Leviathan Wakes

Book 1 of the Expanse

By: James S. A. Corey

Narrated by: Jefferson Mays

Length: 19 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's summary

Humanity has colonized the planets - interstellar travel is still beyond our reach, but the solar system has become a dense network of colonies. 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. Attacked by a stealth ship belonging to the Mars fleet, Holden must find a way to uncover the motives behind the attack, stop a war and find the truth behind a vast conspiracy that threatens the entire human race.

©2011 James S. A. Corey (P)2014 Hachette Audio UK

Critic reviews

"It's been too long since we've had a really kickass space opera. LEVIATHAN WAKES is interplanetary adventure the way it ought to be written, the kind of SF that made me fall in love with the genre way back when, seasoned with a dollop of horror and a dash of noir. Jimmy Corey writes with the energy of a brash newcomer and the polish of a seasoned pro" (George R. R. Martin)

"A winning blend of old-school space opera and modern sensibility... Corey combines no-nonsense storytelling with hard-boiled dialogue as the novel races to a truly cosmic ending. An excellent start to a promising new series" ( The Telegraph)

"Corey... has created a refreshingly blue-collar tale, with well-drawn characters and a compelling narrative sweep. Roll on Book Two." ( Financial Times)

"If you love tales packed with worldbuildy details like how humans cored asteroids, pumped them full of atmosphere, and spun them up for gravity's sake, then you'll love this novel to pieces" ( io9)

First book on audible.

Loved it. Different than The Expanse series in TV, but I liked the crew dynamic in the book more.

liked the show, loved the book.

I started listening to this book because og the tv-show. I was not dissappointed it is a great book, with good characters, drama and sci-fi. It is also well suited for audio consumption, which makes this a great format for it.

Excellent

Just one of the best books I've listened to. Well written and exciting and the narrator did an excellent job.

Must read

Great story with a flowing narration by J. Mays.
Must read for each sci-fi fan.

Glims to the future of space

i love a science fiction that pay so many attention to details.

i have never imagined politics in space like. now i have seen it. well, listened it.

i really like how the news are presented in the book. different people/faction will report different point of view of the news and thus it feels very real life.

i have never seen clash of ideas between characters. it is quite thought provoking when the two main characters come together and discuss an action. Both have solid, but drastically different point of views. it was hard for me to decide who is right or wrong.

the book feels like a detective story. keep digging through layers of facts to expose the real truth.

one of the character, Miller, has a really good character arch. don't want to say too much here, but i did not know it is so interesting to see a character spiraling down.

Highly recommend this book.

Sci-fi that doesn't forget the "Sci" in Sci-fi.

I moved the show on TV. But as usual, the book is more deep story wise, and I really like how the characters are in the books. It is worth a read even if you have seen the show.

Hard Scifi not quite like anything else

Not the biggest space combat book ever, but it doesn't have to be and I was promised more to come and better which I find hard to belive, world building is phenominal, chatacters excellent and the plot great.

Worth listening to, even after watching show

Good hard sci-fi. Of course the book is not as exceptional as the tv series, but that's due to the fact that Expanse pretty much stands alone as a true hard scifi show.
But compared to other genre books, LW is absolutely worth reading or listening to.
And there are far fewer parallel lines in the book, which means it's much easier to follow, but I understand why the had to add storylines and content in the series - world building with showing, not telling.

The narration was ... well. 4 stars worth. A bit bland at times.

A few observations about the characters.
I would mainly point out that I enjoyed Miller's character in the book even more than in the show. Amos, one of the stars of the show for me, was much less developed in the book though.

Surpassed Expectations

Well Written. Much more philosophical, introspective and nuanced than the TV series. Still their complimentary.

White

The story is great – you already know that.

And the narration is great too, except when Jefferson Mays says "white" he actually says the "H".
Which every time makes me think about Stewie in Family Guy. :D