Sci-Fi : Expanse — Series vs. Books : ChillN’-Like-A-Villain Reading Order
I have lined up all the books and Novellas, even the elusive short story, that is part of the Expanse-RPG ! And,… Amazon has lined up 5 seasons of the mini-series ! The next step is ChillN’ like a Villain and enjoy the Sci-Fi at it’s best !
Of course, a list of my favorite Sci-Fi authors is at bit.ly/scifi-authors
I do enjoy other genres, like mysteries and spies — for example, check out the Swedish author Henning Mankell — the Dean of #NordicNoir and his Wallander series.
After a century of research, cross tabulation, travels across the galaxy and lots “spirited” deliberation (of the Glenrothes kind), I have constructed the Order (see below after the quick discussion on the Expanse Series @Amazon)):
It is also marked in the image above — the trick is to interleave the novellas to get a full longitudinal experience
- An insightful interview at the GoodReads [Here]
- I will update with notes as I immerse into the work by Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck
- [5/26/20] During this memorial weekend, I binge watched the Expanse series — all 4 seasons ! Good use to defuse the Covid-19 tensions.
- The series (seasons 1–4) covers the books mainly Leviathan Wakes, Caliban’s War and Abaddon’s Gate. “brilliantly crafted, multilayered plot” says one review.
- An interesting review points out “One of the things that makes The Expanse such compelling television is the way it makes space tangibly dangerous. Whenever the show leaves Earth, neither the viewer nor the characters are ever unaware of the razor’s edge they stand on every second they remain alive.”
- The characters follow the thematic in the books — you will recognize them, but they are not exactly same. So, read the books and watch the series or better yet interleave them breaking the monotony
But definitely finish #0, #1, #2, #3, #4 & #6 below before watching the series.
- An interesting Burn Gorman & Ty Franck dive deep into THE EXPANSE’s new (season 4) villain — What exactly does Murtry want?
- Interview with the authors [Here]
After reading #0-#4, I watched the series and skipped forward to #10 Nemesis Games. What I realized is that the series is not a replacement for the book, you should definitely experience both ! [5/28/20]
[6/18/20] Finally completed the books.
- Am sad that the series is over (except for Book #9 sometime this year)
- The reading order below stands pat — it is the right order, including the Novellas, which add color at places. You will enjoy when it happens and you can correlate to something you read earlier in a novella. (I could cite examples, but that would be a spoiler)
Take time to read the series, you will enjoy it. But requires persistence, well worth it — it pays off during the last 2 books, where all of the earlier storytelling comes together very well for a finale !
Back to the reading order …
(* = Short Story,Novella or “The Expanse Short Fiction” — as they call it)
0 The Drive * — This the prequel. Quick read, you will not grasp the importance of the Epstein drive until much later !
1 The Churn* — It is all about Amos Burton, read this and you will enjoy Amos a lot more !
2The Butcher of Anderson Station — Colonel Fred Johnson’s past as seen on the fifth episode of Season 1, but the show doesn’t do justice, this novella is much better. Notice Camina Drummer in the background — you will see more of her later …
3 Leviathan Wakes
4 The Last Flight of the Cassandra* — Elusive : A short story from the RPG game manual !
5 Caliban’s War
6 God Of Risk* — Story of Bobby Draper, if you read this after watching the series, it is redundant. Interesting story arc
== Now you can start watching the Amazon Series …
7 Abaddon’s Gate
8 The Vital Abyss* — Good story, but I really was not that comfortable with the darkness, tells you what “research” means ! They mention it in the series very well
9 Cibola Burn
10 Nemesis Games — The middle game, the arc changes, but still rooted in the earlier books
11 Babylon’s Ashes — The prelude to a larger story arc that culminates the series in 3 books !
12 Strange Dogs*
13 Persepolis Rising — The end game, the arc has changed, as you read you will realize that the motifs are very different, … (Don’t want to say anything more !!)
14 Auberon*
15 Tiamat’s Wrath — The finale, as we know of it (as of June 2020). Well written, as you finish the book you will see that this is what the authors intended all along !
It is a different book than Leviathan Wakes — it has to be, there is an eight years gap — but a matured, an evolved and (to some extent) a disciplined story …
16 Unnamed Final Novel by 2020 — [6/19/20] This I have to read !!! But am not sure I will be surprised. I have a feeling how all these would end. I would like to see the rise of the Belters — they are a scrappy bunch who can defeat any alien species —, would like to see Rocinante fly off into the sunset (even where there is no sun and the day is 24hrs !), …
Cheers & Stay Safe …
