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The Expanse

by James S. A. Corey

CompleteAll books have been published

Nine novels following the crew of the Rocinante - a salvaged Martian warship captained by James Holden - across more than four decades of solar system politics, war, and first contact. The series spans three loose acts: a conspiracy thriller set within the solar system, an expansion through alien gates to a thousand new worlds, and a final reckoning with whatever destroyed the civilisation that built them. Written by Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck under the pen name James S.A. Corey, the series won the Hugo Award for Best Series in 2020 and is complete at nine books.

Integrated Reading Order

Novels and novellas in the sequence that makes most narrative sense, with each shorter work placed where it adds the most context. Drive and The Butcher of Anderson Station are placed before Leviathan Wakes since both are prequels, though first-time readers may prefer to encounter them later once they know the characters. The Churn is placed before Nemesis Games rather than after - Amos's backstory reframes what happens to him in that book in ways that work better as setup than as retrospective. Strange Dogs is placed before Tiamat's Wrath, where its events become directly relevant.

  1. 1Chapter summaries available

    Drive

    2012

  2. 2Chapter summaries available

    The Butcher of Anderson Station

    2011

  3. 3Chapter summaries available

    Leviathan Wakes

    The Expanse

    2011

  4. 4Chapter summaries available

    Caliban's War

    The Expanse

    2012

  5. 5Chapter summaries available

    Gods of Risk

    2012

  6. 6Chapter summaries available

    Abaddon's Gate

    The Expanse

    2013

  7. 7Chapter summaries available

    Cibola Burn

    The Expanse

    2014

  8. 8Chapter summaries available

    The Churn

    2014

  9. 9Chapter summaries available

    Nemesis Games

    The Expanse

    2015

  10. 10Chapter summaries available

    The Vital Abyss

    2015

  11. 11Chapter summaries available

    Babylon's Ashes

    The Expanse

    2016

  12. 12Chapter summaries available

    Strange Dogs

    2017

  13. 13Chapter summaries available

    Persepolis Rising

    The Expanse

    2017

  14. 14Chapter summaries available

    Auberon

    2019

  15. 15Chapter summaries available

    Tiamat's Wrath

    The Expanse

    2019

  16. 16Chapter summaries available

    Leviathan Falls

    The Expanse

    2021

  17. 17Chapter summaries available

    The Sins of Our Fathers

    2022