Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey

Only one review this week at SFFWorld, but the review is of a book that is a front-runner for my favorite Science Fiction Book of the year. Leviathan Wakes is the first book by the author duo known as James S.A. Corey and is also the first book in their Expanse series:
The driving characters in this novel are police detective Miller, and a ship’s captain Holden. Miller is working the case of the aforementioned missing young woman, which of course turns out to be more than simply a missing person’s case. Holden’s ship hauls ice across the galaxy and when his ship, the Canterbury, is attacked, rash decisions lead to a potential galactic war between Earth, Mars, and the Belters. Holden’s actions lead he and his crew to cross paths with Miller as the far ranging conspiracy behind the missing girl and the attack on the Canterbury prove to have much in common.

Corey (who everybody reading this review probably knows is the shared pen name of Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck) pens and unabashed, fun, rollicking read in Leviathan Wakes. The influences seem to be unabashedly all over the map in this novel, everything from Firefly to the manga Planetes to recent characters from
Green Lantern (the Red Lanterns, specifically). In addition to the SF influences / homages, Leviathan Wakes often feels like a noir/mystery, with Detective Miller straddling that grey line in order to get to the heart of the mystery with which he becomes increasingly obsessed in ways that play with his mind. Miller could easily be part of a 30s detective film and conversely, Corey makes him fit in with this story just as well.

Also of note at SFFWorld is a giveway we are holding for Shadow's Lure the second novel by John Sprunk.



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