In the distant future, humanity has conquered much of the solar system. The Earth, which is ruled by the United Nations, is at odds with a group ruled by the Martian Congressional Republic. That is the set-up for James S.A. Corey's (the pen name for authors Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck) novel Leviathan Wakes, which was first published in 2011. Corey's novel takes place in the asteroid belt, which is a major point of contention between the United Nation and the Martian Congressional Republic. The residents of the asteroid belt, derisively called "belters," have grown weary of the United National and Martian Republic's control and have created a terrorist organization called OPA. And it's up to one detective who lives in the asteroid belt named Joe Miller to investigate the OPA.
Although Leviathan Wakes is a hefty book, clocking in at over 570 pages, it was wildly successful upon its publication and spawned several sequels. Leviathan Wakes and its sequels also spawned a wildly popular T.V. series at streaming giant Amazon, which saved the series after it was canceled following its third season. Like the T.V. series, which is called The Expanse, Leviathan Wakes was widely read and well-reviewed when it was published in 2011. In their glowing review of the novel, for instance, Kirkus Reviews wrote that Leviathan Wakes is "A huge, churning, relentlessly entertaining melodrama buoyed by confidence that human values will prevail."
