Leviathan Wakes

Space Opera! My favorite. I read "Leviathan Wakes," the first in a new series by James S. A. Corey (the pen name for Ty Franck and Daniel Abraham). The series follows former Earth marine Jim Holden and detective Miller in their search for a girl name Julie Mao, and their subsequent journey to defend the human race from an alien superweapon. As a lover of operas, I would say this story would make a great one. There's a romance subplot, impending mortality, dramatic characters, and a fantastic lore and setting. The film is, basically, a hollywood blockbuster in novel format (as the cover suggests), which is something that actually appealed to me when I decided to read it. True to form, "Leviathan Wakes" is an exciting adventure filled with action sequences and sappy one liners, but it feels right. I love the characters and the treatment of the sci-fi future setting. The time period of the story is set somewhere between the very far in the future with clean, comfortable light-speed travel and near future rocketry. The space ships of the "Leviathan Wakes" solar system are crude and boxy, and space travel is uncomfortable and primitive (in comparison to a series like Star Trek or Star Wars). The settlers of Mars and the moons of Jupiter have declared themselves independent of Earth and are organized by their own democracies. The novel combines elements of political drama, cop drama, romance, thriller, and military novels. It's an amalgam that works surprising well, and is my favorite space opera novel so far.