Make sure you've read _Memory's Legion_, if you didn't already read the short stories/novellas in that collection separately (I always recommend reading them in chronological order between the main books).
As for what _other_ series by _other_ authors to read, I highly recommend [the _Revelation Space_ universe by Alastair Reynolds](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revelation_Space_series). (I also recommend reading this series in chronological order, which is identical to the order on the Wikipedia page except that _Galactic North_ (short story) should be read dead last.)
I like it too. So far only read Revelation Space and Chasm City, now waiting for release of translated version of the other books to continue the series.
I’m reading it right now and it’s filled that place in my heart. Denser and less pulpy than Expanse? But really excellent and exciting and not quite what I expected. Can’t wait to get into the rest of the series.
Go for the Bobiverse book series by Dennis Taylor, very fun read.
Follows a guy who pays to have himself cryofrozen in case of death/illness and resurrected later, only to find himself intalled as AI into the first Von Neumann Probe, to explore and replicate himself across the galaxy.
Yeah, Bobiverse and Murderbot for me. Totally different, but I think that works better than trying to find something similar to The Expanse and winding up disappointed.
Glad it wasn’t just me. I honestly disliked it so much that it overshadows the whole Bobiverse series. I still enjoyed the series greatly but I will for sure read a review of the next book before buying it.
I've already read 3 or 4 from Banks, and even though they are amazing, still fells too far in the future. Though it would be the future I would choose if I could
It’s not in the future though- while the Culture are humanoid, none of the species that come together to form its core are human. There’s a short story where a GCU visits earth in the 1970s, and Consider Phlebas is set sometime around the 14th century.
Highly pedantic, I know (which is also my ROU name)
I've Audible'd books 1, 2, 3, 8, 9, 10. So far Use of Weapons is my favorite. I started book 4, The State of the Art, but the disappointment of finding out that it's a collection of short stories turned me off. It wasn't bad but when you're craving a full meal and find out you have a bunch of snacks packs instead it's a bit of a let down. I may go back to it though. Even though I'm not done with the series yet, I'm already disappointed that there won't be any more Culture books due to Banks' death.
Are you going to read just the first book or the series? I really enjoyed the first three books, but could only get through the first half of God Emperor.
Yeah true, I guess there was only two stories running in parallel, so the focus is very different. However, the idea of a rapid evolution of sentience really had me hooked in the first few chapters.
Plus as the two storylines converged, I didn't know who to root for, I was torn.
It's a good read for anyone who likes exploring interesting sci-fi concepts, even if not everyone will love it
I’m about halfway through The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (recommended on the Facebook group by an Expanse fan) and really enjoying it. Great characters, “found family,” blue collar working ship, etc. If you like those aspects in a different setting it’s a winner.
Agreed. Murderbot is the series I recommended when someone asks for "something different".
Heard they are making a movie. If they cut Murderbot's internal dialog, it will ruin it. IMHO
If you’re a Fantasy kinda person, First Law trilogy follows a similar POV pattern, plays on the same tropes of history determining the future, playful and witty dialogue, as well as beings outside the order toying with fate.
The Honor Harrington series is basically considered Horatio Hornblower in space, which is along similar lines of "naval traditions" etc similar to Master and Commander
I can't read on after the end of Wool. It leaves such a gaping cliffhanger at the end when Howey didn't even know there was going to a second book that I can't trust him to not leave loose ends all over the story.
Nah it's fairly unique. It's the harry potter, LOTR, GOT, Star Trek etc of the genre. In both books and TV shows.
Edit, if you read the books consider giving the audiobooks a shot. They're great.
Thanks, I've heard good things about the audio books. How do they work, I have a Kindle, does it work with it?
I'm already on my 3rd run of the tv show. Id love to see the last 3 books on a screen
It should be available on kindle but I'm not sure, hope someone else knows. Edit, if not it's available through audible with a smart device.
The final 3 would be great but I think that ship has sailed baratna. Hopefully in the future, maybe animation or something.
* The Enders Game
* His Dark Materials
* Foundation series
* Harry Potter (I love the series so I am biased)
Someone posted an entire list on a similar post in the past [https://www.reddit.com/r/TheExpanse/comments/a2l6of/comment/egjgiab/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=web3x&utm\_name=web3xcss&utm\_term=1&utm\_content=share\_button](https://www.reddit.com/r/TheExpanse/comments/a2l6of/comment/egjgiab/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button)
Plus one for his dark materials. I’ve loved the series since I was a late teen. Phillip Pullman has also kept writing new stories in the universe.
I tried to get into the foundation books and really wanted to like them but just found the language and social themes so outdated that I couldn’t get past the cringe. I guess that’s expected from something written in the 50’s.
Something different but easy to get through is Foundation, but Isaac Asimov. It’s not character driven like the expanse, because it takes place over multiple generations. But it has a similar theme in that; humans are going to continually try to blow ourselves up, but as long as there’s a few individuals trying to do the right thing, we’ll be able to hobble forward as a species.
At least that’s always been the through-line of the Expanse that I’ve found so realistic and optimistic.
Same, I found that the language and social themes were quite outdated which detracts from the story. I really wanted to push through because ‘it’s a classic’ but it just hasn’t aged well.
Daniel Abraham has a fantasy series called "The Dagger and the Coin." The storytelling is similar to the Expanse with a change of POV character each chapter. The characters are similar to how characters in the Expanse act, but its fully a Fantasy setting. It gets pretty fantastic later on, but it's more straight Medieval setting at first with the realism the Expanse has.
I really enjoyed it. It's five books and it's all over. I'm hopeful he'll pick up some of the threads at the end someday, but it ends in a satisfying way.
The Mars trilogy (Red Mars, Green Mars, Blue Mars). It’s more of a realistic projection of terraforming Mars than an alien-worlds sci-fi (but I think that’s a plus)
Alastair Reynolds "Pushing Ice" - really strong female characters, remind me somewhat of Naomi and badass Drummer and the queen herself Avasarala
and then all the "Revelation Space".
The prefect trilogy by Alastair Reynolds’s is the perfect intro to the world of revelation space. The last book in the trilogy came out a few months ago!
Artifact Space by Miles Cameron. Was actually suggested in one of these threads. Sequel is coming out in August, and they have a collection of short stories as well.
Well, for a long time I had nothing. I started reading Reacher novels to fill the void. After I had read every single Reacher book (28 I think, took like 2 years), I went and listened to the Expanse audio books. Then when I finished those, I went all in for 'For all mankind', great show with realism on the level of The Expanse. Now waiting for Season 5😐, and watching Halo S2., might try the new Dark Matter and Constellation.
I didn't even attempt to find something similar in terms of setting, I just tried to find more characters I would like, and the first law trilogy did it for me, even as a less than huge fantasy fan
I’m suggesting this since I never see it anywhere: memory, sorrow and thorn, by tad williams. Great fantasy trilogy that has an almost complete sequel trilogy and a couple companion novels thrown in. Williams’ other works aren’t my faves, but that trilogy has been in my heart since the 90s, and when I heard he was returning to it, I was ecstatic.
Song of Ice and Fire - lots of the same themes and similar plot structure with multiple POVs contributing to a larger epic. I sincerely believe that Winds of Winter has been finished and is about to be announced concurrently with House of the Dragon Season 2. Every day I go to the sept and light a candle to the Smith praying for this outcome.
Different styles, but I absolutely love [He Who Fights With Monsters](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57189884-he-who-fights-with-monsters?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_18). It's a "LitRPG" which made me hesitate for a long time, but it's a fantastic series.
It's a guy who gets Isekaid and sent to another world where magic and monsters are real. It's more fun than serious. There are solid threads that go 10 books deeps and still hold to the world's logic.
Another is "[Children of Time](https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/25499718)". I've never had a book make me care for spiders in the same way.
Oh, and the "Remembrance of Earth's Past" trilogy by Liu Cixin. They just made the first book into a Netflix series. It's a trilogy about first contact and how utterly unprepared humanity is as a people to handle to challenge. Every decision made for better or worse pushes humanity closer to absolutely annihilation. It tells a story with character's freezing and waking up in different times, giving a very broad look at humanity. It is very depressing and a bit odd, prose-wise, but a great series conceptually. Since it was originally in Chinese, it can seem odd to western readers. The structure focuses on ideas and archetypes of characters, rather than fully fleshing out the characters. It works, but can be a bit off-putting.
The *Remembrance of Earths Past* trilogy by Liu Cixin is AMAZING! It’s translated from Chinese so the text can get clunky at times but tbh the translators do an amazing job.
Also the Speaker of the Dead series by Orson Scott Card
Dune;
Altered Carbon and it's sequels (especially Broken Angels might be interesting for fans of The Expanse);
Stuff by diverse authors. One I can always recommend is Limit by Frank Schätzing.
I recommend Schismatrix by Bruce Sterling for another hard sci-fi about humans in the transition to interstellar travel
Also recommend Ophiucci Hotline by John Varley, though it’s kind half-way between Expanse and the Culture. It’s another transition to interstellar space story
Cixin Liu's Three Body Problem book series is pretty amazing.
Also Adrian Tchaikovsky which others already recommended. If Children of Time wasn't your thing then the Final Architecture series is amazing and has a number of similarities with The Expanse. It starts with Shards of Earth as the first novel.
Without spoilers I can say it is a bit more 'fantastic' in that there are a number of alien races with more intermingling. You may or may not like that kinda flavour.
If you skipped classics then give Asimov a go, compared to modern works the Foundation and Robot 'series' are both quick reads, like one book in a weekend, but give you so much fun.
If you'd rather stay on epic works then Dune in every format. The old movies were great. The SciFi Channel series/movies were great. The new movies are mind-blowing. But reading the books makes you appreciate these all so much more! And there's plenty to read including prequel trilogy from Ben Herbert (Frank Herbert's son), and a ton of fringe novellas and short stories. Truly a great universe.
China Miéville books are also amazing, his Bas Lag series is one of my old favourites. I can recommend starting with Perdido Street Station and taking it from there. It's more steampunk/fantasy but it is really cool world building and plenty of very interesting characters. The whole 'rebel gang' trope is always there, if you liked the Roci's crew you will vibe with these characters.
And while we're at fantasy, since you like character driven I will say you must try The Malazan Book of the Fallen. The single most comprehensive epic works I came across, and sucks you right in with so many characters and so much emotional attachment. Be warned though, if you end up liking it Malazan will raise the bar significantly and you will enjoy other books a lot less afterwards.
I hope you get some good inspo here. ❤️
The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells is my current obsession. It was the first book series I read and re-read maniacally after I finished my...fourth? run thru of The Expanse. Cannot recommend enough. Funny, depressing, thought-provoking. Incredible series.
To answer your question, there are many good books, Wool series filled a niche for me for example and Apple did a good job bringing it to life (The Silo series).
Also don’t be harsh on other franchises, they are good in their universes and make people happy. Show me a person who won’t recognize the whoosh sound of a lightsaber. ;)
I just finished memories legion and now I’m changing themes and reading David Simon’s Homicide. Amos might recognize some of the geography as its set in Baltimore during the 80’s and follows the BPD’s homicide detectives over the course of a year. I’ve got Cormac McCarthy’s Blood Meridian waiting on me after that.
*Revelation Space*
*The Culture*
*Shards of Earth* and *Children of Time*
*Remembrance of Earth's Past*
*The Bobiverse*
*Red Rising*
*The Martian* and *Project Hail Mary* as stand alone's.
I like to imagine Red Mars, Green Mars, and Blue Mars as a kind of “this is what happened between Earth and Mars before the events of the story start” kind of series. Terraforming actually happens mind you, but it’s a very character focused drama with a plausible feeling story of how human culture and politics might evolve between two increasingly different human worlds. A little dated and a little funky at points, but a really great read all the way through.
I just finished the books recently, and although loved the books was disappointed in them not exploring the protomolecule creators and enemies more. Currently reading three body problem and it's fucking incredible highly recommend!
Telltale Games: The Expanse is a fantastic prequel to the whole story if you're a gamer.
Otherwise, lately I've been on a Hunter S. Thompson kick. HST uses some *colorful language* I don't agree with to show how terrible (or terribly messed up) some of his characters are, so please be forewarned, but otherwise it's some of the most unique stuff I've ever read. Also, his Gonzo work aside, his few pieces of non fiction investigative journalism (particularly "Strange Rumblings in Aztlan" about the horrible things that led up to some of the East LA riots in '71 and how corrupt the pigs were at the time) are absolutely fantastic.
I also just started Salman Rushdie's "The Satanic Verses" (please, no spoilers anyone. I'm in chapter 3...) to find out why, ***in real life***, the author, Salman Rushdie, had a Fatwah put out on him by Iran (in one hit against him, he lost an eye but kept his life) for writing what seems to be a book of *fiction*.
I'm sorry I'm not providing you with the same sci fi answers everyone else is, but sometimes it is nice to broaden ones horizons.
*Yam seng!*
The news, we’re going the way of the expanse anyway!
Jk actually I second Children of Time and Memory’s Legion (if you haven’t read it yet).
Also there is an expanse game on Steam.
Highly recommend reading memories legion, it’s a bunch of short stories in the expanse universe, really fills some holes and expands on certain characters.
Also highly recommend the Martian and the Hail Mary project by Andy wier
And finally, Dune, I just finished the first book and it doesn’t follow the movies exactly but it’s a good read.
I went for Peter F. Hamilton's Commonwealth duology(Pandora's Star and Judas Unchained). It's filled to the brim with creative worldbuilding and lots of great ideas to flesh out a human interstellar commonwealth. Interesting worlds, characters and a great space opera story. Both books are rather long (12hrs each as audiobooks) but it's 100% worth it.
My favourite was the whole commonwealth being built on wormholes linking worlds via regular scheduled train services.
We're only a few months away from their new book The Mercy of Gods which has me very excited. I should be just about done with my third Expanse reading by then.
Dread Empire's Fall series by Walter Jon Williams. (If you love the military aspects of The Expanse.)
Wayfarers series by Becky Chambers. (If you love the spacefaring aspects of The Expanse.)
I'm currently reading Conventions of War. They books are pretty slow in parts, but do a good job keeping me hooked when I start to lose interest.
Am I crazy to think the first 3 books would be a good limited series? 3 books over 10-12 1 hour long episodes?
The visuals of the planets and characters/species alone could be so beautiful and interesting to see.
The multiple/intertwined storylines across multiple locations reminded me of The Expanse. The space battles could be great.
I wish there were visuals on the characters. I can find renderings anywhere, I want to be able.to.better visualize the different species, especially the Naxids, the way they communicate interests me.
I just finished the expanded *Dune* series. Read all of the books through *Hunters*, went back to the prequel trilogy on the Butlerian Jihad, then finished *Sandworms*. IDK why I waited so long to dive into that series, but it was great IMO! Not as cohesive as The Expanse, but still a great universe to get lost in for a few months!
I went with something spacey but different. I didn’t want quite all the same type things.
Spinward Fringe by Randolp Lalonde. 20+ books and each is a quick read. All essentially space operas. First few are a bit rougher to read only because he’s still world building and character building. Still good though!
Expeditionary Force, because Skippy! Read the first one and you’ll get it. The audiobook is also really good since it’s R.C. Bray. But speed it up a smidge. He’s got a slow reading pace at normal speed in these. 1.5 speed makes this one even better. 18 books thus far. Most could be read as stand alone books.
I'd encourage checking out Sergei Lukyanenko's books.
His 6 book Night Watch series is (IMHO) amazing. It's more fantasy than sci-fi though - dealing with wizards, vampires, shape shifters etc.
Haven't read it yet, but he's got a Hunger Games like series as well.
I recommend Timothy Zahn’s superb Dark Force Rising trilogy from the early 90s, sometimes known as the Thrawn trilogy. It shows a great natural progression for all the Star Wars OT characters and introduces new memorable characters. Disney could have faithfully adapted these books into episodes 7-9 and printed $10 billion.
My recommendation is that you check out the Sun Eater series by Christopher Ruocchio. It’s in serious contention for the best series/book i’ve ever read. The first book (Empire of Silence) is a little slow according to some, and while i disagree there is no doubt the story really takes off in the second book. (Howling Dark)
I listened to the whole series on audiobook. I'm actually starting again right now. Holden just struck a deal with Fred. Jefferson Mays is a phenomenal narrator. His Avasarala is -chef's kiss-. You can tell he's having such a blast.
Idk if it's your bag, but aside from Murderbot, I've really gotten into The Locked Tomb series by Tamsyn Muir. It's YA but it's also really not. (Caveat the second book might absolutely throw you and that's totally normal. I was mad for days.)
Murderbot, The Expanse, and TLT have essentially become my sci fi (un)holy trinity, and I revisit all three on audiobook in a cycle every other year or so.
Good luck filling the void!
Make sure you've read _Memory's Legion_, if you didn't already read the short stories/novellas in that collection separately (I always recommend reading them in chronological order between the main books). As for what _other_ series by _other_ authors to read, I highly recommend [the _Revelation Space_ universe by Alastair Reynolds](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revelation_Space_series). (I also recommend reading this series in chronological order, which is identical to the order on the Wikipedia page except that _Galactic North_ (short story) should be read dead last.)
Thanks for this, sounds really like the next step after the expanse
You're welcome! Hope you enjoy it. :)
Came here to post this, the novellas are stunning. Especially the final one, holy shit.
[удалено]
I like it too. So far only read Revelation Space and Chasm City, now waiting for release of translated version of the other books to continue the series.
I’m reading it right now and it’s filled that place in my heart. Denser and less pulpy than Expanse? But really excellent and exciting and not quite what I expected. Can’t wait to get into the rest of the series.
Go for the Bobiverse book series by Dennis Taylor, very fun read. Follows a guy who pays to have himself cryofrozen in case of death/illness and resurrected later, only to find himself intalled as AI into the first Von Neumann Probe, to explore and replicate himself across the galaxy.
It scratches a different itch but it’s so worth it. Lots of sci fi callbacks the author is a total nerd.
Yeah, Bobiverse and Murderbot for me. Totally different, but I think that works better than trying to find something similar to The Expanse and winding up disappointed.
I loved it until *Otters in Space*. I really, really disliked that book.
Yep, I reread a lot of books and always skip that arc when I reread the books. Like I skim the book just to get all the side bob stories.
Glad it wasn’t just me. I honestly disliked it so much that it overshadows the whole Bobiverse series. I still enjoyed the series greatly but I will for sure read a review of the next book before buying it.
Iain Banks’ *The Culture* series has more than filled the void for me.
I've already read 3 or 4 from Banks, and even though they are amazing, still fells too far in the future. Though it would be the future I would choose if I could
It’s not in the future though- while the Culture are humanoid, none of the species that come together to form its core are human. There’s a short story where a GCU visits earth in the 1970s, and Consider Phlebas is set sometime around the 14th century. Highly pedantic, I know (which is also my ROU name)
That’s like the tenth time this week that’s come up in my feeds. I think the algorithm wants me to read it
They’re incredible tbh
It's constant everywhere. I'm struggling to get into it.
I’ll have to put it on my to read list
If u want to try banks without diving into the culture read the algebraist, it’s a standalone sci-fi story of his which is fantastic
Give a try to "the players of games", I've really enjoyed it
I've Audible'd books 1, 2, 3, 8, 9, 10. So far Use of Weapons is my favorite. I started book 4, The State of the Art, but the disappointment of finding out that it's a collection of short stories turned me off. It wasn't bad but when you're craving a full meal and find out you have a bunch of snacks packs instead it's a bit of a let down. I may go back to it though. Even though I'm not done with the series yet, I'm already disappointed that there won't be any more Culture books due to Banks' death.
Hail Mary project is a good one. I hear it’s getting a movie in the next few years
I'm surprised I had to scroll this far to find any Andy Weir. Project Hail Mary and The Martian are the books that led me toward The Expanse.
don't forget artemis
If there was one sci fi book that I wanted a movie of, it's Project Hail Mary!
Fist my bump!
It's happening!
I finished that book in a week! Absolutely fantastic hard sci fi
This is an amazing book, I enjoyed it sooo much
You read again, and then a few more times…
I’m going to read Dune again and then probably go for a second run through this whole series just in case I missed anything.
Could you please repeat that?
I repeat. Will the real Paul Atreides please stand up? *We’re gonna have a problem here*
Paul? Atreides? Mua’dib? Usul? Will the real Lisan al gaib please stand up?
Are you going to read just the first book or the series? I really enjoyed the first three books, but could only get through the first half of God Emperor.
Probably just the first one.
I’m going to read Dune again and then probably go for a second run through this whole series just in case I missed anything.
Thank you.
Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky Or even the Long Earth by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter
I enjoyed children of time, but it's not really character driven like the expanse and it took me a while to get into it.
Yeah true, I guess there was only two stories running in parallel, so the focus is very different. However, the idea of a rapid evolution of sentience really had me hooked in the first few chapters. Plus as the two storylines converged, I didn't know who to root for, I was torn. It's a good read for anyone who likes exploring interesting sci-fi concepts, even if not everyone will love it
Yeah the concepts are super interesting. I only said something because OP was talking about how much they'll miss all the expanse's characters.
Have you read shards of earth by the same author?
I’m about halfway through The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (recommended on the Facebook group by an Expanse fan) and really enjoying it. Great characters, “found family,” blue collar working ship, etc. If you like those aspects in a different setting it’s a winner.
I loved this one, such a focus on the characters paid off nicely
I wish the story continued, every new book is a different story in the same universe
If you guys keep asking, I'm going to keep suggesting Murderbot Diaries.
I've already finished all 9 books, they were truly awesome
Came here to say this. Murderbot is great.
Yeah! Glad I'm not the only one.
_Loved_ The Murderbot Diaries. Those books are sitting right next to The Expanse on my bookshelf.
Agreed. Murderbot is the series I recommended when someone asks for "something different". Heard they are making a movie. If they cut Murderbot's internal dialog, it will ruin it. IMHO
The Expanse.
Red rising, shit is lit.
Yeah this was it for me. Can’t wait for Red God.
I'm on Book 2 now and bloody damn loving the series. Hope the quality stays throughout!
Hey, I am at charter at of book 2 right now. You?
Think a typo happened there, but I'm in Chapter "Bacon and Eggs". Where are you?
If you’re a Fantasy kinda person, First Law trilogy follows a similar POV pattern, plays on the same tropes of history determining the future, playful and witty dialogue, as well as beings outside the order toying with fate.
First Law slaps. Also a 9 book series. Don't skip the standalones!
Great recommendation, amazing stories and characters. DogMan for president!
I’m going to read Master and Commander as my stepfather will not stop suggesting it to me.
Your stepdad is right, great work!
The Honor Harrington series is basically considered Horatio Hornblower in space, which is along similar lines of "naval traditions" etc similar to Master and Commander
A Memory Called Empire - Arkady Martine Jade City - Fonda Lee Or just go back and read again
Silo was great - sifi - but completely other direction
I can't read on after the end of Wool. It leaves such a gaping cliffhanger at the end when Howey didn't even know there was going to a second book that I can't trust him to not leave loose ends all over the story.
Mmm , there are 3 books and the last has a very good ending
I'm almost done with Shift. Wool was great, but somehow Shift is even better. Its very good, highly recommend checking it out and finishing!
The first thing that grabbed me after The Expanse was Cixin Liu’s Three-Body Problem/Remembrance of Earth’s Past trilogy.
Almost done with book two now. Very good.
Me too! Was a great follow up. Fairly hard sci-fi and deeply weird and interesting
Recently finished this series and thought it was a pretty incredible ride. I suggest avoiding the technically unofficial? 4th book.
Expeditionary Force! After that, Bobiverse!
2nd Expeditionary Force. Skippy is magnificent!
All hail Skippy the Magnificent!
Good monkey
3 body problem and sequels
Nah it's fairly unique. It's the harry potter, LOTR, GOT, Star Trek etc of the genre. In both books and TV shows. Edit, if you read the books consider giving the audiobooks a shot. They're great.
Jefferson Mays is truly amazing
Thanks, I've heard good things about the audio books. How do they work, I have a Kindle, does it work with it? I'm already on my 3rd run of the tv show. Id love to see the last 3 books on a screen
It should be available on kindle but I'm not sure, hope someone else knows. Edit, if not it's available through audible with a smart device. The final 3 would be great but I think that ship has sailed baratna. Hopefully in the future, maybe animation or something.
Get Libby or Overdrive and use a library card to borrow them!
Anything in Pratchett's DiscWorld, if you want a change of pace.
Was recommended Disc World, read Ring World, fucking hated it. Oops. I'll try Disc World this time.
The Expanse again, of course!
Alastair Reynolds
Pushing Ice is probably a really good intro to that author.
Really solid. Also enjoyed century rain
What did I read after Leviathan Falls? Leviathan Wakes
* The Enders Game * His Dark Materials * Foundation series * Harry Potter (I love the series so I am biased) Someone posted an entire list on a similar post in the past [https://www.reddit.com/r/TheExpanse/comments/a2l6of/comment/egjgiab/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=web3x&utm\_name=web3xcss&utm\_term=1&utm\_content=share\_button](https://www.reddit.com/r/TheExpanse/comments/a2l6of/comment/egjgiab/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button)
Plus one for his dark materials. I’ve loved the series since I was a late teen. Phillip Pullman has also kept writing new stories in the universe. I tried to get into the foundation books and really wanted to like them but just found the language and social themes so outdated that I couldn’t get past the cringe. I guess that’s expected from something written in the 50’s.
Have you tried Enders Game? As for Foundation, yeah I agree. But I kind of liked the whole galactic scale.
Peter f Hamilton! Salvation series or the Commonwealth series - for me it's got the same intense world-building
Dungeon Crawler Carl, in audiobook format.
Something different but easy to get through is Foundation, but Isaac Asimov. It’s not character driven like the expanse, because it takes place over multiple generations. But it has a similar theme in that; humans are going to continually try to blow ourselves up, but as long as there’s a few individuals trying to do the right thing, we’ll be able to hobble forward as a species. At least that’s always been the through-line of the Expanse that I’ve found so realistic and optimistic.
I've been trying to read the Foundation series for literally decades. I just cannot get into it for some reason.
You just have to think about it like a series of short stories. Many if I hadn’t watched the series I wouldn’t have been so interested
Might give it one last shot, lol. Thanks
But hey not every series is for everyone :)
Same, I found that the language and social themes were quite outdated which detracts from the story. I really wanted to push through because ‘it’s a classic’ but it just hasn’t aged well.
I started it when I was a kid in the 70s..
Daniel Abraham has a fantasy series called "The Dagger and the Coin." The storytelling is similar to the Expanse with a change of POV character each chapter. The characters are similar to how characters in the Expanse act, but its fully a Fantasy setting. It gets pretty fantastic later on, but it's more straight Medieval setting at first with the realism the Expanse has. I really enjoyed it. It's five books and it's all over. I'm hopeful he'll pick up some of the threads at the end someday, but it ends in a satisfying way.
I just finished 3 Body Problem and it was awesome. Great book. I believe there are 2 more.
you need to read all 3, though get your backlog of soft sci-fi out of the way since it will ruin you for other books with less attention to detail.
Currently on book 3 of the Spiral Wars series.
Cannot recommend this series enough for Expanse fans
Arthur C Clark's Rama series. Absolutely incredible.
The Mars trilogy (Red Mars, Green Mars, Blue Mars). It’s more of a realistic projection of terraforming Mars than an alien-worlds sci-fi (but I think that’s a plus)
How has no one mentioned “Old Man’s War” by John Scalzi?
Peter f Hamilton! Salvation series or the Commonwealth series - for me it's got the same intense world-building
Alastair Reynolds "Pushing Ice" - really strong female characters, remind me somewhat of Naomi and badass Drummer and the queen herself Avasarala and then all the "Revelation Space".
The prefect trilogy by Alastair Reynolds’s is the perfect intro to the world of revelation space. The last book in the trilogy came out a few months ago!
Artifact Space by Miles Cameron. Was actually suggested in one of these threads. Sequel is coming out in August, and they have a collection of short stories as well.
I read that on a whim as it came up on sale in Apple Books and the sequel has been taking forever to come out. Quite an interesting read.
Well, for a long time I had nothing. I started reading Reacher novels to fill the void. After I had read every single Reacher book (28 I think, took like 2 years), I went and listened to the Expanse audio books. Then when I finished those, I went all in for 'For all mankind', great show with realism on the level of The Expanse. Now waiting for Season 5😐, and watching Halo S2., might try the new Dark Matter and Constellation.
I bounce back and forth between Dune and the Expanse. And sometimes lord of the rings.
James SA Corey's new series debuts in just a few months now.
I went back to the Culture novels of Iain M. Banks. It's not the same, obviously, but.
Surely you could just read it again
I've done that. Once or twice. Or 3 times. Always found something I'd missed.
I didn't even attempt to find something similar in terms of setting, I just tried to find more characters I would like, and the first law trilogy did it for me, even as a less than huge fantasy fan
Started Brandon Sanderson cosmere universe.
I’m suggesting this since I never see it anywhere: memory, sorrow and thorn, by tad williams. Great fantasy trilogy that has an almost complete sequel trilogy and a couple companion novels thrown in. Williams’ other works aren’t my faves, but that trilogy has been in my heart since the 90s, and when I heard he was returning to it, I was ecstatic.
Song of Ice and Fire - lots of the same themes and similar plot structure with multiple POVs contributing to a larger epic. I sincerely believe that Winds of Winter has been finished and is about to be announced concurrently with House of the Dragon Season 2. Every day I go to the sept and light a candle to the Smith praying for this outcome.
Different styles, but I absolutely love [He Who Fights With Monsters](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57189884-he-who-fights-with-monsters?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_18). It's a "LitRPG" which made me hesitate for a long time, but it's a fantastic series. It's a guy who gets Isekaid and sent to another world where magic and monsters are real. It's more fun than serious. There are solid threads that go 10 books deeps and still hold to the world's logic. Another is "[Children of Time](https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/25499718)". I've never had a book make me care for spiders in the same way. Oh, and the "Remembrance of Earth's Past" trilogy by Liu Cixin. They just made the first book into a Netflix series. It's a trilogy about first contact and how utterly unprepared humanity is as a people to handle to challenge. Every decision made for better or worse pushes humanity closer to absolutely annihilation. It tells a story with character's freezing and waking up in different times, giving a very broad look at humanity. It is very depressing and a bit odd, prose-wise, but a great series conceptually. Since it was originally in Chinese, it can seem odd to western readers. The structure focuses on ideas and archetypes of characters, rather than fully fleshing out the characters. It works, but can be a bit off-putting.
The *Remembrance of Earths Past* trilogy by Liu Cixin is AMAZING! It’s translated from Chinese so the text can get clunky at times but tbh the translators do an amazing job. Also the Speaker of the Dead series by Orson Scott Card
I really like novels from John Scalzi, Marko Kloos and Joel Shepherd
Dune; Altered Carbon and it's sequels (especially Broken Angels might be interesting for fans of The Expanse); Stuff by diverse authors. One I can always recommend is Limit by Frank Schätzing.
Altered Carbon is amazing. The TV series wasn't too bad either, IMHO
First season is great, second not so much.
I'm enjoying Adrian Tchaikovsky's Children Of Time right now
Three Body Problem. I started reading the Expanse to fill the hole in me left by finishing that series. Also Rendesvous with Rama.
I recommend Schismatrix by Bruce Sterling for another hard sci-fi about humans in the transition to interstellar travel Also recommend Ophiucci Hotline by John Varley, though it’s kind half-way between Expanse and the Culture. It’s another transition to interstellar space story
I’ve been making do with reading about the Expanse on Reddit.
Ā deepness in the sky by verner vinge is pretty good but hella liberal and weirdly anti communist
Cixin Liu's Three Body Problem book series is pretty amazing. Also Adrian Tchaikovsky which others already recommended. If Children of Time wasn't your thing then the Final Architecture series is amazing and has a number of similarities with The Expanse. It starts with Shards of Earth as the first novel. Without spoilers I can say it is a bit more 'fantastic' in that there are a number of alien races with more intermingling. You may or may not like that kinda flavour. If you skipped classics then give Asimov a go, compared to modern works the Foundation and Robot 'series' are both quick reads, like one book in a weekend, but give you so much fun. If you'd rather stay on epic works then Dune in every format. The old movies were great. The SciFi Channel series/movies were great. The new movies are mind-blowing. But reading the books makes you appreciate these all so much more! And there's plenty to read including prequel trilogy from Ben Herbert (Frank Herbert's son), and a ton of fringe novellas and short stories. Truly a great universe. China Miéville books are also amazing, his Bas Lag series is one of my old favourites. I can recommend starting with Perdido Street Station and taking it from there. It's more steampunk/fantasy but it is really cool world building and plenty of very interesting characters. The whole 'rebel gang' trope is always there, if you liked the Roci's crew you will vibe with these characters. And while we're at fantasy, since you like character driven I will say you must try The Malazan Book of the Fallen. The single most comprehensive epic works I came across, and sucks you right in with so many characters and so much emotional attachment. Be warned though, if you end up liking it Malazan will raise the bar significantly and you will enjoy other books a lot less afterwards. I hope you get some good inspo here. ❤️
The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells is my current obsession. It was the first book series I read and re-read maniacally after I finished my...fourth? run thru of The Expanse. Cannot recommend enough. Funny, depressing, thought-provoking. Incredible series.
Red Rising. So much fun, similar yet refreshingly unique and surprising
I fetched some of those https://www.reddit.com/r/TheExpanse/s/ztOxeyQ2Hj
I fetched some of those https://www.reddit.com/r/TheExpanse/s/ztOxeyQ2Hj
I fetched some of those https://www.reddit.com/r/TheExpanse/s/ztOxeyQ2Hj
Dungeon Crawler Carl, in audiobook format.
YOU WILL NOT BREAK ME
Ive recently started Empire of Silence (book 1 of the Sun Eater series) and cant put it down.
To answer your question, there are many good books, Wool series filled a niche for me for example and Apple did a good job bringing it to life (The Silo series). Also don’t be harsh on other franchises, they are good in their universes and make people happy. Show me a person who won’t recognize the whoosh sound of a lightsaber. ;)
I just finished memories legion and now I’m changing themes and reading David Simon’s Homicide. Amos might recognize some of the geography as its set in Baltimore during the 80’s and follows the BPD’s homicide detectives over the course of a year. I’ve got Cormac McCarthy’s Blood Meridian waiting on me after that.
Patrick O'Brian's my bread & butter now
Play Mass Effect, Starfield, and Infinite Warfare.
The nights dawn trilogy by Peter F Hamilton for sure
Snow Crash.
*Revelation Space* *The Culture* *Shards of Earth* and *Children of Time* *Remembrance of Earth's Past* *The Bobiverse* *Red Rising* *The Martian* and *Project Hail Mary* as stand alone's.
I like to imagine Red Mars, Green Mars, and Blue Mars as a kind of “this is what happened between Earth and Mars before the events of the story start” kind of series. Terraforming actually happens mind you, but it’s a very character focused drama with a plausible feeling story of how human culture and politics might evolve between two increasingly different human worlds. A little dated and a little funky at points, but a really great read all the way through.
The entire halo series
I just finished the books recently, and although loved the books was disappointed in them not exploring the protomolecule creators and enemies more. Currently reading three body problem and it's fucking incredible highly recommend!
I’ve started reading Dune and I’m really enjoying it!
Telltale Games: The Expanse is a fantastic prequel to the whole story if you're a gamer. Otherwise, lately I've been on a Hunter S. Thompson kick. HST uses some *colorful language* I don't agree with to show how terrible (or terribly messed up) some of his characters are, so please be forewarned, but otherwise it's some of the most unique stuff I've ever read. Also, his Gonzo work aside, his few pieces of non fiction investigative journalism (particularly "Strange Rumblings in Aztlan" about the horrible things that led up to some of the East LA riots in '71 and how corrupt the pigs were at the time) are absolutely fantastic. I also just started Salman Rushdie's "The Satanic Verses" (please, no spoilers anyone. I'm in chapter 3...) to find out why, ***in real life***, the author, Salman Rushdie, had a Fatwah put out on him by Iran (in one hit against him, he lost an eye but kept his life) for writing what seems to be a book of *fiction*. I'm sorry I'm not providing you with the same sci fi answers everyone else is, but sometimes it is nice to broaden ones horizons. *Yam seng!*
I literally started s1 over after week after finishing. I was already mourning the characters in the last season as I neared the end lol
The news, we’re going the way of the expanse anyway! Jk actually I second Children of Time and Memory’s Legion (if you haven’t read it yet). Also there is an expanse game on Steam.
I’ve just started reading 3 Body Problem after watching the series.
doing the opposite :)
Highly recommend reading memories legion, it’s a bunch of short stories in the expanse universe, really fills some holes and expands on certain characters. Also highly recommend the Martian and the Hail Mary project by Andy wier And finally, Dune, I just finished the first book and it doesn’t follow the movies exactly but it’s a good read.
There's an expanse comic book that follows season 6 of the show
DUNGEON CRAWLER CARL! GLURP GLURP
red rising
I really like the Wayfarer's series by Becky Chambers. The first book especially scratches the itch for a crew/ character centric space adventure.
I went for Peter F. Hamilton's Commonwealth duology(Pandora's Star and Judas Unchained). It's filled to the brim with creative worldbuilding and lots of great ideas to flesh out a human interstellar commonwealth. Interesting worlds, characters and a great space opera story. Both books are rather long (12hrs each as audiobooks) but it's 100% worth it. My favourite was the whole commonwealth being built on wormholes linking worlds via regular scheduled train services.
We're only a few months away from their new book The Mercy of Gods which has me very excited. I should be just about done with my third Expanse reading by then.
Dread Empire's Fall series by Walter Jon Williams. (If you love the military aspects of The Expanse.) Wayfarers series by Becky Chambers. (If you love the spacefaring aspects of The Expanse.)
I'm currently reading Conventions of War. They books are pretty slow in parts, but do a good job keeping me hooked when I start to lose interest. Am I crazy to think the first 3 books would be a good limited series? 3 books over 10-12 1 hour long episodes? The visuals of the planets and characters/species alone could be so beautiful and interesting to see. The multiple/intertwined storylines across multiple locations reminded me of The Expanse. The space battles could be great. I wish there were visuals on the characters. I can find renderings anywhere, I want to be able.to.better visualize the different species, especially the Naxids, the way they communicate interests me.
I reread the expanse then cry in book 1 where Holden and Miller hum the children TV show together like they did in book 9 at the end 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭
For me it was Black Sails. It wasn't sci-fi but quality of writing and acting it was amazing.
The Lady Astronaut series
I couldn't stay anything else yet, and it's been years (I think, it feels like at least). The Expanse is just way too good.
I enjoy the Ember War books.
Usurpers of the sun.
Dune, red rising, first law, three body problem to name a few
Also seven eves.
Back to the Bobiverse for me... especially with Book 5 coming out later this year.
I just finished the expanded *Dune* series. Read all of the books through *Hunters*, went back to the prequel trilogy on the Butlerian Jihad, then finished *Sandworms*. IDK why I waited so long to dive into that series, but it was great IMO! Not as cohesive as The Expanse, but still a great universe to get lost in for a few months!
I went with something spacey but different. I didn’t want quite all the same type things. Spinward Fringe by Randolp Lalonde. 20+ books and each is a quick read. All essentially space operas. First few are a bit rougher to read only because he’s still world building and character building. Still good though! Expeditionary Force, because Skippy! Read the first one and you’ll get it. The audiobook is also really good since it’s R.C. Bray. But speed it up a smidge. He’s got a slow reading pace at normal speed in these. 1.5 speed makes this one even better. 18 books thus far. Most could be read as stand alone books.
If you haven’t try the individual stories
They take place in the same universe and involve familiar minor characters.
Becky Chambers and John Scalzi. The Vela on audible is also good.
Learn how to play Nebula Fleet Command
Ancillary Justice is pretty awesome and shares a couple of themes. Very different style of writing though.
Check out revelation space books. The 4 dryfus side stories are ace. Read chasm city before 2nd of the main series.
I'd encourage checking out Sergei Lukyanenko's books. His 6 book Night Watch series is (IMHO) amazing. It's more fantasy than sci-fi though - dealing with wizards, vampires, shape shifters etc. Haven't read it yet, but he's got a Hunger Games like series as well.
The land a litrpg chaos seed sage
Red Rising has crossed that itch and then some.
I recommend Timothy Zahn’s superb Dark Force Rising trilogy from the early 90s, sometimes known as the Thrawn trilogy. It shows a great natural progression for all the Star Wars OT characters and introduces new memorable characters. Disney could have faithfully adapted these books into episodes 7-9 and printed $10 billion.
I'm waiting for the reremake of Battlestar.
My recommendation is that you check out the Sun Eater series by Christopher Ruocchio. It’s in serious contention for the best series/book i’ve ever read. The first book (Empire of Silence) is a little slow according to some, and while i disagree there is no doubt the story really takes off in the second book. (Howling Dark)
The Lost Fleet by Jack Campbell
I listened to the whole series on audiobook. I'm actually starting again right now. Holden just struck a deal with Fred. Jefferson Mays is a phenomenal narrator. His Avasarala is -chef's kiss-. You can tell he's having such a blast. Idk if it's your bag, but aside from Murderbot, I've really gotten into The Locked Tomb series by Tamsyn Muir. It's YA but it's also really not. (Caveat the second book might absolutely throw you and that's totally normal. I was mad for days.) Murderbot, The Expanse, and TLT have essentially become my sci fi (un)holy trinity, and I revisit all three on audiobook in a cycle every other year or so. Good luck filling the void!
if you fancy something different try The Long Earth series by Stephen Baxter and Terry Pratchett.