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The Expanse (novel series)

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Main page This article is about the series of novels. For the television series, see The Expanse (TV series).
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The Expanse is a series of science fiction novels (and related novellas and short stories) The Expanse
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by James S. A. Corey, the joint pen name of authors Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck. The Leviathan Wakes (2011)
Help first novel, Leviathan Wakes, was nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 2012.[1] Caliban's War (2012)
Learn to edit
The complete series was nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Series in 2017.[2] It later Abaddon's Gate (2013)
Community portal Cibola Burn (2014)
won, following its second nomination for the same award in 2020.[3]
Recent changes Nemesis Games (2015)
Upload file As of 2020, The Expanse is made up of eight novels and eight shorter works – three short Babylon's Ashes (2016)
stories and five novellas. A ninth novel is planned to complete the main series, as well as Persepolis Rising (2017)
Tools Tiamat's Wrath (2019)
one more novella after the final novel.[4] The series was adapted for television by the Syfy
What links here Leviathan Falls (2021)
Network, also under the title of The Expanse. After Syfy cancelled the TV series after three
Related changes
seasons, Amazon acquired it and began to stream it on Prime Video for an additional three Author James S. A. Corey
Special pages
seasons. Country United States
Permanent link
Page information Genre Science fiction
Cite this page Contents [hide] Space opera
Wikidata item 1 Novels Publisher Orbit Books
1.1 Short stories and novellas Published June 2011 – present
Print/export
1.2 Audiobooks Media type Print
Download as PDF

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 Printable version 2 Plot Audiobook
2.1 Setting E-book
Languages
2.2 Characters
Čeština
2.2.1 Crew of the 'Rocinante'
Deutsch
2.2.2 The Outer Planets
Français
Italiano
2.2.3 Mars
Polski 2.2.4 Earth
Русский 2.2.5 Laconia
中 3 Inspiration and writing
3 more 3.1 Writing process
3.2 Narrative structure
Edit links
4 Reception
4.1 Critical response
4.2 Awards and nominations
5 Adaptations
5.1 Television series
5.2 Comics
5.3 Board game
5.4 Roleplaying game
6 Notes
7 References
8 External links

Novels [ edit ]

# Title Pages Audio Publication date ISBN

1 Leviathan Wakes 592 20h 56m 2011-06-15 978-0-316-12908-4
2 Caliban's War 595 21h 2012-06-26 978-1-841-49990-1
3 Abaddon's Gate 539 19h 42m 2013-06-04 978-0-316-12907-7

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 # Title Pages Audio Publication date ISBN

4 Cibola Burn 583 20h 7m 2014-06-17 978-0-316-21762-0

5 Nemesis Games 544 16h 44m 2015-06-02 978-0-316-21758-3
6 Babylon's Ashes 608 19h 58m 2016-12-06 978-0-316-33474-7
7 Persepolis Rising 560 20h 34m 2017-12-05 978-0-316-33283-5
8 Tiamat's Wrath 544 19h 8m 2019-03-26 978-0-316-33286-6
9 Leviathan Falls[5] 560 2021-10-26 978-0-356-51039-2

Short stories and novellas [ edit ]

Publication
# Title Setting Pages ISBN
date
978-1-781-
0.1 Drive Before Leviathan Wakes 7 2012-11-27[Note 1]
08056-6
978-0-316-
0.3 The Churn Before Leviathan Wakes 75 2014-04-29
21766-8
The Butcher of Anderson 978-0-316-
0.5 Before Leviathan Wakes 40 2011-10-17
Station 20407-1
The Last Flight of the
1 During Leviathan Wakes 5 2019-05-14[Note 2] 978-1934547977
Cassandra
978-0-316-
2.5 Gods of Risk Between Caliban's War and Abaddon's Gate 75 2012-09-15
21765-1
978-0-316-
3.5 The Vital Abyss From before Leviathan Wakes to Cibola Burn 74 2015-10-15[8]
21756-9
Between Babylon's Ashes and Persepolis 978-0-316-
6.5 Strange Dogs 64 2017-07-18[9]
Rising 21757-6

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 Publication
# Title Setting Pages ISBN
date
Between Persepolis Rising and Tiamat’s 978-0-3164-
7.5 Auberon 63 2019-11-12[11]
Wrath[10] 3428-7

Audiobooks [ edit ]

All of the novels and five of the novellas have been released as audiobooks, with Jefferson Mays as the narrator for all novels and the
novellas The Vital Abyss, Strange Dogs and Auberon. Erik Davies is the narrator for the novellas The Churn and Gods of Risk.[12]

Plot [ edit ]

Setting [ edit ]

The Expanse is set in a future in which humanity has colonized much of the Solar System, but does not have interstellar travel. In the
asteroid belt and beyond, tensions are rising between Earth's United Nations, Mars, and the outer planets.[13]

The series initially takes place in the Solar System, using many real locations such as Ceres and Eros in the asteroid belt, several moons
of Jupiter, with Ganymede and Europa the most developed, and small science bases as far out as Phoebe around Saturn and Titania
around Uranus, as well as well-established domed settlements on Mars and the Moon.[13][14]

As the series progresses, humanity gains access to thousands of new worlds by use of the ring, an artificially sustained Einstein-Rosen
bridge or wormhole, created by a long dead alien race. The ring in our solar system is two AU from the orbit of Uranus, and passing
through it leads to a hub of starless space approximately one million kilometers across, with more than 1,300 other rings, each with a star
system on the other side. In the center of the hub, which is also referred to as the "slow zone", an alien space station controls the gates
and can also set instantaneous speed limits on objects inside the hub as a means of defense.[15]

Characters [ edit ]
Narrative point of view [hide]
The story is told through multiple main point-of-view characters. There are two
POV characters in the first book and four in books 2 through 5. In the sixth and Name Books
seventh books, the number of POV characters increases, with several 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 (prologue,
James Holden
characters having only one or two chapters. Tiamat's Wrath returns to a more Interlude, epilogue)

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 limited number with five. Every book also begins and ends with a prologue and Name Books
epilogue told from a unique character's perspective.
Josephus Miller 1

Crew of the 'Rocinante' [ edit ] Julie Mao 1 (prologue)

The central characters are the crew of the Rocinante, a salvaged Martian naval Fred Johnson 1 (epilogue), 6
gunship. The main crew consists of: Bobbie Draper 2, 4 (prologue), 6, 7, 8
James "Jim" R. Holden, the captain of the Rocinante, from Earth (an Chrisjen
2, 4 (epilogue), 6, 7
Earther), former UN Navy (UNN) officer Avasarala
Naomi Nagata, chief engineer and executive officer, a Belter Praxidike Meng 2, 6
Amos Burton, mechanic and general muscle, an Earther
Mei Meng 2 (prologue)
Alex Kamal, pilot of the Rocinante, a Martian, former Mars Congressional
Clarissa
Republic Navy (MCRN) pilot 3, 6, 7
Melpomene Mao
The Outer Planets [ edit ] Annushka
3, 6 (epilogue)
Josephus "Joe" Aloisus Miller, a Belter who worked as a detective for the Volovodov
Ceres station security firm, Star Helix Security Carlos 'Bull' de
Juliette "Julie" Andromeda Mao, the oldest child of Earther plutocrat 3
Baca
Jules-Pierre Mao, former pinnace racer and Outer Planets Alliance convert
Manéo Jung-
Frederick "Fred" Lucius Johnson, a former UN marine reviled as the 3 (prologue)
Espinoza
"Butcher of Anderson Station" and now the leader of the OPA
Dimitri Havelock 4
Dr. Praxidike "Prax" Meng, the chief botanist of the RMD-Southern soy
farm project on Ganymede and father of Mei Meng Basia Merton 4

Mei Meng, daughter of Prax Elvi Okoye 4, 8

Carlos "Bull" c de Baca, a member of the OPA serving as chief security The Investigator 4 (interludes)
officer aboard the Behemoth Amos Burton 5, 6, 7
Michio Pa, executive officer of the OPA ship Behemoth, later captain of the
Alex Kamal 5, 6, 7, 8
Free Navy ship Connaught
Naomi Nagata 5, 6, 7, 8
Basia "Baz" Merton, a welder from Ganymede, later citizen of Ilus
Manéo "Néo" Jung-Espinoza, a young Belter from Ceres Filip Inaros 5 (prologue), 6
Marco Inaros, a commander of Free Navy, a radical OPA branch Sauveterre 5 (epilogue)

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 Filip Inaros, a teenage member of the OPA, and later Free Navy, and son Name Books
of Marco Inaros and Naomi Nagata
Marco Inaros 6
Camina Drummer, chief of security of Tycho Station, later president of the
Michio Pa 6
Transport Union
Salis 6
Jakulski, Roberts, Salis & Vandercaust, four techs, working for the Free
Navy on Medina Station Jakulski 6
Vandercaust 6
Mars [ edit ]
Roberts 6
Roberta "Bobbie" W. Draper, Martian gunnery sergeant in the MCRN, of
the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force Namono 6 (prologue)
Sauveterre, the captain of the MCRN Barkeith Paolo Cortazár 7 (prologue)
Solomon Epstein, inventor of the "Epstein-Fusion Drive" Santiago Jilie
7
Earth [ edit ] Singh

Dmitri Havelock, a security contractor from Earth and former partner of Joe Camina
7
Miller Drummer

Chrisjen Avasarala, the UN Assistant Undersecretary of Executive Winston Duarte 7 (epilogue)

Administration, later UN Secretary General Teresa Duarte 8
Clarissa "Claire" Melpomene Mao a.k.a. Melba Alzbeta Koh a.k.a.
Peaches, a daughter of Jules-Pierre Mao, magnate of Mao-Kwikowski Mercantile from Luna; as Melba she is a licensed
electrochemical technician. After forming a bond with her, Amos gives her the nickname Peaches.
Dr. Elvi Okoye, a biologist from Earth, now a leading figure among citizens of the new colonies
Rev. Dr. Annushka "Anna" Volovodov, a Methodist pastor at St. John's United on Europa and Earth
Namono "Nono" Volovodov, wife of Anna, with whom they have a daughter, "Nami"

Laconia [ edit ]
Winston Duarte, High Consul of the Laconian Empire, defector from the Martian navy
Teresa Duarte a.k.a. Tiny, the daughter and heir of the High Consul
Paolo Cortázar, a former member of Protogen's nanoinformatics research division, he is now the lead researcher on Laconia
Santiago Jilie Singh, a captain in the Laconian Imperial Navy and commander of the Gathering Storm

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 Anton Trejo, High Admiral of the Laconian Imperial Navy and captain of the Heart of the Tempest

Inspiration and writing [ edit ]

Ty Franck began developing the world of The Expanse initially as the setting for a MMORPG and, after a number of years, for a tabletop
roleplaying game. Daniel Abraham, who had authored a number of novels on his own, suggested, given the depth of the setting, that it
could serve for the basis for a series of novels, noting: "People who write books don't do this much research."[16]

The authors have stated that the series gets some of its inspirations from Fred Pohl's Gateway and the other Heechee books.[17] It has
also been observed that there are similarities in the political and social setting of the series to Alfred Bester's classic science fiction novel
The Stars My Destination.[18][19] Ty Frank has also stated Ridley Scott's Alien as having "the single largest influence on The Expanse."[20]

Writing process [ edit ]

Franck writes all the Holden, Bobbie, and Anna chapters, while Abraham writes the Miller, Melba, Avasarala, Bull, and Prax chapters.[21]
The writers meet weekly to discuss upcoming chapters and swap completed chapters for the other to edit.[16]

Narrative structure [ edit ]

The novels are written in third-person limited. Each chapter is told from the point of view of a character central to the story, while the
prologue and epilogue are told by a recurring character or a one-off viewpoint. Most of the books employ four point-of-view characters
(plus the prologue and epilogue viewpoints). Leviathan Wakes features two, Babylon's Ashes features sixteen, and Tiamat's Wrath
features five. James Holden is the only character to be used as a viewpoint character in all eight novels.[citation needed]

Reception [ edit ]

Critical response [ edit ]

The series overall has been well received, with the first novel Leviathan Wakes being the highest praised.[citation needed]

For Caliban's War, Wired.com's Geek Dad and Publishers Weekly both praised the novel. GeekDad cited the book's "believable human
personalities and technology that is easily recognizable" as a highlight.[22][23]

Publisher's Weekly gave Abaddon's Gate a starred review saying "series fans will find this installment the best yet."[24] The same
publication gave Cibola Burn a starred review and called it "splendid" and it "blends adventure with uncommon decency."[25]

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 The Expanse was nominated for and won the 2020 Hugo Award for Best Series.[26]

Awards and nominations [ edit ]

Leviathan Wakes (2011) — Hugo Award for Best Novel nominee 2012, Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel nominee 2012
Abaddon's Gate (2013) — Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel winner 2014, Goodreads Choice Awards, Best Science Fiction
nominee 2013
The Expanse — Hugo Award for Best Series, nominee 2017, won 2020

Adaptations [ edit ]

Television series [ edit ]

Main article: The Expanse (TV series)

The American television channel Syfy announced a straight-to-series commitment to a television adaptation of The Expanse in April
2014, ordering the production of ten hour-long episodes for a first season[27] and premiered in December 2015. As of 2020 four seasons
consisting of a total of 46 episodes have been produced, with the final episode of each season sharing its name with the respective book.
The series stars Thomas Jane as Josephus Miller and Steven Strait as Jim Holden. The rest of the crew of the Rocinante are played by
Dominique Tipper as Naomi Nagata, Cas Anvar as Alex Kamal, and Wes Chatham as Amos Burton. The other major cast members are
Shohreh Aghdashloo as Chrisjen Avasarala, Chad Coleman as Fred Johnson, and Florence Faivre as Julie Mao. Frankie Adams joined
the cast in season 2 as Bobbie Draper. Critics have praised the show for its visuals, character development and political narrative.

Comics [ edit ]

Four digital comics based on the books and tying into the television series were published by ComiXology. The comics were written by
James S.A. Corey, Hallie Lambert and Georgia Lee and illustrated by Huang Danlan, Triona Farrell, Juan Useche and Rahzzah. The
Expanse: Origins reveals the untold backstories of the crew members of the Rocinante before the start of the series. All four comics were
also released in print as a compilation titled The Expanse Vol. 1: Origins by BOOM! Studios, which also featured a new story about
Detective Miller.

Title Character Publication date Ref.

The Expanse Origins #1 James Holden 2017-02-01 [28]

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 Title Character Publication date Ref.
The Expanse Origins #2 Naomi Nagata 2017-04-19 [29]

The Expanse Origins #3 Alex Kamal 2017-05-24 [30]

The Expanse Origins #4 Amos Burton 2017-07-12 [31]

Board game [ edit ]

An Expanse board game, designed by Geoff Engelstein and published by WizKids, was released in October 2017.[32] The authors of the
book series collaborated with Engelstein on its development.[33] The game focuses on politics, conquest and intrigue similar to the board
game Twilight Struggle, although with a shorter playing time. Players represent Earth's UN forces, the military of Mars, the O.P.A., and
Protogen Inc, each struggling to become the dominant power in the Solar System. They use cards and action points to move and place
Fleets and expand their Influence in contested areas. The cards represent characters and events from the universe of The Expanse,
each bearing key images from the show. Each character has special abilities that must be correctly exploited in order to gain the upper
hand in the struggle for control.[34]

The Expanse: Doors & Corners Expansion has been announced for release by WizKids in February 2019. It contains five new modules
that can be used independently or in any combination together with the base game.[35]

Roleplaying game [ edit ]

The Expanse Roleplaying Game uses the AGE (Adventure Game Engine) system designed by Chris Pramas to bring James S. A.
Corey's universe to life. The core rulebook and Gamemaster's Kit launched on Kickstarter in July 2018 and gathered over $400,000 from
their campaign.[36] The book was written by game designer Steve Kenson and is published by Pramas' company Green Ronin
Publishing.[37] The game allows players to create their own character of the various galactic factions and adventure through the galaxy at
the various settings or even on their own ships. It includes a bonus short story by James S. A. Corey titled "The Last Flight of the
Cassandra".[38]

Notes [ edit ]

1. ^ "Drive" was originally published as part of the sci-fi anthology Edge of Infinity edited by Jonathan Strahan. It was made available to read free on
the Syfy website.[6]
2. ^ Included in The Expanse Role-Playing Game rulebook published by Green Ronin Publishing.[7]

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 References [ edit ]

1. ^ "2012 Hugo Awards" . Hugo Awards. Archived from the 18. ^ Franck, Ty (January 30, 2012). "Paying Tribute: The Stars My
original on April 9, 2012. Retrieved October 21, 2012. Destination" . DanielAbraham.com. Retrieved 2019-02-20.
2. ^ "2017 Hugo Awards" . Hugo Awards. Retrieved April 5, 2017. 19. ^ Liptak, Andrew (May 27, 2015). "Evolution of a Space Epic:
3. ^ "2020 Hugo Awards" . Hugo Awards. Retrieved August 2, 2020. James S.A. Corey's The Expanse" . The B&N Sci-Fi and Fantasy

4. ^ "Leviathan Falls Will Be The Final Installment of The Expanse" . Blog. Barnes & Noble.

Tor.com. September 16, 2020. Retrieved October 3, 2020. 20. ^ Amazon Prime Video (December 16, 2020). "The Expanse

5. ^ Orbit Books [@orbitbooks] (September 16, 2020). "The final book Aftershow Season 5, Episode 3 - Wes Chatham, Ty Franck, and

in #TheExpanse series by @JamesSACorey is LEVIATHAN FALLS! Thomas Jane" . YouTube. Retrieved 2020-12-20.

Coming 2021" (Tweet) – via Twitter. 21. ^ "Reddit AMA with James S.A. Corey" . Reddit. June 6, 2013.

6. ^ "Prequel — The Expanse" . Syfy.com. Archived from the Retrieved 2015-02-26.

original on 24 December 2015. Retrieved 8 November 2017. 22. ^ "Review: Caliban's War" . Publishers Weekly. Retrieved
21 October 2012.
7. ^ "The Expanse RPG" . Green Ronin Publishing. Retrieved
May 11, 2019. 23. ^ Kelly, James. "The Expanse, Book 2: Caliban's War Review" .

8. ^ "The Vital Abyss" . Hachette Book Group. Retrieved August 21, Wired.com. Retrieved October 21, 2012.

2015. 24. ^ "Abaddon's Gate: The Expanse, Book Three" . Publishers

9. ^ "Strange Dogs" . Hachette Book Group. Retrieved June 9, 2017. Weekly. 8 April 2013. Retrieved February 26, 2015.

10. ^ "Auberon" . Orbit Books. Retrieved October 10, 2019. 25. ^ "Cibola Burn: The Expanse, Book Four" . Publishers Weekly. 7
April 2014. Retrieved April 14, 2014.
11. ^ "Auberon" . Hachette Book Group. Retrieved November 3,
26. ^ "Hugo 2020 Winners" . Tor. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
2019.
12. ^ "The Expanse Series Audiobooks - Unabridged Series" . 27. ^ Kondolojy, Amanda (April 11, 2014). "Syfy Gives Straight-to-

Audible.com. Retrieved August 17, 2018. Series Greenlight to 'The Expanse' " . TV By The Numbers.
Archived from the original on December 20, 2016. Retrieved
13. ^ a b Corey, James. Leviathan Wakes.
February 26, 2014.
14. ^ Corey, James. Cibola Burn.
28. ^ "The Expanse Origins #1 (of 4) — Comics by comiXology" .
15. ^ Corey, James. Abaddon's Gate.
comiXology.com. Retrieved 8 November 2017.
16. ^ a b Orbit Books (January 23, 2011). "Leviathan Wakes: Part One
29. ^ "The Expanse Origins #2 (of 4) — Comics by comiXology" .
(Interview)" . YouTube. Retrieved 2015-02-26.
comiXology.com. Retrieved 8 November 2017.
17. ^ @JamesSACorey (7 Jul 2018). "Nope. The ring in Halo is actually
30. ^ "The Expanse Origins #3 (of 4) — Comics by comiXology" .
taken from Larry Niven's Ringworld, and is an artificial world, not a
comiXology.com. Retrieved 8 November 2017.
gateway of any kind. For #TheExpanse I was much more inspired
31. ^ "The Expanse Origins #4 (of 4) — Comics by comiXology" .
by older works, like Fred Pohl's Gateway and the other Heechee
comiXology.com. Retrieved 8 November 2017.
books" (Tweet). Retrieved 2019-04-28 – via Twitter.

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 32. ^ "Official game page" . Wizkids.com. 36. ^ "The Expanse Roleplaying Game" . Kickstarter.
33. ^ "Wizkids Board Game Based on The Expanse to Arrive this 37. ^ Sass, Evan (August 17, 2017). "Press Release: Green Ronin to
Summer" . Wizkids.com. February 16, 2017. Publish The Expanse RPG" . Green Ronin Publishing.
34. ^ "The Expanse Board Game" . Boardgamegeek. 38. ^ Robbins, Jonathan (March 6, 2019). "The Last Flight of the
35. ^ Simms-Borre, Pamela (September 18, 2018). "The Expanse: Cassandra" . Keepers of Geekdom.com.
Doors and Corners Expansion coming from WizKids" . Dice Tower
News. Retrieved 20 February 2019.

External links [ edit ]

The-Expanse.com

V·T·E James S. A. Corey's The Expanse [show]

Categories: Book series introduced in 2011 The Expanse American science fiction novels Hard science fiction
Hugo Award for Best Novel-winning works Fiction about main-belt asteroids Fiction set on Mars Science fiction novel series
Space opera novels Fiction set on dwarf planets

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