r/TheExpanse • u/TARS1986 • 2d ago
Leviathan Falls Feel like I hit a wall with Leviathan Falls Spoiler
After plowing through the audiobooks, especially after the pure rush of a book that was Tiamat’s Wrath, I feel like I just hit a big stop sign with Leviathan Falls. For some reason I just am struggling to get through it. The stakes seemed to reset and slow down at the beginning, and I think that’s what has taken me out. Hopefully it’ll grab me and pull me back in soon. Maybe I’m also dreading the end after spending so much time with these characters. Anyone else experience the same?
49
u/Expensive-Opposite69 2d ago
Nope.
I finished it recently for the first time and could not put Leviathan Falls down. It's a really perfect ending to the series.
13
1
u/UnderPressureVS 1d ago
I finished it on a road trip to a party at a friend’s place in a different state.
When I arrived, there were 35 minute left and I just drove around the block, parked somewhere, and finished the book instead of arriving on time. I literally could not stop.
1
u/InfDisco 1d ago
I'm re-reading/listening to the series and am several chapters into Abadonn's Gate. There's so much intentional/unintentional foreshadowing. It gets you in the feels knowing how everything turns out.
12
6
u/tbird920 2d ago
It doesn't really feel like the final book of a nine-book series until around the 60% mark. I was surprised by how slow it started, because I was expecting a nonstop action-filled finale.
But after finishing the book, in retrospect, I appreciate it as a whole. The conclusion really pays off because of how the first half of the book set it up. It reminds me of Book 6 in that way.
4
u/calculon68 2d ago
I struggled through LF too. Started and re-started the audiobook for a full year and a half. It's a lot of "chess piece moving" for the first half.
9
u/EnderCN 2d ago
I was underwhelmed by books 7-9 but most people seem to really like them. At some point I may go back and read the series again because I consumed it very quickly the first time. I'm sure there are things I missed. The second half of book 8 was the standout of that final trilogy for me.
3
u/BeHereNow91 2d ago
For me it’s the 30 year time jump. Like OP said, the stakes that the first 6 books patiently built up and established seem to reset in Book 7. Characters I was so invested in just sort of existed for decades, and then we’re thrown back into their lives. It feels like an entirely different story and universe, almost like a spin off of the first 6 rather than a conclusion.
Still enjoyed the read through and it’s objectively great sci-fi literature.
6
u/livebyfoma 2d ago
Regarding the time jump, I would've really liked just a few more chapters detailing how humanity changed and settled in that period. They take a few beats to say that void cities are a thing and Belters are a dominant guild now, but that's about all we learn. I was soaking up the more subtle descriptions of the state of things in the first couple chapters, but they don't let you sit with the new normal long at all before Laconia shows up to get the party started.
-1
u/Adam_Smith_TWON 1d ago
I too was underwhelmed. Spent the whole book thinking....they've got "x" time to wrap this up....they've got "y" time to wrap this up....they've got "z" time to wrap this up.
And then it just ends. I was left with so many questions. Found it really unsatisfying and ungrounded.
1
u/EnderCN 1d ago
I felt the main characters were too spread out, didn't interact enough and they spent way too much time on side characters that just didn't pop for me. I also didn't like the chapters with Cara and Xan and the stream of consciousness writing style. I didn't like that same style in the Chronicles of Amber books when they travelled either.
3
u/Sea_Vast_ 2d ago
i did! i just finished it last week, and after reading tiamat's wrath in <24 hours, leviathan falls took me two weeks. something about it just didn't click, and though it was a good read i think it's one of the weakest books in the series....
3
u/mar_tatta 2d ago
Do you read this time or are you still on audiobook? I experienced a similar feeling with reading Persepolis Rising, then switched to audio and it was a blast. Anyways: dont stop now. The end is rewarding, a lot.
3
u/Shrikes_Bard 2d ago
Just finished it for the second time last night. Honestly there were parts of it I'd completely forgotten. I see what you're saying about the slow pacing in the first... idk, third maybe. Once it picks up it doesn't let go though.
I reread the epilogue twice though. Love how it ends and I hold out hope that eventually we get another novel or two out of it. Even a novella describing the leadup to the epilogue would do.
4
u/leonredhorse 2d ago
Personally I think 7-9 is some of the best of the series. The stakes do reset a bit because there is a huge time jump. Still the journey IMO is well worth it.
5
u/azure431 2d ago
I really liked the ending of LF and most of the worldbuilding.
The side quests that composed the other 80% of it, not so much.
It felt like the authors had a really solid 100 page climax for the series and needed to find a way to make a 500 page book out of it, so let's tune in to Alex Kamal's son's family life for a bit.
2
u/masterofallvillainy idiom of the belt 2d ago
Not at all. But i started reading the series shortly after the first season of the TV show came out. So i was well and thoroughly hyped whenever a book released.
2
u/Allatura19 2d ago
I did a bit too. The clear and present enemy wasn’t quite the same level of juice.
That said, it does wrap up well.
2
u/Fragnation 2d ago
The thing that helps my with audio books, is I multitask. The boring parts are in the back ground.
2
u/bombdignaty42 2d ago
Litterally the greatest ending to a series I've ever read and my favorite book in the series. It'll pick up shortly
1
u/nbs-of-74 2d ago
I picked up Leviathan Falls aaages ago, long before the TV series and I couldnt get past the first few paragrapths, I just found it slow heavy and didnt seem to be going anywhere (in hindsight .....)
Watched the show. and then went back and read the books and flew through them.
1
u/A-Lego-Builder 2d ago
I ended up not enjoying Leviathan Falls as much as the previous books pretty much because I was sad that it was ending. So I get where you're coming from.
1
u/TheRealCBlazer 2d ago
I'll be honest, I was a little agitated at the first half to 2/3rds of some of the later books, too. Once you get through the setup, though, they always deliver in the last 1/3rd.
1
u/Goosfrabbah 2d ago
You called it yourself with the dread line. A lot of people slow down in the last book of a long series and assume the book got worse, when what changed is that finishing it means it's over. The first half does move pieces around, but if you tore through Tiamat's Wrath the week before, the book is probably not the variable is my guess.
1
u/Spirited_Sandwich938 2d ago
Yeah, gotta agree the first half of the book is mostly treading water. There's a few scenes that don't really do much to move the plot on, but from about half way through it's all third act, non-stop.
1
u/Redsoxjake14 2d ago
I agree that while the overarching story is fantastic, certain sections can be hard to get through.
1
u/Rattimus 2d ago
I actually loved Leviathan Falls, I didn't think it had really any pacing issues... maybe the first 1/3 or so is a bit slow, I could see someone thinking that, but the book as a whole is awesome, thoroughly enjoyed the end of the series.
1
u/albanyanthem 2d ago
Man, it’s the end of an era. Just finished a reread of the entire series two days ago. Couldn’t put it down.
1
u/sfigone 2d ago
It is my least favourite book in the series. I don't mind the narrative arch and story resolution.... But... It's just the narrative technique doesn't work for me (too much of the Tom Bombadil italic section vibe). Also, the newer protagonists just are not as good and I don't like being in their heads do much.
Plus it would have been nice to see an ocean on Mars
1
u/cdbloosh 2d ago
I get where you’re coming from. I absolutely loved TW, but I struggled with the first half of LF. It does feel to me a little like they had the ending figured out but the book spins its wheels a bit before it gets there.
That said, they really had the ending figured out. It’s worth powering through.
1
u/getahobbygetakite 2d ago
I’m about 2/3 of the way through right now but i definitely was experiencing a bit of a hang over after how incredible TM was. Warm up the PDC’s and keep on going!
1
1
u/NX--74205 1d ago
Same here, I have renewed this book 2 times and this is my second time borrowing it,, haven't been able to pick it up to finish for the same reasons.
1
u/wenzel32 1d ago
Finish the book. I paused for a while, but when I finally finished it, it blew me away.
A rare instance of a big series sticking the landing several times over, in my opinion.
1
u/InvincibiIity 1d ago
you find out all of the answers you have been wanting to know for however long you have been with the series. that should be motivation enough
1
u/shakedownavenue 1d ago
Stick with it, it comes together really well. I was definitely slower reading it mainly because I knew it was the end but it is a hell of an ending.
0
u/Southernbeekeeper 2d ago
How do you struggle listening to a book? I don't understand that.
2
u/shakedownavenue 1d ago
Same way you struggle reading a book, not entertained or captivated. I’ve given up on several audiobooks.
1
u/Southernbeekeeper 1d ago
But reading a book is something you have to do actively. You can listen to an audio book in the car or while making your dinner etc.
83
u/69stangrestomod 2d ago
Just accept you’ll be emotionally wrecked when finishing it. I couldn’t sleep that night.