regipunk's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
kmcc114's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
verlkonig's review against another edition
2.0
This has been the worst trade deal in the history of trade deals.
I feel absolutely gaslighted, because throughout the entire thing (or most of it since I gave up on page 432) I was convinced I was missing something and that I was absolutely 100% mental for not understanding what all the fuss was about. My expectations were atmospherically high after reading praise upon praise for Leviathan Wakes - I was promised space opera at breakneck speed, fun, friendship, and bloody, thrilling shoot outs. That's why at page 120 I kept slogging, and again around the 300 page mark when I just wanted to abandon it. There must be something coming, I thought, something that will suddenly make things click for me - something that will stop me from actively wanting to put this book down. It never came, and I finally gave it up as a bad job at 77%.
I really wanted to like this. I really, really wanted to have a rollicking space opera adventure, but there were a couple of big things that just blocked me from doing so. The characters were the biggest turds in my pipes.
Leviathan Wakes is narrated by two main characters, who tell chapters from their POVs. Holden is one of them, and is the XO of an ice hauler out in space. This is what I know about Holden after 430 pages:
- Handsome (according to at least one character, anyway)
- Dumb
- Averse to murder
- Brought up on Earth by many parents
That's all I've got!! He's one of two main protagonists, and I know I'm expected to care what happens to him. I'm supposed to be rooting for this guy, but I CAN'T. He's not particularly unlikeable, but there's nothing I actively liked about him either. He makes some huge mistakes, which he defends. He just kind of staggers from one situation to another, and doesn't behave like what I imagined an XO to behave like throughout. In chapter one, there's a pretty nifty space explosion in which his lover dies. He's sad about it for another chapter before he starts mooning over one of the surviving crew, Naomi. I had no sympathy for him at all.
On the other hand, Naomi has potential, I think. She has some qualities that I actually liked about her at least - she's far more capable than her boss, very intelligent, she knows herself and she doesn't take any bollocks. All good things. However, she's not one of our narrators, and many of Holden's chapters reference her unfortunately. For example:
Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but I felt that the women in this novel were treated kind of appallingly. Naomi, who is such a badass, has to have a sickening conversation with Holden about why she chooses not to sleep with him. It begins with her telling him that of course she loves him, and has done ever since he never led a woman who looked like 'a bulldog puppy' along, despite this woman's infatuation. (Side note: what the fuck?)
However, she loves Holden (for some reason) and isn't outright rejecting him. She just wants him to prove his feelings to her. It just felt...icky.
There's one other significant woman in the novel, too, but she spends almost all of it being dead. That's Julie, but to introduce Julie, I first have to rant about Miller.
Miller is the secondary protagonist of Leviathan Wakes. He's a detective (cool) who is also a bit of a dead beat alcoholic (less cool) and becomes obsessed with "his Julie" (definitely absolutely not cool). For the most part, I honestly found he and Holden to be interchangeable. They are both a bit useless and boring. Miller's character development is about as subtle as a wrecking ball as he comes to terms with his 'DaMagE' and how as a result he enjoys killing people who he thinks ought to be killed. I just didn't care. The anti-hero detective is very noir and nothing new, and just like with Holden I didn't care an ounce about him. He wasn't likeable at all, and I didn't want to spend time with him in his head.
As a detective, he has to find out what happened to Julie, whose POV opens the novel's prologue. Julie seems to be pretty fucking cool, I have to admit. I liked her a lot, but like I said, the prologue is all we have to go on, since she's dead for the rest of the book.
As part of his investigation, Miller goes to her house, reads her emails, etc. And falls in love, obviously. He imagines Julie by his side, smiling at him, holding him, being all lovey with him. I'm gonna call it - Miller is a neckbeard. No one could convince me that Julie, who races spaceships, has a brown belt in Jiu Jitsu, and lives off her own back despite coming from big money, would look twice at boring, useless Miller. His obsession is just plain creepy, and utterly unnecessary.
So, protagonist wise, I had a terrible time. I love stories that are character driven. I want to care about them and root for them, but these two men had my back up the entire time. This was my biggest issue with this novel, and no amount of plot could convince me to keep reading when I finally came to the conclusion that I didn't care if they lived or died.
However, it's not all bad. There are some great elements of Leviathan Wakes that even I could enjoy and appreciate. The plot was not to my personal taste (political sci-fi bio-horror, I guess?) but it did have some really original and fun elements. I actually loved the horror elements and really wished that the horror had been more of a focus, in general. The scene wherein they find Julie was really, really good.
The world building is also fantastic. It's incredibly detailed and I had no problem believing in this future vision of humanity, spread out within our solar system and divided into Earthers, Martians, and Belters.
Some of the secondary characters were also really intriguing to me. I really wanted to know more about Fred, the Butcher of Anderson Station. Naomi, as well, is a character that I really hope would grow throughout the series. Amos, another member of Holden's crew, was pretty funny whilst also being pretty unpleasant, and again, it would be nice to see how his character develops.
So overall, it's not a one star book for me despite what the rant above may suggest. I am absolutely willing to accept that this is just not the book for me, and that the series improves a lot. I just feel such a great sense of disappointment, and now I'm wondering - is space opera just not the genre for me? Is it all like this? I bloody well hope not.
I feel absolutely gaslighted, because throughout the entire thing (or most of it since I gave up on page 432) I was convinced I was missing something and that I was absolutely 100% mental for not understanding what all the fuss was about. My expectations were atmospherically high after reading praise upon praise for Leviathan Wakes - I was promised space opera at breakneck speed, fun, friendship, and bloody, thrilling shoot outs. That's why at page 120 I kept slogging, and again around the 300 page mark when I just wanted to abandon it. There must be something coming, I thought, something that will suddenly make things click for me - something that will stop me from actively wanting to put this book down. It never came, and I finally gave it up as a bad job at 77%.
I really wanted to like this. I really, really wanted to have a rollicking space opera adventure, but there were a couple of big things that just blocked me from doing so. The characters were the biggest turds in my pipes.
Leviathan Wakes is narrated by two main characters, who tell chapters from their POVs. Holden is one of them, and is the XO of an ice hauler out in space. This is what I know about Holden after 430 pages:
- Handsome (according to at least one character, anyway)
- Dumb
- Averse to murder
- Brought up on Earth by many parents
That's all I've got!! He's one of two main protagonists, and I know I'm expected to care what happens to him. I'm supposed to be rooting for this guy, but I CAN'T. He's not particularly unlikeable, but there's nothing I actively liked about him either. He makes some huge mistakes, which he defends. He just kind of staggers from one situation to another, and doesn't behave like what I imagined an XO to behave like throughout. In chapter one, there's a pretty nifty space explosion in which his lover dies. He's sad about it for another chapter before he starts mooning over one of the surviving crew, Naomi. I had no sympathy for him at all.
On the other hand, Naomi has potential, I think. She has some qualities that I actually liked about her at least - she's far more capable than her boss, very intelligent, she knows herself and she doesn't take any bollocks. All good things. However, she's not one of our narrators, and many of Holden's chapters reference her unfortunately. For example:
"Hell, as long as he was fantasising, he there in Naomi walking over to his hammock with a couple of fruity-looking drinks in her hands. She ruined it by talking."
Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but I felt that the women in this novel were treated kind of appallingly. Naomi, who is such a badass, has to have a sickening conversation with Holden about why she chooses not to sleep with him. It begins with her telling him that of course she loves him, and has done ever since he never led a woman who looked like 'a bulldog puppy' along, despite this woman's infatuation. (Side note: what the fuck?)
"I've watched you seduce a lot of women, and I know how you do it. You get fixed on her, you get excited by her. Then you convince yourself that the two of you have some kind of specials connection, and by the time ou believe it, she usually thinks its true too. And then you sleep together for a little while, and the connection gets a little faded...Afterwards they still like you. You do it so well they don't even feel like they get to hate you for it."
However, she loves Holden (for some reason) and isn't outright rejecting him. She just wants him to prove his feelings to her. It just felt...icky.
There's one other significant woman in the novel, too, but she spends almost all of it being dead. That's Julie, but to introduce Julie, I first have to rant about Miller.
Miller is the secondary protagonist of Leviathan Wakes. He's a detective (cool) who is also a bit of a dead beat alcoholic (less cool) and becomes obsessed with "his Julie" (definitely absolutely not cool). For the most part, I honestly found he and Holden to be interchangeable. They are both a bit useless and boring. Miller's character development is about as subtle as a wrecking ball as he comes to terms with his 'DaMagE' and how as a result he enjoys killing people who he thinks ought to be killed. I just didn't care. The anti-hero detective is very noir and nothing new, and just like with Holden I didn't care an ounce about him. He wasn't likeable at all, and I didn't want to spend time with him in his head.
As a detective, he has to find out what happened to Julie, whose POV opens the novel's prologue. Julie seems to be pretty fucking cool, I have to admit. I liked her a lot, but like I said, the prologue is all we have to go on, since she's dead for the rest of the book.
As part of his investigation, Miller goes to her house, reads her emails, etc. And falls in love, obviously. He imagines Julie by his side, smiling at him, holding him, being all lovey with him. I'm gonna call it - Miller is a neckbeard. No one could convince me that Julie, who races spaceships, has a brown belt in Jiu Jitsu, and lives off her own back despite coming from big money, would look twice at boring, useless Miller. His obsession is just plain creepy, and utterly unnecessary.
So, protagonist wise, I had a terrible time. I love stories that are character driven. I want to care about them and root for them, but these two men had my back up the entire time. This was my biggest issue with this novel, and no amount of plot could convince me to keep reading when I finally came to the conclusion that I didn't care if they lived or died.
However, it's not all bad. There are some great elements of Leviathan Wakes that even I could enjoy and appreciate. The plot was not to my personal taste (political sci-fi bio-horror, I guess?) but it did have some really original and fun elements. I actually loved the horror elements and really wished that the horror had been more of a focus, in general. The scene wherein they find Julie was really, really good.
The world building is also fantastic. It's incredibly detailed and I had no problem believing in this future vision of humanity, spread out within our solar system and divided into Earthers, Martians, and Belters.
Some of the secondary characters were also really intriguing to me. I really wanted to know more about Fred, the Butcher of Anderson Station. Naomi, as well, is a character that I really hope would grow throughout the series. Amos, another member of Holden's crew, was pretty funny whilst also being pretty unpleasant, and again, it would be nice to see how his character develops.
So overall, it's not a one star book for me despite what the rant above may suggest. I am absolutely willing to accept that this is just not the book for me, and that the series improves a lot. I just feel such a great sense of disappointment, and now I'm wondering - is space opera just not the genre for me? Is it all like this? I bloody well hope not.
darynnmark's review against another edition
5.0
Read it really fast. Like Holden and Miller's dynamic.
kateshimmy's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
xta_07's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
An epic space opera, with a mysterious big bad.
This is my second time reading, and I think I may have enjoyed it even more than the first time!
I love that even thought this book is about war, politics, and discussion on ethics - it takes it down to the human level. The novel is told from two perspectives, one a person who always trys to do the right thing no matter what the consequences might be. And, another who does what needs to be done no matter what that might make him in the end.
I would recommend this book to anyone who likes detective noir stories, morally gray hero’s, or hero’s who always do the right thing, and people who enjoy political thrillers. If you’re a sci-fi fan, you’ll enjoy it even more!
This is my second time reading, and I think I may have enjoyed it even more than the first time!
I love that even thought this book is about war, politics, and discussion on ethics - it takes it down to the human level. The novel is told from two perspectives, one a person who always trys to do the right thing no matter what the consequences might be. And, another who does what needs to be done no matter what that might make him in the end.
I would recommend this book to anyone who likes detective noir stories, morally gray hero’s, or hero’s who always do the right thing, and people who enjoy political thrillers. If you’re a sci-fi fan, you’ll enjoy it even more!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Murder, and Body horror
Moderate: Xenophobia, Alcoholism, Suicidal thoughts, and War
Minor: Rape
ladyfriday's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
thain's review against another edition
4.0
You don't have to be a sci fi aficionado to enjoy this space adventure in which everyday heroes race to find the source of a mysterious conflict that arises between the Inner Planets and the colonists of the Asteroid Belt.
burnsj's review against another edition
5.0
If you're looking for a book that you can passively pick up and read to pass time, this is not the book for you. Because I assure you, once you pick this series up, you won't be able to put it down.
It's hard to come by a well written, science fiction space novel that keeps you guessing, but James S.A. Corey accomplishes just that in "Leviathan Wakes." This book keeps you on the edge of your seat as conflict verges on war between humanity's three major factions: Earth, Mars, and the Outer Planets.
To put it simply, Corey got it right. The characters are richly written, and the relationships between them are vastly dynamic. In fact, when you're not laughing at their antics or throwing the book across the room out of anger, you feel like you're right there with them--flying around the solar system in zero g because the world that Corey's created is that believable.
To sum it up, this realistic rendition of a futuristic Space Opera is everything you'd want it to be. But don't take my word for it, this book is worth experiencing for yourself.
It's hard to come by a well written, science fiction space novel that keeps you guessing, but James S.A. Corey accomplishes just that in "Leviathan Wakes." This book keeps you on the edge of your seat as conflict verges on war between humanity's three major factions: Earth, Mars, and the Outer Planets.
To put it simply, Corey got it right. The characters are richly written, and the relationships between them are vastly dynamic. In fact, when you're not laughing at their antics or throwing the book across the room out of anger, you feel like you're right there with them--flying around the solar system in zero g because the world that Corey's created is that believable.
To sum it up, this realistic rendition of a futuristic Space Opera is everything you'd want it to be. But don't take my word for it, this book is worth experiencing for yourself.