There are many good examples of hard science fiction, books that follow the scientific rules of space, but their accuracy is often bereft of compelling human interaction. “Leviathan Wakes” nails both! The complex characters face the possible end of humanity as humans would, with pain, anger, righteousness, and love — the author demonstrates these human struggles with skill. The basis for the television show “The Expanse,” this is the first of several books about what happens when a molecule from another galaxy is introduced into a politically fraught solar system.
In the book, Earth, Mars, and the peoples who live on resource-strapped asteroids in “the Belt” are at each other’s throats as they battle for preeminence and access to resources. When an ice-hauling freighter is blown up by an unknown stealth ship, leaving five survivors, it launches a war between Mars and the Belt. But who is responsible? And why did they want to start a war? What are they covering up?
Three words that describe this book: What is humanity?
You might want to pick this book up if: You enjoy very well-written characters struggling to define humanity in the face of the unknown.
-Alexis
