Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey Narrator: Jefferson Mays
Series: The Expanse #1
Published by Orbit on June 30, 2017 (first published June 2, 2011)
Source: Purchased
Genres: Science Fiction
Length: 20 hrs 56 mins
Pages: 561
Format: Audiobook
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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.
I don’t typically read a lot of sci-fi – last year I think I read two books that would qualify. I enjoy science fiction, but maybe take my opinions as those of a casual reader, not someone who is immersed in the genre. And, no, I have not seen the The Expanse tv series.
One of my complaints about science fiction is that sometimes it gets so caught up in the technology and concepts that I end up not really caring. Here the world and politics are definitely center stage – Earth and Luna versus Mars and its outposts, versus the Belters, who live and work in the Asteroid belt, and the issues that seem to plague any society regarding race and income and exploitation, but it’s told through its characters. We learn about the world, history, and tensions from their viewpoints.
Jim Holden and his crew are at the center of a lot of the action, for really no good reason. They ran into pirates, and have been heading from disaster to disaster since then. Our other main character is Miller, and old-fashioned noir-style detective, who is searching for a missing young woman whose rich father is worried. Of course Holden and Miller meet up and while Holden’s idealism and Miller’s world-weariness clash, they work well together. And, yes, maybe they’re stereotypical, but I don’t care.
The audio is almost 21 hours long, but it kept my attention the whole time. The pace worked well, and the narrator did a fabulous job given the wide range of characters. And, quite honestly, I love sci-fi/mystery mash-ups.
About James S.A. Corey
James S.A. Corey is the pen name of fantasy author Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck. They both live in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Daniel Abraham is the author of the critically-acclaimed Long Price Quartet, The Dagger and the Coin series, and the Kithamar Trilogy. He writes with Ty Franck as James S. A. Corey, and as MLN Hanover. He has been nominated for the Nebula and World Fantasy awards, and won the Hugo award and International Horror Guild award.
Tyler Corey Franck is an American novelist, screenwriter, and television producer. He is best known for co-authoring The Expanse with Daniel Abraham under the pseudonym James S. A. Corey, as well as Game of Thrones: A Telltale Games Series (2014) and The Expanse: Expanded (2016 documentary short). The Expanse novels have been adapted into the television series The Expanse (2015 – 2022), with both Franck and Abraham serving as writers and producers on the show.
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