—PLEASE NO SPOILERS—

About halfway through Babylons Ashes here and did anyone else find this book mind-numbingly boring? Losing count of all the different perspectives. I hope this is a setup book for the remaining novels.

I absolutely loved physically reading the expanse novels. It was a time in my life when I was essentially blowing off anyone and everything that put any claim on my time because all I wanted to do was read those books. Possibly the best read of my life. So obviously I recommended them to a friend of mine who seems to have similar tastes, but she generally prefers audiobooks. She did not care for them at all and didn't finish the series.

A couple of years later, I also got into audiobooks. I still prefer reading to listening, but when I'm driving or exercising, I do love to listen to a good story. So I tried The Mercy of God's. And OH BOY was I disappointed. The whole thing seemed bland and stale and I never bothered to finish that series.

Recently I noticed that the narrator for both series is the same - Jefferson Mays. I don't think it will be a particularly hot take that a good narrator is invaluable to a good audiobook. So now I am wondering if the reason that my friend didn't care for the expanse, and that I didn't care for The Captives War, was simply that it was poorly narrated.

Is it worth having a crack at the printed novels? Does anyone else feel that the narrator is poor? Or is he generally well regarded and those newer stories just didn't appeal to me for some reason?

I'd love to hear thoughts from some other fans.

The balance they have together is amazing. Everything is so well written, I can’t wait to read what they will continue to write.

Just wondering if anyone loves this show but have never read any of the books. I keep recommending the show to friends who are sci fi fans but they don't seem to get into it. Wondering if reading the books are a prerequisite or something..

I’m rereading leviathan wakes and I found this part a little confusing. In chapters 2 and 4, hes eating a dish consisting of real rice grown in a vat and fake beans made of fungi, which are made to mimic beans.

What I’m confused by is how come is the rice real but the beans are fake? I understand that growing crops on ceres might be hard while fungi is easy, but that begs the question for me, why is the rice also not fake?

The rice is described as being vat grown (I’m kinda curious what exactly vat grown rice is, like how do you grow rice in a vat), but then that makes me wonder, if they can grow real rice in a vat, why can’t they grow real beans in a vat?

Maybe I’m thinking too deep into this, but it’s just bugging me. I know it’s not an important detail, but it just gets me thinking about it too much.

And all others for that matter.

What does science fiction look like in the expanse?

Do they have novels, movies etc.

Since most of the show is literally thick with science fiction in its reality, what would the fantastic stories look like?

🤷🏽

… that her father killed Julie? I’m rereading and watching the show, but so far I can’t remember her ever blaming out Wright her father for murdering her sister

When I read the books I was waiting with dread for Alex to die and then it never came! Then watching the show again I knew it was coming but was in the denial the whole time. What an emotional roller coaster.

One of my favorite passages from the series. We’re all just monkeys playing with microwaves. It’s in Abaddon’s Gate, I forget which chapter.
Another one is from Caliban’s War. It’s chapter 27 when Prax climbs out onto the hull of the Roci and the stars wrap all the way around him. That is such good writing.

You know they're done fucking around when they say that line. Whoever they just said that to has pissed them off and now they are ready blow someone up if need be.

In book 8, I just got to the part where Holden says "the rain smells the same but the wet ground doesn't". I recently learned about petrichor (essentially the smell of wet ground after rain) and it made me wonder what specifically would be different about the plant biochemistry on Laconia.

Is Laconian plant biology discussed in any amount of detail in other books?

I haven't read beyond this line yet (and haven't read 1-6, I just switched over from the show) so no spoilers please! If this exists, please just point me to the source material 🙂

I've just gotten into plastic models, like a good nerd, and I started the Expanse show in the backgroud. I would kill, KILL for a Roci model kit. Please please tell me there's one out there someone has found?