The Expanse is a series of science fiction novels, and related novellas and short stories by James S. A. Corey, the joint pen name of authors Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck. The first novel, Leviathan Wakes, was nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 2012. The complete series was nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Series in 2017. It later won, following its second nomination for the same award in 2020.

The book series is made up of nine novels and nine novellas compiled in Memory's Legion. The series was adapted for television for Syfy, also under the title of The Expanse. When Syfy canceled the TV series after three seasons, Amazon Prime Video acquired it and produced three more seasons.

Series overview Novels No. Title Pages Audio Publication date ISBN 1 Leviathan Wakes 561 20h 56m 2 Caliban's War 595 21h 3 Abaddon's Gate 539 19h 42m 4 Cibola Burn 583 20h 7m 5 Nemesis Games 544 18h 05m 6 Babylon's Ashes 608 19h 58m 7 Persepolis Rising 560 20h 34m 8 Tiamat's Wrath 544 19h 8m 9 Leviathan Falls 528 19h 40m

Short stories and novellas

No. Title Setting Pages Audio Publication date ISBN 0.1 "Drive" Before Leviathan Wakes 25 57m 0.5 The Churn 75 2h 18m 0.7 The Butcher of Anderson Station 40 1h 1m 1.5 "The Last Flight of the Cassandra" During Leviathan Wakes 5 2.5 Gods of Risk Between Caliban's War and Abaddon's Gate 75 2h 20m 3.5 The Vital Abyss From before Leviathan Wakes to Cibola Burn 74 2h 26m 6.5 Strange Dogs Between Babylon's Ashes and Persepolis Rising 64 2h 29m 7.5 Auberon Between Persepolis Rising and Tiamat’s Wrath 63 2h 25m 9.5 The Sins of Our Fathers After Leviathan Falls 64 2h 23m Memory's Legion: The Complete Expanse Story Collection Before Leviathan Wakes to after Leviathan Falls 432 16h 22m

Audiobooks All novels and short works except the RPG exclusive short story have been released as audiobooks, with Jefferson Mays as the narrator for the novels and short works that include Drive, The Butcher of Anderson Station, The Vital Abyss, Strange Dogs, Auberon, and The Sins of Our Fathers. Erik Davies was originally the narrator for the novellas The Churn and Gods of Risk; but both have been re-released with Jefferson Mays narrating them as of December 28, 2021. While most of Memory's Legion is narrated by Jefferson Mays, the author's note portions are narrated by Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck.

Setting The Expanse is set in a future in which, after the creation of the Epstein Drive, a fusion engine capable of producing continuous acceleration, humanity has colonized much of the Solar System (but does not have interstellar travel). The series initially takes place in the Solar System, using many real locations such as Ceres and Eros in the asteroid belt, the moons of Jupiter and Saturn, and small science bases as far out as Titania around Uranus, as well as well-established domed and underground settlements on Mars and the Moon, referred to as Luna.

At the series beginning, the governments of Earth (led by the United Nations) and Mars control the solar system in an uneasy military alliance, although substantial tensions exist between the two superpowers. Residents of the outer planets, living in stations built in the asteroid belt and the moons of Jupiter and Saturn, are referred to as "Belters". Due to the lack of gravity, they develop thin, elongated bodies, and have developed a creole language due to their physical isolation from Earth and Mars, with heavy influences from German, Chinese, and especially Spanish. Belters perform much of the gritty labor work to mine resources for the inner planets, which in turn control access to most necessary biological resources. As a result, substantial tensions exist between the Belt and the governments of Earth and Mars, proliferating itself through the existence of the Outer Planets Alliance, a fractured government and militant group that fights for Belter independence (labelled as a terrorist organization by the inner worlds).

As the series progresses, humanity gains access to thousands of new worlds by use of the rings, an artificially sustained wormhole network, created by a long-dead alien civilization. The ring in the Sol system is a thousand-mile diameter structure located two AU outside the orbit of Uranus. 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 this hub, which is also referred to as the "slow zone" after the third novel, a highly defended alien space station controls the gates and can also set instantaneous speed limits on objects inside the hub as a means of defense.

Characters + Narrative point of view Name Books James Holden 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 (prologue, Interlude, epilogue), 9 Amos Burton 5, 6, 7, 9 (2 interludes) Alex Kamal 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 Naomi Nagata 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 Josephus Miller 1 Julie Mao 1 (prologue) Fred Johnson 1 (epilogue), 6 Bobbie Draper 2, 4 (prologue), 6, 7, 8 Chrisjen Avasarala 2, 4 (epilogue), 6 Praxidike Meng 2, 6 Mei Meng 2 (prologue) Clarissa Melpomene Mao 3, 6, 7 Annushka Volovodov 3, 6 (epilogue) Carlos 'Bull' C de Baca 3 Manéo Jung-Espinoza 3 (prologue) Dimitri Havelock 4 Basia Merton 4 Elvi Okoye 4, 8, 9 The Investigator 4 (interludes) Filip Inaros 5 (prologue), 6 Sauveterre 5 (epilogue) Marco Inaros 6 Anderson Dawes 6 Michio Pa 6 Salis 6 Jakulski 6 Vandercaust 6 Roberts 6 Namono 6 (prologue) Paolo Cortazár 7 (prologue) Santiago Jilie Singh 7 Camina Drummer 7 Winston Duarte 7 (epilogue), 9 (prologue) Teresa Duarte 8, 9 Anton Trejo 9 (prologue) Aliana Tanaka 9 Fayez Sarkis 9 Kit Kamal 9 Cara Bisset 9 (interludes) Jillian Houston 9 Ekko Levy9 Marrel Imvic 9 (epilogue)

The story is told through the points-of-view of many main characters. There are two POV characters in the first book and four in books two through five. In the sixth and seventh books, the number of POV characters increases, with several characters having only one or two chapters. The eighth book returned to a more limited number with five. In the final ninth book, there is an increase in POVs with some chapters having multiple POV characters. Every book also begins and ends with a prologue and epilogue told from a unique character's perspective, who will occasionally interject in the main body of the novel.

Crew of the Rocinante The central characters of The Expanse are the crew of the Rocinante, a salvaged Martian naval gunship.

The main crew, present in all nine books, consists of:

James "Jim" R. Holden, the captain of the Rocinante, former UN Navy (UNN) officer; from Earth. Naomi Nagata, chief engineer and executive officer; a Belter. Amos Burton, mechanic and general muscle; an Earther with a mysterious past. Alex Kamal, pilot of the Rocinante, former Mars Congressional Republic Navy (MCRN) pilot; a Martian.

Throughout the progression of the series, several additional members join the crew for various lengths of time:

Roberta "Bobbie" W. Draper, Martian gunnery sergeant in the MCRN, of the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force, later UN diplomat. Part of the crew of the Rocinante from Book 6 to Book 8. Clarissa "Claire" Melpomene Mao, a daughter of Jules-Pierre Mao, magnate of Mao-Kwikowski Mercantile from Luna; she uses the alias Melba Koh while working as a licensed electrochemical technician. After forming a bond with her, Amos gives her the nickname Peaches. Part of the crew of the Rocinante from Book 6 to Book 7. Teresa Duarte, the daughter and heir of the High Consul of Laconia. Given the nickname Tiny by Amos Burton. Part of the crew of the Rocinante from Book 8 to Book 9.

The Outer Planets Josephus "Joe" Aloisus Miller, a Belter who worked as a detective for the Ceres station security firm, Star Helix Security. Frequently referred to as Detective Miller. Juliette "Julie" Andromeda Mao, the oldest child of Earther plutocrat Jules-Pierre Mao, former pinnace racer and Outer Planets Alliance convert. Frederick "Fred" Lucius Johnson, a former UN marine reviled as the "Butcher of Anderson Station," and now serves as the leader of the Outer Planets Alliance (OPA), a loose network which represents the Belters. Dr. Praxidike "Prax" Meng, the chief botanist of the RMD-Southern soy farm project on Ganymede and father of Mei Meng. Mei Meng, daughter of Prax. Carlos "Bull" C de Baca, a member of the OPA serving as chief security officer aboard the Behemoth. Michio Pa, executive officer of the OPA ship Behemoth, later captain of the Free Navy ship Connaught. Basia "Baz" Merton, a welder from Ganymede, later citizen of Ilus. Manéo "Néo" Jung-Espinoza, a young Belter from Ceres Marco Inaros, a commander of Free Navy, a radical OPA branch. Filip Inaros, a teenage member of the OPA, and later Free Navy, and son of Marco Inaros and Naomi Nagata. Camina Drummer, chief of security at Tycho Station, later president of the Transport Union Jakulski, Roberts, Salis & Vandercaust, four techs, working for the Free Navy on Medina Station.

Mars Fayez Okoye-Sarkis, A geologist from Mars who worked on new colony worlds and later married Elvi Okoye. Emil Sauveterre, the captain of the MCRN Barkeith. Solomon Epstein, inventor of the "Epstein-Fusion Drive". He died testing his machine when he went into deep space with no way to get back. Kit Kamal, Son of Alex Kamal from his second marriage. He leaves Mars with his wife and son to the Nieuwestad system.

Earth Dmitri Havelock, a security contractor from Earth and former partner of Detective Miller. Chrisjen Avasarala, the UN Assistant Undersecretary of Executive Administration, later UN Secretary General. Most powerful official in the UN for most of her career. 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 she has a daughter, "Nami".

Laconia Winston Duarte, High Consul of the Laconian Empire, a defector from the Martian navy. 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. Anton Trejo, High Admiral of the Laconian Imperial Navy and captain of the Heart of the Tempest. Aliana Tanaka, a Colonel in the Laconian Imperial Navy and a former officer in the MCRN until defecting. Cara Bisset, a ten-year-old child who, with her parents, settled on Laconia. Cara died and was resurrected by the planet's repair drones.

Other Colony Systems Jillian Houston, a member of the Underground and crew member of the Gathering Storm, she hails from the Freehold system. Unnamed Gunner, a member of the Underground faction that joined on Ganymede and participated in the Siege of Laconia on the gunship Rocinante, from Brazil Nova. Ekko Levy, The captain of the Forgiveness from the planet Firdaws. Marrel Imvic, a Linguist on board the Musafir from the Dobridomov system.

Plot summary The Expanse primarily tells the story of the crew of the gunship Rocinante over more than four decades as they navigate criminal plots, solar-galactic politics, wars, and an alien mystery.

Initial trilogy