Synopsis:
Humanity has colonized the solar system—Mars, the Moon, the Asteroid Belt and beyond—but the stars are still out of our reach.
Jim Holden is XO of an ice miner making runs from the rings of Saturn to the mining stations of the Belt. When he and his crew stumble upon a derelict ship, the Scopuli, they find themselves in possession of a secret they never wanted. A secret that someone is willing to kill for—and kill on a scale unfathomable to Jim and his crew. War is brewing in the system unless he can find out who left the ship and why.
Detective Miller is looking for a girl. One girl in a system of billions, but her parents have money and money talks. When the trail leads him to the Scopuli and rebel sympathizer Holden, he realizes that this girl may be the key to everything.
Holden and Miller must thread the needle between the Earth government, the Outer Planet revolutionaries, and secretive corporations—and the odds are against them. But out in the Belt, the rules are different, and one small ship can change the fate of the universe.
Average Score: 3.28
Review: Most of the group thought this book was ok as the score reflects. In general, we found the story quite enjoyable, liked that history and astronomy were linked and thought it was easy enough to read. With that said…it was a bit slow to get going after a riveting preface, stretched the laws of physics and believability a bit too far, and relied on coincidence a little too much to move the story forward. The main characters were pretty cliched and the alternating chapters were a bit irritating once the two characters were working together. We also felt that the book may have thrown too many genres into the mix and that a pared back tale could have been more enjoyable.
The Next Chapter Book Club 