Leviathan Wakes v Karaoke Tears

Book: Leviathan Wakes
Author: James S.A. Corey
Publisher: Orbit
Published: 2011

I watched the first couple of seasons of the TV show before reading this and really liked it. When I read the books I found the show had followed it quite closely, which isn’t necessarily a surprise as the authors were involved in writing the show as well. They are however also distinct entities and I am glad I picked up the book.

It starts off with an ice mining ship responding to a distressed ship but then discovering something more than they were expecting. Then they are attacked by a ship which appears to be part of the Mars fleet. The survivors of the attack then set off to try and work out what the f*ck is going on.

Meanwhile elsewhere a detective is on the trail of a missing woman, who may or may not be connected.

One of my favourite things about the book and series is how believable the technology feels. I’m not a massive reader of sci-fi and what I do read tends towards the soft science end of the spectrum, like Star Wars or Dune. Things like how the ships move; the history of how humanity took to the stars, and where it has lead to the present of the books are all vividly plausible. Combine that with a crackingly, engaging thriller of a plot and it’s a clear winner.

Beer: Karaoke Tears
Brewery: Temperance Beer Co.
Style: Hazy IPA
Strength: 6.0%

First things first, Temperance is a brilliantly cheeky name for a brewery. Secondly, as a completely tone-deaf hater of singing, Karaoke Tears is an apt name for a beer.

It’s a nicely balanced IPA. Good level of hoppy bitterness and bit of creaminess which I found to be pleasant.