I was quite surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. This was another book club read. Its been nice to try new genres that I would have otherwise not considered reading. This was classified as a space opera and I have been leery of reading these as they tend to be very gaudy. Levathian Wakes is actually exactly the type of introduction anyone that is looking to enter this genre should read. Not that I am planning on doing that, but this book is about how these massive space adventures begin. 
 The book uses a lot of hard science and sometimes is just able to say enough truths about the science behind space travel that it sounds true enough. The story is about a pending war between the colonies on the Asteroid belt, Earth, and Mars. We get two points of view of two men, one an optimist called Jim Holden, the other a surly man who is ready to give up on life called Miller. 
 The book brings up all sorts of ethical issues regarding human experiments and the value of individual lives when considering affects on billions. What most fascinated me about the book is how accessible it was because it was just close enough to a world we know that it made the current impossibility of human's colonizing space seem plausible. 
 The book had a variety of feels to it so it felt like you were reading several different books. It went from noire detective style mysteries to vomiting zombie plagues to swashbuckling adventure to political theater. And it was all subtle in its transition. It was a great read and I absolutely recommend it!