The series is mostly true to the physics (they speed up travel times a lot, but that's kinda required for a TV adaptation), with the notable exception of a certain manoeuvre in the 11th episode of the second season (which the writers have conceded to be preposterous).

Space ship design is the other thing that regularly annoys me, it's all metal and not at all foam-padded on the inside. They're designed to look cool and futuristic, not utilitarian. They're also much too spacious, which makes it easier to get nice shots, of course, but is also a little ridiculous.

That said, it's amazingly fun and I've watched it twice and read all of the books. I think we can all agree that if the two points above are what's wrong with the series, it's pretty damn good. Highly recommended!

I wouldn't put Gravity on that list. It looks nice, but its "physics" is pure Hollywood fail. Not one single plot device makes sense from a physics perspective.

I started reading the books only after the first season, and I'm very happy that I've started with the show first - now I read all Avasarala's lines with Shohreh Aghdashloo's voice.

(In general, I find reading after watching a much more pleasant experience - if I read a book first, I form my own image of the characters, which then usually clashes with what's in the movie. If I do it the other way, I just cast the characters I saw in the movie into the book.)

That said, do continue reading - the novels only get better with time, and there's plenty of awesome waiting that the show is nowhere near reaching.

I am in the opposite camp with regards to The Expanse. I consider the first season a very, very good trailer for the first book.

I also consider the Dark Tower movie a somewhat okeyish trailer for the series. I just finished the second Dark Tower book, and in the books the man in black always speaks like McConaughey.

However, I understand your feel. I can't read Harry Potter, it's just not interesting enough, even after the movies.

I've read the books, and without spoiling anything, there's a lot of crazy stuff to come. You should continue reading! :) (and don't forget the novellas and short stories) Plus, the second season only covers about half of the second book, so you'll be done with the material from the series pretty soon.

I think the series is truly separate and worse than the original. Clarke even said he'd never intended the line about "Ramans do everything in threes" at the end of the book to actually lead to sequels, only to beg the question of what happens to our solar system next. The sequel books do a far worse job of answering that question than the readers' own imaginations, I think. I'd never made the connection to the co-author but it makes sense. I ripped through the first book so quickly, and then picked up the second and couldn't even finish it. I could feel it devaluing my enjoyment of the first it felt like such a different, inferior story.