Leviathan Wakes

First in the series, Leviathan Wakes is well worth the read. I should add a disclaimer to say that I watched the amazon prime series before I read the book, so I needed no introduction to the expansive worlds or complex political triad when I started reading. It might feel a little heavy going for the first couple of chapters if you’re new to the narrative, but the action unfolds quickly and it’s context is artfully woven into each section. It’s often described as a Space Opera - which is a new genre to me (I’m not usually into science fiction), but it makes sense - it is epic. Trust me, run with it.

Without giving too much away, the book is set in the future. Earth is still Earth, but we’ve branched out into the solar system, colonising Mars, the Asteroid Belt and the Moon. Mars has been developed into a fully fledged habitable planet (with the help of some incredibly high tech shields and gravitational science), and there are several generations of people now calling themselves Martians. The Asteroid Belt is an in between space made up of different rocks, the biggest of which is Ceres, where half of our narrative unfolds. On the belt the funds weren’t quite so big, meaning the science wasn’t quite as adept at creating a hospitable environment. Belters have elongated features and speak in different dialects. They are used to having to survive when water and oxygen has to be bought, bartered or stolen.

The chapters alternate between Holden; an earth born, highly moralistic officer and Miller; a low-slung (somewhat noir-esque) detective from the Belt. The plot begins with Holden shipping ice from Saturn to the mining stations of the belt, when he happens across an abandoned and apparently derelict ship called The Scopuli. His crew go to investigate, and discover a secret that will indelibly change the course of humankind. In the meantime, Miller has been commissioned from his usual detective work to find a missing girl - Julie Mao. As his search deepens, it becomes clear that Julie’s ties with The Scopuli are going to entangle Miller’s fate with Holden’s, as they both race to save the universe from total destruction. Throw in a feisty love interest and consistent witty one-liners from the well-rounded crew, and I was hooked.

As much as this fast-paced sci-fi could be shelved alongside other space thrillers, a lot of it’s power lies in the authors’ ability to weave political scandal and fall-out into a gripping storyline. Carefully balancing the revolutionary Outer Planets Alliance, Earth’s Government and Martian Military prowess is a fragile task that Holden and his crew must take responsibility for, or else face interplanetary war. The book is character-driven, and doesn’t especially rely on sci-fi tropes of huge galactic visions or technical gobbledegook. It’s less about chasing the stars than it is about gritty survival in a colonised solar system; and for that I found it all the more interesting.

Its a fantastic read, the kind of book you can rely on loosing yourself in for hours at a time.