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Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey- BR Discussion- 7th Dec -2020_Continuing Expanse
I finally found my copy yesterday after searching for an hour. Am aboard the Scopuli!
wow.. that's great..I will wrap up some currently reading books and start tomorrow:)
Though i finished the 2 books that I was reading yesterday, I am not able to touch the book till now. :(What fate!!!
I jumped over to Canterbury, and right now on Ceres, waiting to go back to Canterbury. I find the belters' language tough to follow
I am in Chapter 3. It is taking my time to understand Expanse world. But I googled it and its based on our own solar system.
Below is a link to the solar system pic
Solar Syatem for Expanse
Other than that, I understood a few things but new info takes time to sink in.
--Mankind has colonized outside Earth, mainly on asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter where "Ceres"- a dwarf planet/asteroid resides. Also on moons of Jupiter and Saturn.
--Belter's are people who are born on Ceres or any ship in the belt and are never exposed to gravity. They grow tall with lower weight.
--These people outside Earth needs Air and Water, which is supplied by Pur'n'Kleen Water Company to which "Canterbury", a ship belongs to. Captain McDowell is in charge of the ship.
Jim Holden is the 2nd in charge of the ship along with other people like Naomi,Shed ,Cameron etc.
--Then there is Ceres is called a Port city with more than 6 million permanent residents. Detective Miller works for Star Helix Security and works mainly on organized crime. He is given the task of finding a particular Julie Mao who happens to be the daughter of some bigwigs.
--Also there is ship called Scopuli, which was attacked by (no idea what) and Julia Mao was trapped in some storage here. There was a gross ending to this Prologue.
All the above from only 2 chapters.. :P
Mod
@pallavi - that is a lot to take in.
Em Lost In Books wrote: "Started yesterday. @pallavi - that is a lot to take in."
I Know, Right...
But best part is, it gets very interesting from Ch 3... I just sped few chapters in a go...I am having a feeling that I am going to like it... :)
Mod
@Aditya - which chapter you are reading?
Finished Chapter 16.It is getting very interesting....
Where is Julia Mao?? She was the last survivor on Scopuli. And everything revolves around her.
Mystery of the attacks on Scopuli (view spoiler)
And I have a feeling that Holden and Miller are going to meet.. soon.
hello hello....Anybody there.....
How's the reading going guys ??
Hey, I was just lost in the expanse :PAm on Chap 12 now. The book is pacy, well written and well researched, not too much sci-fi, not too much of anything I felt. The Miller chapters are well written, background to the riots, the dynamics of Earth vs Mars vs Belt can be related to any of our 21st century regional politics.
One thing I noticed is the scale of the story, it jumps a few days (a week or two so far) every now and then. You get a distress signal while board a ship, it takes a few days to reach it. You notice a communication from Donnager it takes a few days to reach it. Even in the riots, though there are one or two scenes set in the moment, like that gruesome mob killing of a Martian woman, the story quickly moved over a few days not without any reason though.
My favorite so far is the way they talk about the surreal calm of the riot/crime victims' families, how they appear normal on the surface but the extra quarter second it takes for them to focus their gaze shows how deep the damage actually is.
good to know that you are liking it.I too noticed the jumping of time and it takes a bit to get a hang of it. There will be weeks or months in between chapters or events which we wont know unless its mentioned. But its ok as far as the story is moving forward with good twists :)
I just crossed 50% and in chapter 30. I am on Eros now. I am not getting much time to read but whenever I am reading (usually nights) story moves fast. Even when I am not reading I am thinking about Miller and Holden :P
Mod
I am liking Miller's story more than Holden. Perhaps because more hints are given in his chapters than Holden's. His dedication to find Julie is admirable and complete madness at the same time. Also, the more story progress, this madness has scared me. What lengths will he go to find her and what comes next? He is not stable...
Very True @Manju... I was thinking the same... what if this happened? Man kind is not ready for Bioweapons or risk posed by various microorganisms... And Expanse is a world where I would not like to live in :P I liked the fantasy world built in Harry Potter Books, Robin Hobb books etc... but this one is a place where I would never ever want to live in...I too find Miller's story more interesting. His interest in Julie is what makes him interesting. I seriously hope he will survive in this book.
Other than that there are very few female characters, where as Naomi is a strong one whom I like. Whenever she is in the picture she is emotionally strong and stable at all situations where as I see men bickering around :P
Also, I just came to know that James S.A. Corey is not a person but 2 persons!!!
James S.A Corey WIKI
I feel cheated.... 2 authors wrote this ??
I finished :)Rated 5 Stars.... It was a really good read for me after a long time especially for a 500+ pages book.
How's it going for you guys?
Mod
As for the characters both Miller and Holden were opposite, complimented very well each other. Whereas Miller was bold, Holden was cautious, meticulous. I wanted more of secondary characters, since its a long series I am hoping that they will be honed out more in coming books.
Thats true @Manju..The big clue in the last line part :) You clearly identified the writing style... I loved it and overexcited by the story where as it was long time I read such a book, enjoyed a lot while reading it over a span on 2 weeks or so...
Will Miller be there in the next series? but even if he is there it will not be the same Miller...
Mod
I think he's going to be an important character, we all love these reckless daredevils. :D
When are you planning to read second book?
@Adithya - how many chapters remain?
I and Em Lost In Books are going to start the second book in the series on Jan 20th. Same thread will be used for the discussion.Please feel free to join :)
I started... In Prologue and taking time to wrap my head around it....
Caliban's War by James S.A. Corey
Blurb:
We are not alone.
On Ganymede, breadbasket of the outer planets, a Martian marine watches as her platoon is slaughtered by a monstrous supersoldier. On Earth, a high-level politician struggles to prevent interplanetary war from reigniting. And on Venus, an alien protomolecule has overrun the planet, wreaking massive, mysterious changes and threatening to spread out into the solar system.
In the vast wilderness of space, James Holden and the crew of the Rocinante have been keeping the peace for the Outer Planets Alliance. When they agree to help a scientist search war-torn Ganymede for a missing child, the future of humanity rests on whether a single ship can prevent an alien invasion that may have already begun . . .
Caliban's War is a breakneck science fiction adventure following the critically acclaimed Leviathan Wakes.
Mod
Mod
I liked it @Manju. There are more characters and the authors have well handled the multiple POV. Also there is a bit of political drama intertwined which did change the flavor of normal Sci-Fi....
Mod
No problem at all... Take your time... :)
Pooja wrote: "May I join now?"of course.. you can :)
Mod
about the new characters Bobby and Prax, am still warming to them but I think I will like them. why didn't Prax check with Mei's mom?
yes... this one starts off very quickly..Prax is a very likable character right? I was not so interested with that Politics part but Bobby & Avasarala characters...
Mod
I think with each passing book this prototype is going to grow in size and the mess it will create is going to be bigger leading us to the finale of good vs evil showdown...
Bobbie and Avarsala are my favorite so far. Two head strong women, I want to see where their partnership will lead and what it meant for the series. Hope none dies here. *keeping fingers crossed*
yes.... But I feel Bobbie and Avarsala characters are those who will be left out for the next books, only mentioned from here after like Holden. Also the last book of Expanse is coming out somewhere this year end... hope we will reach there by then 🤞
Mod
though its Holden PoV, I don't know why I am feeling that Avarsala is going to die... I have started liking the old lady. Please let her live.
I didn't pay attention to Holden's appearance before so I was very very surprised to read that he is bald. lol
Isn't it similar to first book? Miller and Holden started on the opposite sides, then they meet, and then they shook hands to fight the enemy together.. replace Miller with Avarsala and Bobbie here...
Em Lost In Books wrote: "chapter 45though its Holden PoV, I don't know why I am feeling that Avarsala is going to die... I have started liking the old lady. Please let her live.
I didn't pay attention to Holden's appea..."
ha ha ... Yeah I too had not noticed that Holden was Bald. I did a google search on Expanse series (Amazon Prime) and they all look good though
Yes it is very similar to first book, with a missing girl and different groups going to find her and get together etc.
Hope the third one is bit different. But I feel it is the characters than the plot that makes it interesting. What say?
I have started the 3rd book Abaddon's Gate... Still getting hang of plot and new characters :)Hope will like it.. Hope Em will join soon :)
Mod
I am so much happy that no one died. There were few times I was doubting the existence of Avarsala and Bobbie in coming books but everyone survived this safe and sound.
I saw that you also read the novellas. how are they?
Will start 3rd book on Monday. What? new characters again? O.O
Great.. you finished the 2nd book and glad that you liked it. Looks like Holden and his crew are more like constant (also Miller in some ways) and others just come and go in each book....Novella's are good. The Butcher of Anderson Station and Drive are informative and kind of throw light on different aspects of expanse.
I am around 30% in the 3rd book... First few chapters went with undersatnding what is happening and who are these people (new ones). Now I have reached a stable point in the story... And good news is "No missing Girls" in this book.
Mod
Can we hope that this will be better since there are no missing girl or will it be the opposite? O.o
Mod
Prax was nowhere in sight, not a mention. I came to like him in Caliban's War. Since this is a long series I am hoping that he would pop up sooner than later. Same goes for Avarsala and Bobbie. (haven't checked the index yet)
Why is Miller here? Am not happy. :(
There are no characters from Past books but Miller. And even the conversation between Holden and Miller is not interesting at all like first book...I am around 60% in the book. Like previous books the plot is interesting, characters are interesting, vivid but something feels odd here. It doesn't taste like the previous books. I think the conversations are bland, flat and one toned...
But yet I am reading it to see where everyone ends up....
Mod
Bull is my least likeable new character. If I don't like Melba then I don't feel anything while reading his chapters, I just want them to be over so me and the movie can move forward. Anna is my favorite new character so far, but have read only two chapters from her so things can change to worse sooner than later but hope she remains the good one...
are you done reading it?
No Manju... I am around 80%, I might need a day to finish this one.Bull is my least likable character too. Anna sure is a interesting character but till now I don't feel that her POV is even needed!!
There are lots of minor characters who are real interesting like Pa, Sam, Tilly who feel like they belong to Sci fi world. Where as Even Holden ,Naomi etc are a bit sidetracked.
Melba is sure the main point in this book but she too lacks depth. We get to know what and why's but still....
(view spoiler)
Mod
reading this felt like a filler. No character development for our main cast and the revenge plot, really? it was the worst. how quickly Melba had change of heart in the end? it was unbelievable. I will be happy not to meet them again.
I think Anna's character was coined solely for that last speech that changed Melba's heart and then author thought why not give her something else to do something like saving Naomi.
At least story progressed as whole in last two books I don't see what this book changed in the main storyline...
Mod
exactly.. I too didnt like it. if you see each character individually, they are good but together they just float around.For me revenge is a good plot choice except here execution was very poor ...
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