Sean Gursky reviewed Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey (The Expanse, #1)
Review of 'Leviathan Wakes' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
Death without warning was preferable, as it removed all fear.
It will be difficult to review the book without comparing it to the Syfy/Amazon series, but the reason I'm reading it is because of the TV show so regardless of how I try to view them separately they (season one and Leviathan Wakes) are so similar that they both suffered the same flaws or challenges.
It's the problem with politics. Your enemies are often your allies. And vice versa.
Miller is a stereotypical cop that has gone through a divorce, witnessed his glory days come and go and is now a joke among the force. I failed to understand (in the beginning) why Miller was so fixated with Juliette Mao and why he kept postponing the conclusion of her case so he could pursue another Julie-related task (find her, find those who wrong her, enacted vengeance). His obsession reeked …
Death without warning was preferable, as it removed all fear.
It will be difficult to review the book without comparing it to the Syfy/Amazon series, but the reason I'm reading it is because of the TV show so regardless of how I try to view them separately they (season one and Leviathan Wakes) are so similar that they both suffered the same flaws or challenges.
It's the problem with politics. Your enemies are often your allies. And vice versa.
Miller is a stereotypical cop that has gone through a divorce, witnessed his glory days come and go and is now a joke among the force. I failed to understand (in the beginning) why Miller was so fixated with Juliette Mao and why he kept postponing the conclusion of her case so he could pursue another Julie-related task (find her, find those who wrong her, enacted vengeance). His obsession reeked of a stalker as opposed someone who was diligent and focused.
On the other end of the spectrum is Holden who came across as someone who made poor decisions that impacted his crew and lacked the awareness to understand his flaws. His conversations with Miller were monosyllabic, which made them both seem simple and flat. The story had a wonderful world, interesting drama developing and our two lead characters are having one word conversations.
The above describes my problem with the TV show and book. However, with the benefit of internal monologues the book avoided the nosedive the TV show took.
He was vaguely aware that he was weeping. It didn't mean anything.
The events that each character faced, the horrors they witnessed, and their different ways of dealing with them showed a drastic divide in how they each operated their morale compass. The conversations between Miller and Holden were still basic, but there was subtext and something existed in the spaces of a "good?" "yeah" conversation.
Suddenly words, however few, had weight and importance.
Holden is righteous, Miller is a renegade. Holden believes in justice and Miller realizes not all situations will see justice so vengeance is necessary.
Unfortunately I dislike Miller in both instances (TV and book), but Leviathan Wakes Miller is redeemed...it just took nearly two thirds of the book for this to become obvious. The events on Eros were a defining moment in each characters path and the outcome of that challenged how they each saw their counterpart.
"You might be the best person I know. But you're totally uncompromising on what you think is right, and that's what you have about Miller."
"I do?"
"Yes," she said. "He's totally uncompromising too, but he has different ideas on how things work."
Holden realized that Miller would shoot without question and Miller understood Holdens morality. The fallout of Eros and then followed by the confrontation with Dresden on the secret science Thoth Station only further showed this division. The crew of the Rocinate sided with Holden but understood the reasons for why the two were different long before Holden did.
Building humanity's greatest empire is like building the world's largest anthill. Insignificant.
When the story has only two POV characters and you dislike them both it's easy to overlook the rest of the book. Holden and Miller aside Leviathan Wakes was excellent. Having the memory of the TV show allowed me to jump in to the world very quickly. Ships, locations, gear and the wonderful execution of the TV show seemed like very honest replication of the source material. Understanding the political struggles to come I took time to pay attention to details and be cognizant that Fred Johnson, OPA, Earth and Mars will set the groundwork for the larger scope of a story to come.
