Reviews with content warning for Genocide - L'Éveil du Léviathan

Loved, loved this book! This is what you imagine when you hear "soap opera". It had a slow start, but as I continued reading I became more and more hooked, and the ending was insane to me, especially

Miller's suicide that was somehow... epic with the way he did it, but also so tender and compassionate in the way it was written, I think I almost cried during the conversation he had with Jim right before.

Initially I was a bit put off by the choice of having Holden & Miller as the only POV characters, since they are both in their own ways very cliché male hero archetypes, but the James Corey really pulled it off, especially when the two

met. It was so funny how Holden & Miller are both so used to being the center of the universe (while having opposing philosophies in life) that when they met they just annoyed the hell out of each other.

It made me realise that they use these clichés very consciously and explore the consequences of these traits.

Concerning what I didn't like: the worldbuilding, while very good, is so blindly inspired by American culture, to the point where Holden talks to a Martian about being from "Montana", to which I say: Holden should be lucky if a Martian crudely knows about a continent called America.

Content Warnings

rachaelbunny's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Content Warnings

mattiedancer's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.75

Writing: 2.75⭐️/5

I read this after a Sanderson kick, so maybe I’m comparing apples to oranges, but if Sanderson is apples, these are tiny mouldy oranges left at the bottom of my lunch kit as a child. The first section of the novel, despite having the highest stakes possible, was hard to care about or believe in. From there, you’re met with a slog of exposition – telling and not showing, telling and not showing, and more telling and not showing – to the point that I felt exhausted. And, while I know one of the heights of sci-fi for some people revolve around its explanation of the science in the world, I couldn’t love the overexplanation of every little piece of technology. (Also, for a book in outer space, I really had to hear a lot about these two men’s balls. Please. Never again.)

Characters: 2.75⭐️/5

I would love to give this a higher mark, but how do you have so many characters and so few female characters that stand out? They really felt like accessories to the men: ready to make them look good, ready to be set down when the moment wasn’t right for them, and ready to be picked back up to adorn them at the end. We also follow two men who, despite trying to do their best, are so concerned with playing hero that they felt a bit fake – and incredibly boring.

Plot: 3⭐️/5

Did I enjoy the parts of this plot dedicated to being sexist? Not particularly. Do I have to hand it to the authors for making a story I couldn’t quite predict? Maybe. I did enjoy parts of the plot and, at certain moments, I almost started to love it. Of course, it was usually in those moments that we resorted to sexist tropes, unnecessary exposition, and/or the defilement of a woman’s body. Is there something interesting happening in this novel? Most certainly. I’m just not certain I would recommend it based solely on that.

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