a bit of an intentional decision to have that sort of Earth government, while unoriginal it also evokes lots of earlier sci-fi (Moon is a Harsh Mitress, being my best example), and struck me as a bit kitschy in a good way. Any one else have any thoughts on that aspect?