But there are tensions - the mineral-rich outer planets resent their dependence on Earth and Mars and the political and military clout they wield over the Belt and beyond.Now, when Captain Jim Holden's ice miner stumbles across a derelict, abandoned ship, he uncovers a secret that threatens to throw the entire system into war. Humanity has colonized the planets - interstellar travel is still beyond our reach, but the solar system has become a dense network of colonies. The book is set in “The Expanse” which was created by Ty Franck. If you have never heard of him before, there is a good reason for that, because it’s the pseudonym of Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck. If you have even the vaguest interest in science fiction, or even if you just want to read something so addicting as to make it a worry for world governments, go now and pick up a copy of Leviathan Wakes by James S. Corey is definitely going to be a name we will be seeing for many years to come, not only on bookstore shelves (though not for long), but regularly as nominated entries for writing awards the world over. You will be equal parts devastated and overjoyed by the time you finish that you will want to jump straight into this book’s sequels – ‘Caliban’s War’ and ‘Abbadon’s Gate’, both now published. Leviathan Wakes is space opera at its best, there are no two ways about it. Each character is so naturally relevant to the world in which they live, the environment and situations they find themselves in, that you never want to let go, and while the book is not full of ‘twists and turns to keep you guessing to the very end’, that is effectively what happens anyway the reader is not filled with any desire to predict the end, as the end simply means there isn’t any more. The author(s) have so perfectly grafted humanity’s natural talent for segregation and fear of ‘different’ into this captivating fictional future – replete with space travel, space-stations, generation ships, and really good coffee machines – that I am obligated to warn you not to pick this book up if you are expected at work bright and early tomorrow (read: it’s not going to happen). Kept apart for most of the novel, their coming together is both explosive and inevitably emotional. We split our attention between two main-protagonists with diametrically opposed viewpoints on how to conduct oneself which allows for not only chapter-driven juxtapositions but also character-clashing juxtaposition as well. Set in a world where humanity has spread first to the moon and Mars, and then out to any and every habitable (and uninhabitable) rock in our solar system, Leviathan Wakes tells a tale of inter-planetary distrust, reliance, and war, so beautifully that you can only imagine that the author(s) have been given a view into the future from which to populate their writing. With a momentary lull in review material (which, ironically, ended the day after I started reading, so now I’m horribly behind), I tucked into the Kindle version of ‘Leviathan Wakes’ (subsequently putting me even further behind, now that I am convinced I must read the rest of the recently concluded trilogy as soon as possible). Corey, the pen name of Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck. Since then I have ploughed through ‘The Commonwealth Saga’ duology by Hamilton, and have since been eyeing off the work of James S. I was spell-bound by this new (to me) genre of science-fiction space opera grand vistas painted with as much verve as the fantasy novels I have loved, but with an eye towards the future, rather than the past conversant with the same mirroring of humanity, but with a scientific-spin that betrays our fervour for growth at all costs. That changed earlier this year with the Christmas gift of ‘Great North Road’ by Peter F. However, in that time I have very rarely turned my attention towards science-fiction (obviously classifying Star Trek and Star Wars as ‘franchise’ books, as distinct to science-fiction books). Over that time I have read hundreds of fantasy books and dozens of Star Trek, Star Wars, and other franchise books. I have been an avid reader since I was about ten or eleven, and an even more-avid reader of fantasy since the age of sixteen.
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