I Read This: Leviathan Wakes - by James S.A. Corey

Humanity has colonized the solar system - Mars, the Moon, the Asteroid Belt and beyond - but the stars are still out of our reach.

Jim Holden is XO of an ice miner making runs from the rings of Saturn to the mining stations of the Belt. When he and his crew stumble upon a derelict ship, "The Scopuli," they find themselves in possession of a secret they never wanted. A secret that someone is willing to kill for-and kill on a scale unfathomable to Jim and his crew. War is brewing in the system unless he can find out who left the ship and why.

Detective Miller is looking for a girl. One girl in a system of billions, but her parents have money and money talks. When the trail leads him to "The Scopuli" and rebel sympathizer Holden, he realizes that this girl may be the key to everything.

Holden and Miller must thread the needle between the Earth government, the Outer Planet revolutionaries, and secretive corporations-and the odds are against them. But out in the Belt, the rules are different, and one small ship can change the fate of the universe.

 (From Goodreads)

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I have been itching for a good space opera, something epic, and yet limited in what humanity has achieved - humans in a type I civilization, or on the cusp of it, so to speak. When I noticed this novel among the list of Hugo Award nominations this last year, I thought I'd look into it. Once again, my intuition has struck gold, and Mr. Corey has captured my sci fi imagination and earned himself a fan.

This is exactly the kind of book I like to read: atmospheric, multiple POVS, and a rich narrative that includes political, revolution, detective work, and dire situations in space, as well as depicting the mining of asteroids (which is inevitable, I think). Holden, in particular, is a character I could get behind. Sure, he has his issues, but that's what I enjoyed about him. The real fireworks, however, happen when Julie makes the scene. It makes me want to pull out my space opera again!

The biggest surprise, though, was the book's size. Bigger than I thought, but it read fast. I like to think that I get more for my buck that way, and having plenty of well-played dialogue kept my attention span fixated and wanting more. Good thing there are more books!

Sound like a good read to you? I'll give you a link for it.

I'm David, and we stand at a crossroads ...