The Expanse's James S.A. Corey Announces a New Sci-Fi Trilogy | Hacker News Reader

The Expanse's James S.A. Corey Announces a New Sci-Fi Trilogy

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73 pointsbookofjoe29 comments

I'm curious how well that works. There's plenty of "epic", "anything goes" space opera already. What made The Expanse special for me was the gritty, realistic solar system period and not the things where protomolecule based tech was in full swing already.

I'd gladly have taken prequels actually, with only human tech and stories from the period before the protomolecule appeared.

If you haven’t read all the Novellas, they’re totally worth a read. They’re some of my favourite parts of the Expanse universe.

I agree though. I’m a huge Expanse fan (read all the books/novellas 5 times over, etc) and not a huge fan of a lot of other space opera. It really is unique in how much world building they do, with realistic explanations of all sides of the story and a lot of relatable characters. So much other space opera is “this/these person/people took on the universe and kicked their butt because.. spaceships and guns.”

It's certainly more tech heavy and a power fantasy, but I recommend you give Salvation by Peter F. Hamilton a read. Especially the first book has many layers, and has maybe the most intense "oh fuck" moment I've ever read. Peter F. Hamilton is incredible at creating coherent worlds.

I’m reading Pandora’s Star right now. BOY is the “world building” tedious compared to The Expanse!

I usually read before bed. There’s been times where I have to restrain myself from waking up my partner by moaning in frustration while he spends page after page on some nonsense that adds nothing to the story. There’s something interesting in there. But I feel like it’s at least 50% fluff.

That part is polarizing, some people find it boring and tedious, personally I love it. It's so full of details that all fit into each other like a giant puzzle, pretty much every detail has some relevance, sometimes 40 hours and one book later.

I've read through pretty much all of Hamilton's books, as well as the mainline Expanse books.

The number of times I've muttered "James fucking Holden" is orders of magnitude higher than the times I've been frustrated by Hamilton's verbosity.

I was truly disgusted and disappointed to see the Expanse series jump decades into the future and it's still about James fucking Holden

Say what you will about Hamilton, but he's got more than one character to beat up on. I found Banks to be much more tedious to read. He says the same things over and over and every story is the same as the last. Every problem has a deus ex machina solution. Every problem is also a deus ex, but that's kind of the point.

The ending and epilogue to the Expanse was deeply unsatisfying. More deus ex, more protomolecule. Nothing truly resolved, nothing answered.

My read is that Banks is an inexperienced author with more space to talk than things to say.

Based on that, you might like "First Formic War" trilogy that are a prequel to Ender's Game.

Same here but I like their writing style, so I have hope

There's plenty of "epic", "anything goes" space opera already

i am always on the lookout for new authors, but there are to many to choose from. so i have a hard time whenever i have to pick my next book. like you, i loved the realistic details in the expanse, but i am also very much into exploration, so when the gates appeared, i thought now it would get really interesting and i picked the last three books (and some novellas) after watching the tv series because i wanted to know how it progresses.

it is not my favorite series though, because while society in the expanse is formed through the experiences and discoveries they make, the humanity itself doesn't actually develop, like it does in say the culture series by Iain M. Banks. halfway through book 8 the end is now predictable.

I really loved the expanse and I hate the way the last 3 books haven't been filmed (yes I know the time break but there's options)

Though the whole inaros pirate thing and the fascist Laconia empire (in the book only for now) things were a bit dragged out IMO.. I thought the alien tech parts were much more interesting and the last 2 TV seasons were very forgettable in particular.

Thank god it's only a trilogy. While the Expanse books started out great, the quality declined throughout the series as they moved away from the original premise. The mystery about the aliens was underwhelming, and basically just used as a device to string the readers along for the last few books.

I read the last few books alongside the Three Body Problem, and considering both series deals with the idea of advanced alien civilizations, the difference in quality was just staggering.

Any advice on how to appreciate the Expanse tv show?

I love backstory and worldbuilding sci-fi the Foundation Trilogy, The Man in the High Castle, For All Mankind, The Silo, The Tick, and Battlestar Galactica, but I can't seem to get immersed with The Expanse despite how much I try.

Is it a work that is better appreciated in the literary form instead of on television? Or did Syfy just jumble the first season?

The books are waaaaayyy better. The show I think is good and the first series does have a different flavour to the rest of the series, but if you don’t like it by the end of series one, then it’s probably not for you.

You might like The Gap Series by Stephen R Donaldson though.

I think the first season is the most amazing. Ceres feels so alive.

You have to make it to episode 4. From that on, you are on a ride.

Ok thank you, maybe I'll try again at some point. I got through episode 2 or 3 two different times and quit. I could not believe how bored I was with the show compared to how much I loved the books.

They set up the stage. The expanse series is later known for incredible pace and binge watching.

I' on episode 8 and it's ok. The production feels a bit "amateur"

It does not have Star wars Budgets but for the many of us who grew up with 90s sci-fi, this is quite good.

I wasn't around for much of the 90s so that explains it.

Also Star Wars sucks imo. Never understood the appeal for that either other than boomer nostalgia.

Don't forget about Gen X nostalgia! We were kids/teens when those came out and they were probably the coolest and most fun movies I'd ever seen for quite a few years.

Are they "deep"? Not at all. But between the adventure, spectacle, and the hints of so much going under the surface/in the past, it was incredibly appealing to young-me and it's hard to forget those feelings - even if the followups were either lacking the special sauce or no longer meant for adult-me. Take your pick. I still love the original 3, nostalgia or not.

Yeah its weird. I watched the Expanse, and while I appreciated the more realistic space physics, I thought everything else sucked. The acting was bad, the CGI backgrounds were incredibly distracting. It was very obvious that everyone was emoting in front of green screens.

When I watch BSG, I believe that the actors are characters in the universe, its the opposite with the Expanse, everyone just feels like actors saying lines.

I was flabbergasted that people loved this show outside of the physics.

Yeah.

This is the exact same issue I am grappling with right now!

The first season's production quality just feels very immature.

It's a shame because the writing clearly has legs.

They built one of the largest sets ever to house a full sized rocinante, so there's mostly not CGI backgrounds. Which scenes in particular did you think were bad?

For me personally, a lot of the "urban" set designs feel very amateur. It feels and looks like the set in the Community Ham Girl episode.

#WhoIsGlipGlop

Yeah the New York skyline shots could have been a lot better. The futuristic skyscrapers they inserted look a bit fake.

Ps in the book the UN was actually based in the Hague which would have been a much cooler choice for a location IMO.

But I'm Dutch so I may be biased lol.

I got bored of it 2-3 books in. I can't even remember the names of the books. I think it's an extremely niche audience interested in a coating of space ships and space battles on top of general human drama.

The books were based on a roleplaying campaign. The start of the TV series works very well if you see the main characters as PCs in an RPG campaign. There's even the guy who drops out after a few sessions.

I haven't gotten around to reading the books yet, but I love the TV show, and was immediately immersed into the setting. The struggles of the Belters, the tension between Earth and Mars, different politicians on Earth jockeying for position, and our heroes in the middle of it all.

I think the world building is absolutely great. Better than most. But if it doesn't click for you, I have no idea. It's fine to enjoy something else instead.

One issue with the first season: it doesn't wrap up its story. That story arc, from the first book, doesn't end until halfway through season 2. SyFy did mix up some things to introduce some characters a bit earlier than happens in the books. They'll become more relevant later. Season 1 is primarily about Holden's crew and Miller. The people on Earth and Mars will become more important starting in the second half of season 2.

Sounds like a great premise. I’m excited!

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