Reviews with content warning for Domestic abuse - L'Éveil du Léviathan

I'm not exaggerating when I say this is some of the best science fiction ever written. The worldbuilding is probably the best in sci-fi, bar none. There's mystery and political intrigue and space battles galore. And while both viewpoint characters in this book are straight white men, the rest of the cast is extremely diverse, and more diverse viewpoint characters are brought in as the series continues. Really, the only weakness is that the characters, while instantly lovable, are a little cliched in this installment. (Fortunately, the writers get better about this in future books, adding nuance and complexity to create some of my favorite characters in all of sci-fi.) Even so, it's easy to fall in love with the space family the main characters build, even as you're tearing through the pages to figure out what in the universe is going on -- and the answer to the mystery only makes things even crazier! Cannot recommend enough!

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, and Gore

Moderate: Cursing, Genocide, Hate crime, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, and Murder

Minor: Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Excrement

While there's no racism, sexism, or homophobia, the story deals with the systemic oppression of people living in the Asteroid Belt (most of whom are people of color), with blunt parallels drawn to modern day racism and imperialism. The oppression can be graphic, and side characters express bigoted thoughts towards residents of the Belt with high frequency. As an action-adventure story set in a Solar System on the brink of war, there are frequent gun battles, as well as space battles between spaceships. Main characters die with little to no warning in these sequences. Usually these deaths aren't excessively gory, but

one main character has his head blown off by a rail gun, which is described in graphic detail

. One main character is a police officer, working for a corrupt and often brutal private police corporation. He's privately disenchanted with them, but he never speaks out against their practices. He also develops romantic feelings for a much-younger adult woman he's never met, which even he himself views as sad and pathetic.

When she dies, he beings experiencing suicidal thoughts, ultimately culminating in him sacrificing himself to save the rest of the main characters.

Another main character is a survivor of child sexual abuse. His trauma is only briefly alluded to in this book, but whenever it is mentioned in the series it is handled with great care and sensitivity.

While it's not discussed in this book at all, another major character is a domestic abuse survivor. This is dealt with sensitively but in great detail in future books, including her briefly being kidnapped by her abusive ex before escaping again, so if this is a trigger for you it may be a good idea to avoid the series altogether.

An alien virus is unleashed on a Belter space station by an amoral Earth-based megacorporation, an act the characters themselves refer to as genocide. Both viewpoint characters are caught up in the assault, and witness the virus's horrifying effects first-hand.

There is some serious body horror in this sequence, as well as other scenes where

the virus

makes an appearance. Main characters can and do fall prey to it. The prologue opens with a minor character being held prisoner in a small, confined space for an extended period of time. There's some matter-of-fact discussion of her bodily functions during this time. She escapes halfway through the prologue.

More...