Leviathan Wakes

Leviathan Wakes is a science fiction novel by James S. A. Corey, the pen name of Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck, and the first book of The Expanse. It is set in a future where the Epstein Drive has let humanity colonise much of the Solar System. It opens with the destruction of the ice hauler Canterbury, whose surviving crew under James Holden end up on the Rocinante, while Ceres detective Joe Miller searches for the missing Julie Mao; together they uncover Protogen's protomolecule experiment on Eros. It was followed by Caliban's War in 2012.