Review: Leviathan Wakes (The Expanse #1)
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4 stars. OMFG I finished a book. 2020 has already been the weirdest year ever, and partly because it took me this fucking long to finish a book?! Due to a combination of: the post-holiday blues, post-holiday chores, leaving my Kindle in a hotel room in Delaware, and a spontaneous decision to pursue a semi-remodel of our condo, I haven't had much time or energy to read. And I think that's also because...
I decided to re-read The Expanse series. My husband has been begging me to so we can watch the TV show together, but I've been dragging my heels knowing what a commitment it would be. But one of my (very personal, very intangible, very low-pressure) reading goals for this year is going to be FINISH WHAT YOU START, which means series. So here we are. Leviathan Wakes.
Considering what the series becomes, this book is laughably simple in premise. We have two narrators: Captain Jim Holden, a man from Earth leading a small crew through a variety of weird, unlucky space misfortunes on a universally political scale, and Detective Miller, a Belter (born and raised in the outer planets of the solar system) assigned to investigate a missing girl. Chapters alternate in perspective and we get a front seat as these two characters orbit (lol) around each other until .... VOMIT ZOMBIES!!
I'm awake now! But before you think this is Resident Evil in space (someone needs to write that immediately), I should highlight the intense complexity of the world-building here. Sure, there are entertaining chapters full of space battles and terrifying alien monsters, but there is also a ton of detail. Get ready to pay attention: you essentially have to learn a new vocabulary and receive a crash course in space science to reap the full benefits of this series.
Fine by me. What I DID mind? The women. Not just the female characters - the interactions they have with the men. I don't know why they bothered me so, so deeply, but they did. I really, really hate Holden and Naomi. I really, really hate that Miller "falls in love" with Julie. I can't even explain why I cringe so hard I literally clench my stomach during anything that remotely touches romance or relationships. It's not because the female characters aren't realistic. I think it might actually be because ... the male characters aren't.
But anyway, sometimes after a hard few months and a lot of family drama and political chaos and impending warfare, I just want to read about aliens. This is golden sci-fi right here.