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Question for those who have read them: is the whole The Expanse series good?
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this post was submitted on 18 Dec 2023
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This seems like an unpopular opinion, but I quit after 3 books. The first book was great, the second not as good, the third confirmed some consistent discouraging writing patterns from the second.
My biggest complaint is that I started the series for the sci-fi concepts and plotlines, but it quickly became a standard political procedural, with action and drip-reveal mystery elements, and the actual sci-fi elements felt unnecessary and incidental. Or to put it a different way, with rare exceptions, there just weren't reliable sci-fi "big ideas" introduced after the first book, just a lot of human drama and plot that felt like it didn't require the sci-fi setting.
I also felt like some pacing was off and there was a ton of filler. What confirmed that for me was when I noticed the chapter dividers in my reading app and saw nearly every chapter was almost identical length. My guess is the authors worked backwards from a chapter outline with a planned word count for publisher deliverables. If that type of planning sounds more like a business then it does art, I'd say that's actually my experience reading it too.
Finally, one of my pet peeves for any type of believable drama is when conflict is created by people acting stupidly. Kind of the opposite of deus ex machina resolution, it's a transparently artificial conflict that is just meant to give the characters something to do, but lazy writing. I felt that many many times by the second and third books.
Again, I'm in a minority I guess, but I felt it just wasn't worth the time. Not as bad as Aurora by Kim Stanley Robinson (my all time worst offender for filler and lazy plot), but lots of squeeze for little juice.
Yep, that jogs my memory about the different chapters. And that's a better theory on chapter length, thanks. I think that is the same problem, though: a non-diagetic agreement to format it a certain way, resulting in filler and awkward pacing.
I'm with you on your unpopular opinion.
The third book is a grind to finish. I say that because I'm grinding to finish it. I plan to start #4, hoping the writers learn from their experience and bring back compelling storytelling.
It doesn’t get better. The rest of the series, bar the novellas, is a slog. It took me several months, around fifteen other books, and a vacation to get through the whole series.
I've been listening to the audio books when I do my 10 h drive home for vacations/holidays and I watched the show first. I'm on book 7 now.
I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed book 1 and 2, but 3 through 6 I did find tedious to get through having seen the show and knowing what happens. I'm enjoying 7 again with a fresh story.
Personally, one of my favourite things about the series is the realism of the sci-fi setting and the use as a setting for a political drama.
Sort of agree on the filler and formulaic type writing as well, but I haven't noticed it as much with some fresh plot development
Yeah I'd say that's unpopular, no one can keep the same amount of "new Sci fi" concepts continously. And for me it's still worth a read, because they created a universe with a set of rules (keep protomolecule aside for now) that apply to all humans everywhere. And they never forgot that, not in any books, no stupid gravity generators, no ships appearing magically from somewhere, and they were consistent with that to the end.
That in my mind will always have a special place. And I'll always keep recommending expanse for anyone that cares about a bit sensible physics in their fantasy.
Hey, that's great. I'm glad you enjoyed it. Different readers are looking for different things.
I think a good example of sci-fi that can keep up the "new sci-fi concepts continuously" is the Three Body Problem trilogy, if you haven't read it yet.
I have read rememberance of earth's past trilogy. Well continously here meant for 9 books, If a series wanted to stop at 3 books a lot easier to manage new sci-fi topics. But if you are looking for something that is going for a while, I don't think there are any good ones other than expanse.
Happy to be proven wrong.