Leviathan Wakes by James S. A. Corey
I've been intending to read this for a while... and the APL finally talked me into it.. book 2 of the series was on a display, and this one just around the corner, so I grabbed it.
I'd watched a couple Episodes of the Expanse on TV, and while it seemed decent, it got me more to want to read the book than continue watching.. it seemed a decent riff on Babylon 5 (no aliens, but a similar political drama). THe book starts out that way, too.. with different parts of the solar system at odds a bit due to different ways of life... the consistent metaphor for our own class struggles exaggerated by distance and even, in the case, a bit of evolution.
Then, about 1/2 way through, the book turns from a mystery in a unique setting to a hard core sci-fi first contact... which was a bit shocking, but worked amazingly well. The 2nd half of the book, where they deal with Eros and the 'protomolcule; felt like an episode of Star Trek:TNG... a weird mix, but it totally worked and told a very clear, cohesive story.
The main characters were great as well.. Jim Holden is one of the coolest guys I've read about... just superhero enough to root for all the time, but realistic enough to not just be a cypher. His 'crew' (seems weird to refer to it that way when there are only 3 of them) were not quite as interesting, but all filled familar sci fi rolls well. Miller was a little too mopey for my tastes, but certainly was a well developed, interesting character that I hope we haven't seen the last of.
I also really felt like the science made sense.. there was really a feeling that living in space was HARD.. and dangerous. Too often sci fi makes light of it, as if clearly, once we're able to get out to Mars, it'll be easy (unless the book is actually about getting there). Here, we're there, and we have been for a while, but it's still hard. Water gets mined from Saturn, and supply disruption causes riots. It all makes alot of sense, and gives the book a feel of realism that is hard to do when you star talking about colonies on asteriods and magic alien viruses.
I will most definitely be getting the next one (hopefully today!)
THe one thing I didn't get though.. why 'The Expanse'? Perhaps it'll become clear later. I get calling the space virus a leviathan, but also a bit weird no one in the book ever uses that term.