Now, I couldn't put my finger on the exact reason I was liking these books until this week. I was listening to a podcast of Krypton Radio's The Event Horizon in which they were interviewing David Gerrold. He was talking about the differences in certain sorts of stories. Some, you have individuals who have special powers to get things done (I guess here I'd be thinking about Ender's Game, for example, IIRC). However, he suggested that it's more interesting to read about normal people who due to circumstances are forced to step up and do extraordinary things. I recognized as I heard that, that it was exactly what I was loving about this series, and I can acknowledge it without it being any sort of spoiler.
So I highly recommend the series, which starts with Leviathan Wakes, and this book just carries right on and leaves you hanging wanting more. Wow!