Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey

12 reviews

timmytunter's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious 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? Yes

4.5

Leviathan Wakes is a brilliantly entertaining, fast-paced, and engrossing entry into the sci-fi genre that combines mystery, political intrigue, and high-stakes action in a richly imagined futuristic setting. I found it difficult to put down once swept up in its clever, highly readable narrative. The plot takes a surprising turn around the 400-page mark when it seems to be wrapping up—only to launch into another compelling storyline, a development I welcomed rather than dreaded.

James S.A. Corey’s writing style shines throughout the novel. His (their..?) prose is engaging and accessible, with a knack for capturing relatable human experiences amid the foreignness of space. Despite the vast and often alien backdrop, the characters’ struggles and emotions feel grounded and real, making it easy to connect with them.

One of the standout aspects of Corey’s writing is his ability to articulate everyday human sensations in a way that resonates deeply. For example, Miller’s struggle with direction and purpose after losing his detective job is poignantly described:

 It had been years since he’d tried to find work … Now that events had thrown him out [of his job], everything had an odd floating feeling. Like the gap between getting hit and feeling the pain.

This passage struck a chord with me, reflecting the disorienting experience of unemployment and the loss of purpose. 

Similarly, Corey’s portrayal of moral complexity through Holden is spot on. As Holden grapples with the consequences of his actions, Corey captures a very human cognitive response:

 Holden decided that he was okay with not feeling any remorse for them. The moral complexity of the situation had grown past his ability to process it, so he just relaxed in the warm glow of victory instead.

This illustrates a universal psychological coping mechanism when faced with overwhelming moral dilemmas—a relatable and insightful moment that adds depth to Holden’s character.

The novel also challenges assumptions about the value of physical versus digital media, cleverly subverting my own (perhaps profligate) preference for physical books through Miller’s eyes:

The OPA man, Anderson Dawes, was sitting on a cloth folding chair outside Miller’s hole, reading a book. It was a real book—onionskin pages bound in what might have been actual leather.
Miller had seen pictures of them before; the idea of that much weight for a single megabyte of data struck him as decadent.

This humorous yet thought-provoking observation nudged me to reconsider my attachment to physical books in an increasingly digital world.

Overall, Leviathan Wakes delivers an exceptional blend of compelling characters, intricate plotting, and relatable moments that anchor the grandiosity of its space opera setting. Its unexpected plot twists and insightful character work kept me hooked from start to finish. This is a must-read for sci-fi enthusiasts and anyone looking for an accessible yet thought-provoking adventure.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Medical trauma, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Alcoholism, Xenophobia, and Vomit

Minor: Rape and Sexual assault

talonsontypewriters's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.25

maybe I really am just a hater with too high standards because I kept waiting for it to click and it never did :-/ interesting plot and world, but weak technical writing and half from the perspective of a pretty much insufferable space cop

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child death, Drug use, Genocide, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, and Alcohol

Minor: Rape, Sexual content, and Kidnapping

swordrager's review

dark sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Cancer, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Deportation, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Drug abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, and Sexual harassment

rattledragons's review

adventurous dark emotional funny inspiring mysterious sad 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? Yes

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Gore, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Alcoholism, Gun violence, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Police brutality, Murder, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Drug use, Rape, Sexual assault, Medical content, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

ruyanda's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad 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? It's complicated

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Chronic illness, Death, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Cancer, Suicide, Medical content, Mass/school shootings, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Alcoholism, Drug use, Genocide, Infertility, Sexual assault, Xenophobia, Grief, and Stalking

espea's review

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Blood, Medical trauma, Murder, and War

Moderate: Alcoholism, Cursing, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Vomit, Grief, Alcohol, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

pvbobrien's review

adventurous dark mysterious tense 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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Alcoholism, Cursing, Gun violence, Misogyny, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Cancer, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, Hate crime, Rape, Sexual content, Suicide, Xenophobia, Vomit, Trafficking, and Kidnapping

ekcd_'s review

adventurous mysterious reflective 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? It's complicated

5.0

This is definitely going on the re-read list. Probably on a list of books to buy, which is meaningful considering I’m broke.


I read the book after watching the first episode of the show and fell in love so hard I don’t think I can be impartial about evaluating the books good-ness.

Deep characters, realistic dialogue, deep lore and world building. 

A note on the writing of relationships … 

It’s the one and only sci fi book I have ever read, written by a man (men?) that had a sex scene WITHOUT bodily objectifying women. Without bodily objectifying anyone. Such a minor plot point, less than two pages, but for me it reframed my expectations of the book. No weird porny misogyny. Just an earnest description of what it means to share intimacy 

One aggravating, potential plot hole (hence the half star deduction) 

Why the fuck wouldn’t they just crash Eros into the sun as planned? It’s great for the plot to have it land on Venus but it was so out of character and out of dynamic 

I’m not mad though, because I would have hated for this to only be one book. But I hope they get their shit together on the next one tbh

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cancer, Confinement, Drug use, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, and Alcohol

yoursupremereads's review

adventurous dark funny reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

You know how when you read a Crichton novel you felt like you were smart because his books had a way of just laying out the scientific rules of the worlds he created? Well James S. A. Corey has done that but based everything in Leviathan's Wake on actual science. This is an adventure on a galactic scale. Literally.

Humanity is spread over the Milky Way from Earth all the way to the asteroid belt and the consequences of that expanse (ha see what I did there?) of space when it comes to the analysis of this world's political intrigue was awesome. If something was happening in the Belt, because humans have been colonializing asteroid satellites in our galaxy's asteroid belt for generations in this world's timeline, then news about what's happening there would take lots of time to reach other pockets of civilization spread across the galaxy. Add to that a crew of of Belters and Earthers who are set up to solve a mystery regarding a newly discovered alien bioweapon that threatens to throw the galaxy into full out war and you have yourself an modern sci-fi epic that's deeply captivating and arresting.

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Genocide, Gun violence, Racism, Violence, Medical content, Murder, and War

mino88's review against another edition

2.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Stalking, and Alcohol