FastFive wrote:Damn... I'd started a book review earlier, was a few paragraphs into it, and then when I came back from lunch found myself logged out and my content gone. :roll:
I'll have to restart that later tonight or something. :evil:
Well I never actually got back around to retyping that review I'd posted but got lost months ago. Sorry about that.
Here's the Cliffs Notes of my review:
The Expanse is a series of novels (5 thus far) by James S.A. Corey. The first book, Leviathan Wake is freaking awesome!
And they just get better from there!
The end.
Seriously... if you like sci-fi in almost any shape, you won't be disappointed. The series is set in the near-future, in a 'realistic' world. Space travel isn't hyperdrives and warp speeds... you can't press a button to jump from one solar system to the next. In fact, humans haven't even gotten out of our own solar system at the point in time the series starts. Space travel can take weeks between planets,
months if you want to get beyond the asteroid belt. Space ships aren't cushy yachts with gravity and the like... they are industrial and military tools. Gravity requires magnetic boots clomping across the deck, or constant acceleration.
And it's dangerous. It's gritty, it can be messy, and even something as mundane as hauling ice to supply water to Earth or Mars (the two main human habitations) can get you killed if you're not careful.
The reason I decided to come back to this now is that SyFy has been working on a TV series based around the books for quite some time and the premiere is coming up soon... Dec. 14th for Ep. 1 and Ep. 2 the following night.
Lucky for us, they've put Ep. 1 online this week:
http://www.syfy.com/theexpanse/videos/101-dulcinea" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
And it's really good! Thankfully, the writers of the novels (James S.A. Corey is actually two people) are involved with the TV series as Producers, so they have a high level of control over the direction and feel of the show.
A lot of people are saying The Expanse will be like Game of Thrones in space. I kinda' see how they might think that. Story-wise, it's entirely different, and nothing like GoT... but in terms of scope and grandeur, it's a fair comparison.
All in all, definitely worth your time to both read, and watch!