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I started Leviathan Wakes with high hopes having been drawn in by all the hype recommendations and high scores. Unfortunately I was disappointed - even if I'd gone into the book without the hype, it is inescapably average.

Leviathan Awakes has an imaginative premise but at the same time suffers from being incredibly cliched. And not just "space opera" cliched but more worryingly American-TV cliched. The book reads like an American mainstream TV series - and thats not a good thing. We have a cast of characters that appear to tick cliched boxes - dashing captain male lead, sultry and sparky lead woman (with sexual tension thrown in), wise cracking mechanic, flawed detective etc etc. On top of that the whole plot is also cliched - without spoiling the plot, every problem has a solution and every solution comes from the unbelievably brilliant-but-also-relatably-average crew. Its frankly silly stuff.

Much of the interesting world building actually goes on in the background - war and battles and stand offs, all just mentioned as information gleamed from news services. It makes the whole world seem flat and unreal; almost unimportant to the main plot. Its a shame because the world this story inhabits is tantalising and interesting; easily the most creative aspect of the book and should have been central to it. I may have been more invested in the plot if I'd been able to inhabit the world outside its unoriginal cast. Perhaps the next EIGHT books will correct this but I must admit I'm suspicious the length of this series is another American-TV cliche - run and run the series until its not profitable anymore rather than actually having a beginning, middle and end thought out.

This book is NOT Game of Thrones in space - that monicker does disservice to that book which is intelligent and sophisticated writing at a level this book never reachs. I've also seen comparisons to Peter F Hamilton - I also think those are unwarrented; yes Hamilton also writes Space Opera but his is much more sophisticated than this and he builds his worlds in a more interesting and engaging manner.

I know this review seems harsh - I did actually enjoy the book and may read the second (although at present the books sell at an ebook premium price that is difficult to justify with better books on offer for less). I think its important to be honest about the book in the face of hype that in my view creates an unrealistic expectation. At its core this is mass pulp fiction - more adventure than sci-fi; and there is nothing wrong with that. Just don't go into this series expecting the best that the sci-fi or space opera genres can offer - you will be disappointed. Expect a somewhat silly and light space opera - very commercial with mass appeal and not much depth but enjoyable enough for what it is. I give it 3 stars in lieu of a wish to give it 2.5.