Reviews with content warning for Murder - Leviathan Wakes

This book wasn’t fantastic and it wasn’t terrible. The world is really interesting but the authors got really bogged down in the technical description sometimes, and most of the characters were very flat. The only character with any depth was Miller, and he is so much the main character of the story that it seems wild in retrospect that only half of the book was from his perspective. I found sometimes that I felt left out of what was happening- an action would happen so suddenly that I would go back a few paragraphs, convinced I had missed something, but in fact there just hadn’t been any lead-in that made sense. I’ll probably continue on with the series but not right away.

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remescient's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional tense medium-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? It's complicated

4.5

This series is so good. Honestly the first book isn't even the best one, but it's still so good.

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mercurial's review against another edition

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adventurous tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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mattiedancer's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced

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

2.75

Writing: 2.75⭐️/5

I read this after a Sanderson kick, so maybe I’m comparing apples to oranges, but if Sanderson is apples, these are tiny mouldy oranges left at the bottom of my lunch kit as a child. The first section of the novel, despite having the highest stakes possible, was hard to care about or believe in. From there, you’re met with a slog of exposition – telling and not showing, telling and not showing, and more telling and not showing – to the point that I felt exhausted. And, while I know one of the heights of sci-fi for some people revolve around its explanation of the science in the world, I couldn’t love the overexplanation of every little piece of technology. (Also, for a book in outer space, I really had to hear a lot about these two men’s balls. Please. Never again.)

Characters: 2.75⭐️/5

I would love to give this a higher mark, but how do you have so many characters and so few female characters that stand out? They really felt like accessories to the men: ready to make them look good, ready to be set down when the moment wasn’t right for them, and ready to be picked back up to adorn them at the end. We also follow two men who, despite trying to do their best, are so concerned with playing hero that they felt a bit fake – and incredibly boring.

Plot: 3⭐️/5

Did I enjoy the parts of this plot dedicated to being sexist? Not particularly. Do I have to hand it to the authors for making a story I couldn’t quite predict? Maybe. I did enjoy parts of the plot and, at certain moments, I almost started to love it. Of course, it was usually in those moments that we resorted to sexist tropes, unnecessary exposition, and/or the defilement of a woman’s body. Is there something interesting happening in this novel? Most certainly. I’m just not certain I would recommend it based solely on that.

Who Should Read This Book?

Fans of sci-fi who aren’t balked by a little sexism/misogyny

Content Warnings?

Body horror, death, gore, grief, war, genocide, suicidal thoughts, rape, sexual assault, misogyny, sexism, murder, blood, injury, injury detail,

Post-Reading Rating: 3⭐️/5

I wanted more from it, and also so much less.

Final Rating: 2.75⭐️/5

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saroreen's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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espea's review against another edition

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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

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veronicadidato's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Plot is intriguing and well-crafted. It never really feels like anything is unnecessary. The mystery and politics were well made, which only added to the interesting world building.

Some characters’ motivations for moving forward felt a little on the flimsy side but overall it was fine.

If you’ve watched the TV series: the first season is pretty accurate in terms of following the book content. You just get some more insight into the characters reasonings in the book. And the book doesn’t have any on-page sex - that was just added to the TV series.

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